pertinence

n. A principle of arranging records based on content, without regard for their provenance or original order.

Citations

Gilliland-Swetland 2000a, p. 12 The French conception of respect des fonds did not include the same stricture to maintain original order (referred to in French as respect de l'ordre intérieure), largely because French archivists had been applying what was known as the principle of pertinence and rearranging records according to their subject content.