Do you comply?
Are you aware that if you scan your paperwork in house and there's a chance those documents may need to be presented as evidence in court, it's important to scan to the British Standard BS 10008:2008?
If you do not have the systems and processes in place already for your documents to be legally admissible in court, how much time, effort, and money are you willing to spend on implementation?
Papershrink already comply with the previous standard BIP 0008 and we will soon have an important announcement to make so watch this space.
Save yourself the trouble of scanning and complying, safe in the knowledge that Papershrink have already put all the processes and procedures in place, and your documents will be admissible in court not only for the near future but as long as the documents need to be kept legally. This could be as long as the lifetime of an employee, for example.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What is legal admissibility and why is it important?
Legal admissibility concerns whether or not a piece of evidence would be accepted by a court of law. To ensure the admissibility, information needs to be managed by a secure system throughout its lifetime (which can be for many years). Where doubt can be placed on the information, the evidential weight may well be reduced, potentially harming the legal case.
BS 10008 ensures that any electronic information required as evidence of a business transaction is afforded the maximum evidential weight. The process is based on the specification of requirements for planning, implementing, operating, monitoring and improving the organization's information management systems.
What is BS 10008?
BS 10008 is the British Standard that specifies the requirements for the implementation and operation of electronic information management systems, and to the electronic transfer of information from one computer system to another, addressing issues relating to the authenticity and integrity of the electronic information.
These issues are important where the electronic information could be used as evidence in court. BS10008 also addresses document scanning processes and the provision of a full life-history of an electronic object throughout its life.
The requirements specified in BS 10008 are generic and apply to any corporate body, large or small, whatever the nature of its business. The extent of application of these requirements depends on the corporate body's operating environment and complexity.
It applies to electronic information in any form, therefore applies to paperwork scanned in-house. Are you compliant?
Alan Shipman, Chairman of the BSI committee responsible for the development of BS 10008, said:
"The new standard is an
important step in ensuring the admissibility of evidence in the UK. It has been developed by a wide range of experts in the field of document management as a specification of good practice".
What does the standard include?
- The management of electronic information over long periods, including through technology changes, where information integrity is vital
- How to manage the various risks associated with electronic information
- How to demonstrate the authenticity of electronic information
- The management of quality issues related to document scanning processes
- The provision of a full life history of an electronic object throughout its life
- Electronic transfer of information from one computer system to another
- Covers policies, security issues, procedures, technology requirements and audit ability of electronic document management systems (EDMS).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
How is BS 10008 different to the Code of Practice?
BS 10008 covers the scope of all three
parts of the Code of Practice (BIP 0008-1, BIP 0008-2, BIP 0008-3).
By complying with BS 10008, it is anticipated that the evidential weight of electronic information transferred to and/or managed by a corporate body will be maximised, by ensuring its trustworthiness and reliability.
Compliance with BS 10008 will assist in minimising the risks involved with the long-term storage of information in an electronic form.
Will the Code of Practice (BIP 0008) no longer be available?
The Code will be updated in accordance with BS 10008. Implementation of the recommendations given in the latest edition of the CoP will assist with compliance of BS 10008.
Source – BSI website 2010-03-04
Any council, solicitor, financial advisor, doctor in fact any company that scans sensitive information in house and that may need to present documents in court, needs to be aware of BS 10008 and its impact now and in the future.
In fact scanning sensitive documents may mean looking after sensitive information for a person’s lifetime.
Implementing BS 10008 will take your time, money and a lot of hassle. Papershrink already have BIP
008 in place so why not send the scanning to us and save you the trouble?
If you are thinking about scanning in house we have written an in house scanning fact sheet that will help and guide you and tell you how you can set up in house.
We offer impartial advice
When you are part of a large organisation or a sole trader, outsourcing business services can have an immediate impact on your company's profitability.
Papershrink have factsheets on all these topics so please feel free to download any of them or email me direct s.craft@papershrink.co.uk
0844 414 0650 (local rate)
Any scanning topics you would like us to cover? Email me at s.craft@papershrink.co.uk
Sharon Craft ACIM
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment