REGULATORY TYPE AND CONCEPT

A CONTRIBUTION TO DIPLOMATICS IN THE SCOPE OF ARCHIVAL INFORMATION ORGANIZATION

Abstract

This paper is based on the premise that government regulatory agencies, when organizing their archival information, encounter a specific type of document they produce: the regulatory document type. This peculiarity demands a delve into the law, regarding the concept and legal type, to determine how these relate to the document typology inherent in Archival Diplomacy, which, in turn, informs the entire process of document organization. It is considered that there is a universal demand for transparency instruments regarding the content of regulatory agencies' documentary collections. In view of this, and based on the experience of Brazilian regulatory agencies to address an issue that affects different countries, thus contributing to a global reflection, the context of documentary production of regulatory agencies is discussed, based on normative-administrative activity, specifically with regard to the regulatory types and concepts that are set out in the “resolution” type of document, thus seeking theoretical and applied elements for the configuration of a regulatory document type. The objective of this research is to analyze the role of regulatory types and concepts in the development of a document type within the document management of regulatory agencies. This is a qualitative, exploratory, bibliographical, and documentary study. A selective and analytical literature review of theoretical frameworks in Administrative Law and Archival Diplomacy was conducted to arrive, based on applied experience, at a typological analysis of resolutions of the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP). The study found that within the funds of regulatory agencies, regulatory types and concepts convey administrative-normative activities, justifying the creation of a specific document type - the regulatory document type.