F. Venturini, Legal Documents As Core Public Sector

Fernando [email protected]

Legal documents as core public sector information: from professional

information to Internet development support

Law via the Internet, Firenze, 30-31 ottobre 2008


The summary of my presentation

Electronic legal data before and after Internet Legal information for all? Or one for professionals

and one "for all"? Overcoming the legal approach to legal

information Legal information is made up of public decisions

Legal information is the foundation for an electronic democracy

Legal information is essential to facilitate the development of "user generated information"

Legal information is made up of essential public data


Electronic legal data before Internet

Creators of legal data, almost always coinciding with the bodies responsible for official publication and with top level public bodies (i.e. Ministries, Parliaments, Supreme Courts), have developed large archives over time. Since the'60s, these archives have been computerised.

Consequentially, large centralized databases are now in the hands of public bodies. In some cases, management and dissemination of these databases have been subcontracted to private companies.


Legal data in electronic form after Internet

We have a common technological infrastructure that allows any producer of digital information to enter into our homes.

The institutions that create and maintain legal information at any level suddenly become visible on the network.

On the users’ side, increasing demand for legal information turns very often directly to its origin or who is considered such.

The legal professions that had been partially put aside by the centralization of electronic legal data, play again an important role.

Reliability of legal information is in question.


Legal information for all? Or one for professionals and one "for all"?

In this new situation, what happens to official legal information and large databases owned by public bodies?

We run the risk of having parallel systems. These dangers are exacerbated by the following:

Legal information may be considered an economic commodity subject to the laws of the market.

Private legal publishers or other companies which disseminate legal information have strong commercial interests in this matter.

On the users’ side, there’s the so-called "illusion of availability“.



Overcoming the legal approach to legal information

If we limit ourselves to look at the problem from a legal point of view, the prevailing aspect is that of ignorantia legis non excusat.

Let’s try to place legal information in the context of public sector information. In this way, legal information is closely linked to other categories of public information.

When dealing with legal information, we talk about acts such as laws, judgements, circulars, general administrative acts (eg financial acts, territorial plans, environmental impact assessments and health directives) which are subject to public decisions and scrutiny.


Reports prepared by public bodies and study commissionsDocuments and

certificates of advisory bodies and control

Instruments that apply the decision

Acts of city councils

Statistical data

Data from scientific surveys of public authorities, e.g. in the environmental and health sectorsConsultation

papers

Parliamentary papers

Documents and data standing before and after the public decision

Case law

The public decision


Legal information is the foundation for an electronic democracy

Controlling and discussing are the two faces of every use of IT in enhancing democratic processes: what we call e-democracy.

To do this properly, people need to cite public documents. They need, in essence, the raw material which feeds public debate.

If this raw material is not on the network immediately, if it is networked in formats that are not easily accessible, if it is networked only for a fee and if there are no simple tools for retrieving it, these debates will be seriously hampered or may be in vain.


Fonte: Citizens as Partners: OECD Handbook on Information, Consultation and Public

Participation in Policy-Making , Paris, OCDE, 2001


Legal information is essential to facilitate the development of "user generated information"

“When enough people can collect, re-use and distribute public sector information, people organise around it in new ways, creating new enterprises and new communities. In the past, only large companies, government or universities were able to re-use and recombine information. Now, the ability to mix and 'mash' data is far more widely available.”


Legal information is made up of essential public data

"Les données essentielles seraient définies alors comme les données publiques dont la mise à disposition est une condition indispensable à l'exercice des droits du citoyen, ainsi que de ceux des étrangers résidant sur notre sol."


Conclusions

Availability of public sector information and, above all, legal data, in a third place (the network) - a sort of condominium between society and state – could be the most simple and effective tool for information sharing between governments and citizens. In this “third place” - regulated and managed - governments and citizens can share information through which the participatory processes are being favoured.


Availability

Citizens

PA

PSI on the net


A statement of Italian librarians

Recently, the DFP group of the Italian Library Association has tried to formulate a series of statements about publication of Italian public sector information on the web


State and needs of the Italian Government Information on the Net http://www.aib.it/dfp/c0711d.htm3

http://www.aib.it/dfp/c0711d.htm3


The main contents of this document are as follows: Internet must become the place for government information

availability and free access. Documents of general public interest are defined and listed. Information and documents related to public decisions (before

and after them) must have the same accessibility on the net. Persistence of institutional and legal information on the net, is

recommended.

Specific recommendations are made for Italian legal information. In particular: Free availability of case law databases. Free availability of the entire Official Journal of the Italian

Republic. Finally, it is recommended that the site Norme in rete evolves

towards the model of a national legal portal in which all regulatory databases and case archives are available at national and regional levels. Free availability of the consolidated legislation database provided by the Poligrafico dello Stato


Thank you very much for your

attention

E-mail for comments: [email protected]