All certificates of designation, petitions, certificates of nomination, acceptances, declinations, and withdrawals are public records as soon as they are filed and are open to public inspection under proper regulation. When a copy of any document is presented at the time the original is filed or at any time thereafter and a request is made to have a copy compared and certified, the officer with whom the document is filed shall forthwith compare the copy with the original on file and, if necessary, correct the copy and certify and deliver the copy to the person who presented it upon the payment in advance of the copy and certification charge. All filed documents shall be preserved pursuant to section 1-7-802, unless otherwise ordered or restrained by some court.L. 92: Entire part R&RE, p. 678, § 5, effective 1/1/1993.This section is similar to former § 1-4-503 as it existed prior to 1992. For statutes pertaining to public records generally, see article 72 of title 24; for filing of petitions and certificates of designation of assembly, see § 1-4-604.