REMEMBRANCE IN TIME - Index of

Péter BLAZOVICH: Possibilities to Research Communism in Several Ex-Communist… 363
The publication of them would draw legal action from the part of the concerned people,
and their usage in scientific publication would be questionable due to the lack of original
sources. According to the experience of the institutions, owning similar database can be
used only as a guide supporting the researches; however that is important, too.
The rights of the concerned people
Any Hungarian and foreign individuals can apply for introspection into the files that had
been made of them by the state security organs. The introspection doesn’t entitle the
concerned person to discover the personal data of others – within a certain period of
protection - , except for the identifying data of the employees serving the former system,
and the data, recorded on public events or the personal data that had been formerly
published.
After the death of the concerned person the bereaved (spouse, relatives, step-children,
step parents, brothers) inherit the right for introspection.
Scientific or other researches
Doing scientific and private researches is possible at the Historical Archive. The
research worker, who has the permission of the Archive Advisory Board can have an
introspection to the personal data contained in the files and related to his research project,
except for the data, related to the health-condition, the addictions and the sexual life of
the concerned people. The researcher is entitled to get acquainted with the personal
identifying data of the agents and official employees of the state security organisation.
The private researchers can get acquainted with the personal data, except for the files
recorded at public events, the data that had already been published in a legal way, or the
data, necessary to the identification of the public faces being agents only after the
protection period.
Publication
The relating regulation doesn’t oblige the Historical Archive to publish the original
documents or registers, and the publishing possibilities are strictly limited. According to
the 5 th § of the statute the personal data can be discovered by anybody only after the
period of protection, except for the data related to the public events, the data, that had
already been published earlier, or the identifying data of the public faces and the public
agents. The Constitutional Court concreted the publication possibilities. In 2005 they
made a decision upon the publication of the identifying personal data of the agents: as the
researchers and also the concerned citizens can get to know the above data, there is no
social need for the limitation of the basic right of publication. According to the
regulations the archive cannot publish lists of agents, operative registers or originals with
the personal data of the concerned. However, the data related to the career of the leading
employees of the state security authority is being processed in its archontology database,
also available on the internet.