- Who we are
- Legal basis for processing your information
- Sharing your personal information outside The National Archives
- Retention of your personal information
- Keeping personal information secure
- People in our archival collections
- Where to find out more
Who we are
The National Archives Department functions under the purview of the Ministry of Arts and Culture. It houses the collective memory of the nation’s history. It has in its store, an array of rich and diverse records which are of significant interest to one and all. These records are invaluable for historical, genealogical, cultural, administrative and legal purposes, among others. As a Government Department, the National Archives Department serves as the nation’s repository of public records. It ensures that an efficient and economical management of records of the Government of Mauritius throughout their lifecycle, is carried out. It also caters for the preservation of public records having archival value for current and future use by the Government, citizens of Mauritius and international users.
We make our archival records available to the widest possible users. To do this, we need to acquire and process some personal information from you.
This privacy notice tells you what to expect when the National Archives Department collects personal information. This can be anything that identifies a living individual. It applies to information we collect about people who engage with us through.
Legal basis for processing your information
In order to collect, create or otherwise process your personal information for all these activities, the National Archives Department (as data controller) must have a legal basis for doing so under data protection legislation.
Depending on the circumstances, we may also process your personal information because you, or your legal representative, have given us your consent (which you can withdraw at any time). By giving us your consent you are agreeing to the National Archives Department processing your information in accordance with this privacy notice.
Sharing your personal information outside The National Archives Department
Third parties will not have access to your personal information unless the law allows them to do so.
Sharing with third parties outside of a contract
We sometimes need to share your information with third parties. We will do this securely and with a data sharing agreement in place. As a Government department, we have a duty to cooperate with any law-enforcement bodies, including the police, who have a requirement to see what personal information we may have about you.
We do not sell your information to other organisations.
Retention of your personal information
We keep your personal information for no longer than is necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, as described above or in another privacy notice provided to you, taking into account the requirements from the following criteria:
- any laws or regulations that we are required to follow
- whether we are in a legal or other type of dispute with each other or any third party
- the type of information that we hold about you
- whether you are still signed up to our services
- retention in case of queries: we will retain it for a reasonable period in case of further queries from you
- retention in case of claims: we will retain it for the period in which you might legally bring claims against us
Keeping personal information secure
The National Archives Department takes the technical and organisational security of all the information it holds very seriously. We protect your information using varying levels of encryption. We also make sure that any third parties with which we deal have an obligation to keep secure all personal information they process on our behalf.
People in our archival collections
The National Archives Department has a statutory obligation to permanently preserve the archives of the Government and certain other public and private historic records, as detailed in our public catalogue, and to make them available for use. These are documents (including files, maps, pictures, posters, films and sound recordings in analogue and digital form) that have been produced by central offices of the State and the law courts dating back to French and British Administration. The National Archives Department provides advice and guidance to transferring Government departments and agencies as to whether these documents are worthy of archival preservation – that is, whether they have lasting value for the research and understanding of history and the present, or for the protection of legitimate interests of citizens or for purposes of legislation, administration and jurisdiction.
We guarantee access to this archival material while observing the protection of private or public interests. In principle, every person has the right to access documents in the National Archives Department upon request and subscription.
Where to find out more
Contact us
We welcome comments or queries about this privacy notice and our information handling practices.
Telephone: +230 233 2950
Postal address: National Archives Department of the Republic of Mauritius, Development Bank of Mauritius Complex, Coromandel.
Website: https://archives.govmu.org
Copyright, Restrictions and Permissions
The copyright Act of the Republic of Mauritius governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted materials. Most of the records in our holdings hosted in our database are copyrighted and cannot be reproduced without permission. Copyright for materials in the database are available for fair use only. Users willing to use the materials for other than fair use should contact us at national-archives@govmu.org
Users should acknowledge the National Archives Department of the Republic of Mauritius in publications where sources are referenced from our holdings.
Some of the materials which are accessible online might be materials which have been donated or obtained from individuals or organisations and may be subject to restrictions on use.
If you have copyright information about an item you have seen on our website, including items in our online Database, or if you are the copyright owner and believe our website has not properly attributed your work to you or has used it without permission, you may contact us at national-archives@govmu.org by providing your contact information and a link to the relevant content.
You may consult our reference staff for details on specific items. We are aware of donor restrictions applicable to our collections, but we cannot confirm copyright status for any item.
Please note that because we cannot guarantee the status of specific items, you use materials found in our holdings at your own risk.
If you use images from our collections, we ask that you credit us as the source. Please note that some images on our site have been obtained from other organisations. Permission to use these images should be obtained directly from those organisations.
Copyright Restrictions upon Materials in our Holdings
Some documents – including images, sound, cartographic, textual, or electronic materials – found in our holdings may be copyrighted. It will be your responsibility to identify the copyright owner and to obtain permission before making use of this material in any way. If you have questions about this process, please contact us.
Note: The National Archives Department reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law.
Applicable Law
Use of this website is governed by the Laws of the Republic of Mauritius and any legal action against the National Archives Department and/or the Government of the Republic of Mauritius or any other person with regard to the use of this web site shall be brought solely and exclusively before the courts of the Republic of Mauritius.
