11Retention of information and documents

11 Retention of information and documents

11 Retention of information and documents

(1) If, under a law of this jurisdiction, a person is required to record information in writing, that requirement is taken to have been met if the person records the information in electronic form, where—

(a) at the time of the recording of the information, it was reasonable to expect that the information would be readily accessible so as to be useable for subsequent reference, and

(b) if the regulations require that the information be recorded on a particular kind of data storage device—that requirement has been met.

(2) If, under a law of this jurisdiction, a person is required to retain, for a particular period, a document that is in the form of paper, an article or other material, that requirement is taken to have been met if the person retains, or causes another person to retain, an electronic form of the document throughout that period, where—

(a) having regard to all the relevant circumstances at the time of the generation of the electronic form of the document, the method of generating the electronic form of the document provided a reliable means of assuring the maintenance of the integrity of the information contained in the document, and

(b) at the time of the generation of the electronic form of the document, it was reasonable to expect that the information contained in the electronic form of the document would be readily accessible so as to be useable for subsequent reference, and

(c) if the regulations require that the electronic form of the document be retained on a particular kind of data storage device—that requirement has been met throughout that period.

(3) For the purposes of subsection (2), the integrity of information contained in a document is maintained if, and only if, the information has remained complete and unaltered, apart from—

(a) the addition of any endorsement, or

(b) any immaterial change,

which arises in the normal course of communication, storage or display.

(4) If, under a law of this jurisdiction, a person (the first person) is required to retain, for a particular period, information that was the subject of an electronic communication, that requirement is taken to have been met if the first person retains, or causes another person to retain, in electronic form, the information throughout that period, where—