LegalXML

Introduction to LegalXML

LegalXML is a collection and a developer of open, public standards for the electronic exchange of legal data using extensible Markup Language, created by different LegalXML Technical Committees, covering a wide spectrum of legal materials. The LegalXML mission is, therefore, to create open, non proprietary technical standards for exchange of information among legal documents and related applications.

The Court Filing Workgroup was the first and only workgroup to publish a ” proposed” standard specification.

Standardization and Exchange of Legal Data

LegalXLM creates thecnical standards to enable the exchange of digital legal documents. In special, standards for electronic court filing, court documents, legal citations, transcripts and criminal justice intelligence systems. There is an important trend in favour of standardization and exchange of data in the legal software industry. “It is often the desire of administrators and technologists throughout federal, state, local, and tribal governments to apply those standards. In reality, however, it is often overwhelming to review and fully comprehend the documentation accompanying those standards”. (1)

Members

“LegalXML brings legal and technical experts together to create standards for the electronic exchange of legal data.”(2) LegalXML is also made up of members from the public sector (e.g. courts, court administration, legislature, law enforcement).

“Members themselves set the LegalXML agenda, using the open OASIS technical process expressly designed to promote industry consensus and unite disparate efforts. LegalXML produces .”(3)

Main Features of LegalXLM

LegalXML divides it’s “domains” vertically and horizontally into various “subdomains” . For example, vertical subdomains include, but are not limited to, Court Filings, Transcripts, Judicial Decisions, Public Law, Private Law and Publications.

Horizontal subdomains include Citations, General Vocabulary, and Logical Document Structure (e.g. root elements, tables, paragraphs). Horizontal subdomains cut across vertical subdomains. For example, citations will be found in Court Filings, Case Law, Public Law and Private Law documents. Legal XML seeks to harmonize and coordinate the various horizontal and vertical subdomains within the larger legal community.

Subcategories and Technical Committes

LegalXML has subcategories of specifications and respective Technical Committees
(TCs). For example, the OASIS LegalRuleML TC “defines a rule interchange language for the legal domain. The work enables modeling and reasoning that allows implementers to structure, evaluate, and compare legal arguments constructed using the rule representation tools provided.”(4) The initial committes were:

• LegalXML Electronic Court Filing: this Committee develop specifications for the use of XML standards to create legal documents and to transmit legal documents between an attorney, party or selfrepresented litigant and a court or other user of legal documents.
• LegalXML eContracts: markup of contract documents to enable the efficient creation, maintenance, management, exchange, and publication of contract documents and contract terms.
• LegalXML eNotary: an agreed set of technical requirements to govern selfproving
  electronic legal information.
• LegalXML Integrated Justice: XML standards for exchanging data among justice system branches and agencies.
• LegalXML Legislative Documents: XML standards for the markup of legislative
  documents and a system of simple citation capability for non-legislative documents (e.g. newspaper articles).This TC closed and reopened recently due to lack of interest and resources.
• LegalXML Online Dispute Resolution (OdrXML): XML standards for the markup of information and documents used in online dispute resolution systems.
• LegalXML Legal Transcripts: XML standards for the syntax to represent legal transcript documents either as stand-alone structured content or as part of other legal records.
• LegalXML Subscriber Data Handover Interface (SDHI): XML standards for the production of consistent Subscriber Data Handover Interface (SDHI), by telecommunication or Internet service providers, concerning a subscriber or communications identifier (e.g., a telephone number) in response to an XML structured request which includes, when necessary, authorization from a judicial, public safety, or law enforcement authority.

Lately, other Committes were created.

In 2013, the Technical Committes of LegalXLM are:

• Current TC List
• LegalDocumentML
• LegalRuleML
• LegalXML Court Filing
• LegalXML eContracts
• LegalXML eNotary
• LegalXML IntJustice
• LegalXML Lawful Intercept
• LegalXML Legislative
• LegalXML ODR
• LegalXML Transcripts

Unfortunately, many of these committees has not proposed any draft specifications yet. Some does not even have any published documents, others are drafting requirements. The best exception is the Electronic Court Filing TC, which developed the descendant of the early Court Filing documents, the current version is the LegalXML Electronic Court Filing 3.0 draft specification. The document defines procedures for court filing and document metadata, but does not include any document structure
description concerning a legal document.

Global Justice XML Data Model

All of the aforementioned documents are planned to use the following data model as building blocks: Global Justice XML Data Model (Global JXDM)4: XML standards that enable the justice and public safety community to effectively share information at all levels – laying the foundation for local, state, and national justice interoperability. It provides the semantics and structure of common data elements
and types required to exchange information within the justice and public safety communities.

OASIS

LegalXML joined OASIS (the Organization for Advancement of Structured Information Systems) in 2002. Much of the work done in LegalXML touches on the concerns of national organizations and associations outside OASIS. Such work is presented to those groups for consideration for their adoption as business and technical standards. Specifications from the Electronic Court Filing Technical Committee (ECFTC) are submitted for review and have been adopted by the Joint Technology Committee (JTC) of the Conference of State Court Administrators (COSCA) and
National Association for Court Management (NACM).

LegalXLM is, therefore, one of the Member Sections of the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards, a non-profit consortium “that drives the development, convergence and adoption of open standards for the global information society.

OASIS promotes industry consensus and produces worldwide standards for security, Cloud computing, SOA, Web services, the Smart Grid, electronic publishing, emergency management, and other areas. OASIS open standards offer the potential to lower cost, stimulate innovation, grow global markets, and protect the right of free choice of technology.

OASIS members broadly represent the marketplace of public and private sector technology leaders, users and influencers. The consortium has more than 5,000 participants representing over 600 organizations and individual members in more than 65 countries.

OASIS is distinguished by its transparent governance and operating procedures. Members themselves set the OASIS technical agenda, using a lightweight process expressly designed to promote industry consensus and unite disparate efforts. Completed work is ratified by open ballot. Governance is accountable and unrestricted. Officers of both the OASIS Board of Directors and Technical Advisory Board are chosen by democratic election to serve two-year terms. Consortium leadership is based on individual merit and is not tied to financial contribution, corporate standing, or special appointment.”(5)

Resources

Notes and References

1. LegalXLM website
2. Idem
3. Idem
4. Idem
5. Oasis website

See Also

• Semantic Web and Law
• Semantic Indexing and Law
• XML Standards for Legislation
• MetaLex
• SDU BWB
• LexDania
• NormeinRete
• AKOMA NTOSO
• CHLexML
• EnAct
• Legal RDF
• eLaw
• LAMS
• JSMS
• UKMF
• Estrella Project
• Legal Ontologies
• Artificial Intelligence and Law
• CELEX
• Free Access to Law Movement
• Legal Information Institute resources

Further Reading

• Arnold-Moore, T. (1997). Automatic generation of amendment legislation. In Proceedings of the International Conference of Artificial Intelligence and Law.
• Biagioli, C. and Francesconi, E. (2005). A semantics-based visual framework for planning a new bill. In Proceedings of the Jurix Conference: Legal Knowledge and Information Systems,
• Lupo, C. and Batini, C. (2003). A federative approach to laws access by citizens: The “NormeinRete” system. In Traunmuller, R., editor, Proceedings of Second International Conference Electronic Government (EGOV), pages 413-416. Springer-Verlag.