Information we collect online
Any personal information that you shall submit shall be used:-
- For a “Subscribed User”: to facilitate your use of the search functionalities provided by the National Archives Department system.
We may transfer personal information to a third party only in the following cases:
- To a bank or to the Government Treasury account, which must receive payment for a transaction that you initiated;
- To legal authorities if we suspect that you are attempting to change or otherwise damage this web site, or you are using it in violation of local laws;
- To the Parliament or a court in response to a subpoena.
User Accounts
When you voluntarily register for a user account on one of our web sites, we ask you to supply some personal information about yourself. If there are any issues related to your user account, we may use your email address and username to contact you about the issues involved. We also use your information for statistical purposes.
Secure payments
Customers may pay for chargeable services using their credit/debit cards. Email addresses are used to permit the helpdesk to check a caller’s identity in the event of an account query related to a particular session.
Disclaimer
Every web site has its limitations and reading these terms will enable you to make informed decisions about how to use the information our database. We, including the Government of the Republic of Mauritius and our/its employees shall in no way be responsible for any prejudice caused directly or indirectly by the use of the information accessible in this web site and related database.
Disclaimer for External Links
These links are being provided as a convenience and for information purpose only; they do not constitute an endorsement or an approval by the National Archives Department of any of the products, services or opinions of the corporation, organisation or individual. The National Archives Department bears no responsibility for the accuracy, legality or content of the external site or for that of subsequent links. You may wish to contact the external site for answers to questions regarding its content.
Fees and payment
As a Government department, we are obliged to apply charges for some of our public services, including research and record copying.
As of 01 December 2018, our charges will be as below:
Summary of prices, in effect from 1 February 2016
- Subscription Fee. Subscriber agrees to pay the appropriate fee corresponding to the particular Services that it wishes to access for the applicable Subscription Term (“Subscription Fee”). The National Archives Department reserves the right to change the Subscription Fee with respect to a Renewal Term with prior written notification. Unless otherwise expressly stated, all fees are non-cancellable and non-refundable.
- Printing Fee. Subscriber agrees to pay the appropriate fee corresponding to the particular Services that it wishes to access for the applicable Subscription Term (“Printing Fee”). The National Archives Department reserves the right to change the Printing Fee with respect to a Renewal Term with prior written notification. Unless otherwise expressly stated, all fees are non-cancellable, non-refundable and cannot be carried forward.
Should the Subscription period end with any printing fee still applicable, the charges will be forfeited unless the subscription is renewed.
- Payment Details. Subscriber agrees to provide the Company with valid, up-to-date and complete debit/credit card, contact and billing details. Subscriber further authorizes the Company to bill such debit/credit card on the Effective Date (and corresponding Renewal Dates, if appropriate) for the Subscription Fee due for the Subscription Term (and Renewal Term).
Charging for digitised copies of paper records
Digitising paper records is costly, and normally involves additional cataloguing and transcription work to ensure that the records are searchable. When we decide to digitise a collection of records, we either work with third parties or we do the work ourselves and make digital copies available on our website.
Digitised records on our website are accessible for all subscribed users to search but a charge is applicable for printing.
Can I order copies of records?
The National Archives Department also provides copies of records available in their custody. With state of the art digital scanning equipment, we can produce paper copies of records.
Shipping charges
Shipping charges depends on the shipping country.
AVAILABILITY OF WEBSITE
The customer recognizes that the traffic of data through the Internet may cause delays during the viewing of information from the Website and accordingly, it shall not hold the National Archives Department liable for delays that may happen in the course of Internet use. Subscriber further acknowledges and accepts that the Website will not be available on a continual twenty-four hour basis due to such delays, or delays caused by the Company’s upgrading, modification, or standard maintenance of the Website.
CHANGES
Except, for any provisions determining the primary contractual obligations of the customer and the National Archives Department hereunder, the National Archives Department has the right to revise and amend these Terms of Service from time to time to reflect changes in business needs including, but not limited to, changes in features and functionality, changes in technology, changes in payment methods, changes in relevant laws and regulatory requirements and changes in system capabilities. Changes are effective immediately upon posting and the customer’s continued use of any of the Services following the posting of revised Terms of Service means that Subscriber accepts and agrees to the changes, to the extent permitted by applicable laws.
FORCE MAJEURE
The National Archives Department will not be liable to or responsible for any failure to perform, or delay in performance of, any of its obligations that is caused by events outside its reasonable control (“Force Majeure Event”). A Force Majeure Event includes any act, event, non-happening, omission or accident beyond the National Archives Department’s reasonable control including, but not limited to, restrictions of law, regulations, orders, or other governmental directives, labour disputes, acts of God, third party mechanical or other equipment breakdowns, terrorist attacks, fire, explosions, fibre optic cable cuts, interruption or failure of telecommunications or digital transmission links, Internet failures or delays, storms or other similar events.
CHILDREN
We are not a site targeted at children or those under the age of 16.
COMPLETE UNDERSTANDING
These Terms of Service, together with the Disclaimer, the Fees and Payment and the Privacy Policy, constitute the sole and entire agreement between Subscriber and the National Archives Department with respect to the Services and supersedes all prior and contemporaneous understandings, agreements, representations, warranties or terms and conditions, both written and oral, with respect to the Services.