Zum Inhalt

2023 | Buch

Essays on the Visualisation of Legal Informatics

insite
SUCHEN

Über dieses Buch

Sowohl Rechtswissenschaftler als auch Informatiker werden neugierig sein, wie die Kluft zwischen Recht und Informatik überbrückt werden kann. Das Gesetz, und auch die Rechtsprechung, beruht auf Sprache und ist hauptsächlich textlich. Jedes syntaktische System hat seine semantische Reichweite, und dasselbe gilt für Sprache, die im Gesetz ein hohes Maß an professioneller Präzision erreicht. Der Einsatz von Visualisierungen ist eine syntaktische Ergänzung und eröffnet ein neues Verständnis von Rechtsformen. Verstärkt wurde dieses Verständnis durch den Paradigmenwechsel vom Textrecht zur Rechtsinformatik, bei dem visuelle formale Notationen entscheidend sind. Die Autoren beschäftigen sich seit langem mit Visualisierungsansätzen und fassen sie hier zur Diskussion zusammen. In diesem Buch wird eine mehrphasige Transformation vom Rechtsbereich zum Computercode untersucht. Die Autoren betrachten die Strafverfolgung per Computer. Die Zielsicht ist, dass rechtliche Maschinen rechtliche Akteure sind, die in der Lage sind, institutionelle Fakten auszulösen. In der Visualisierung des Rechtswesens wird ein Ansatz namens Strukturelle Rechtsvisualisierung vorgestellt. Konkret ist die Visualisierung der rechtlichen Bedeutung mit tertium comparationis, dem dritten Teil des Vergleichs, verknüpft. In einem rechtlichen Dokumentationssystem wird die Vertretung einer Rechtsquelle mit mehreren Dokumenten als Granularitätsproblem betrachtet. Die Autoren schlagen vor, Gesetzesdokumente ex ante durch explizite logikorientierte Informationen in Form eines Mini-Thesaurus zu ergänzen. Im Gegensatz zu so genannten starken Beziehungen wie Synonymie, Antagonymie und Hypernymie / Hyponymie sollte man schwache Beziehungen in Betracht ziehen: (1) dialektische Beziehungen, ein Begriff der dialektischen Antithese; (2) Kontextbeziehungen und (3) metaphorische Beziehungen, was die Verwendung von Metaphern für Begriffe bedeutet. Die Kapitel verfolgen Themen wie die Unterscheidung zwischen Wissensvisualisierung und Wissensdarstellung, die Visualisierung von Hans Kelsens Reiner Rechtstheorie, die Trennung von Recht und Rechtswissenschaft, Rechtssubsumtion, Rechtsbeziehungen, Rechtsmaschinen, Verkapselung, Compliance, Transparenz, Standardfälle und harte Fälle.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter

Legal Visualisation

Frontmatter
Chapter 1. Introduction
Abstract
This book deals, on the one hand, with the communication technology of visualisation and, on the other hand, with the peculiarities of law as an object of visualisation. At present, there is no standard and comprehensive model of legal visualisation. A distinctive feature of the law in connection with its visualisation consists in the abstractness of legal texts. Legal texts reside in an abstract frame that is not linguistically structured. It is the task of legal visualisation, in addition to considering the types of legal situation, to make visible these pre-textual interdependencies of the legal terms (Lachmayer and Hoffmann, From legal categories towards legal ontologies, 2005).
Vytautas Cyras, Friedrich Lachmayer
Chapter 2. Situation Versus Case
Abstract
Situations and cases can be attributed with different methods of legal informatics. A ‘situation’ stands for a type of behaviour, and a case stands for an exemplar. Situations are governed primarily by the principle ‘roles, not rules’. We aim to base the distinctions on legal theory and to develop a theoretical framework.
Vytautas Cyras, Friedrich Lachmayer
Chapter 3. Visualisation as a Tertium Comparationis Within Multilingual Communities
Abstract
A concern of this chapter are applications for visual navigation in legal document systems. We propose the visualisation of meaning as a tertium comparationis to act in the European Union as a commonality for all 24 linguistic versions.
Vytautas Cyras, Friedrich Lachmayer
Chapter 4. Structural Legal Visualisation
Abstract
This chapter investigates an approach which is called structural legal visualisation (SLV, also sequential legal visualisation). It is about diagrammatical views which facilitate comprehending the meaning of legal content. Complexity reduction is a motive. An issue is the complexity of the entire legal system and layman’s limited abilities to understand legal institutions and the millions of documents. A sequence of views in SLV can be compared with a narrative. SLV has differences from information visualisation and knowledge visualisation. SLV relates to a scenario-centered graphical narrative rather than information display or user interfaces. Different pathways through the informational space are concerned. With respect to an object’s change or non-change, two variations of SLV are identified: dynamic SLV and static SLV. The latter is divided into two: incremental SLV and alternate focuses SLV.
Vytautas Cyras, Friedrich Lachmayer
Chapter 5. Distinguishing Between Knowledge Visualisation and Knowledge Representation in Legal Informatics
Abstract
The notions of knowledge visualisation (KV) and knowledge representation (KR) are distinguished, though both are knowledge management (KM) processes. There are two theses of this chapter. First, the human is the subject of knowledge visualisation, whereas the computer is the subject of knowledge representation. Hence, KV is viewed from a social sciences perspective, whereas KR is viewed from the perspective of computing and artificial intelligence. Second, knowledge level representation of law is at the core of legal informatics.
Vytautas Cyras, Friedrich Lachmayer
Chapter 6. Criteria for Multidimensional Visualisation in Law
Abstract
This chapter reviews visualisations in legal informatics by asking the question “How is multidimensionality exploited?”. We focus on the transition from traditional rule-based linear textual representation such as ‘if A then B’ to two- and three-dimensional ones and films. A methodology of visualisation with the thought pattern of tertium comparationis can be attributed to Arthur Kaufmann. A tertium visualisation aims at a mental bridge between different languages. We explore how visuals are constructed and what types can be found here.
Vytautas Cyras, Friedrich Lachmayer

On Legal Theory

Frontmatter
Chapter 7. Is and Ought
Abstract
We will use a visualisation pattern that is composed of horizontal and vertical stages. The two stages depict Hans Kelsen’s categorical distinction between the legal concepts of Is and Ought. The irreducible Is–Ought duality corresponds to a very old mythical and religious duality between Earth and Heaven; in other words, nature and spirit.
Vytautas Cyras, Friedrich Lachmayer
Chapter 8. Visualisation of Hans Kelsen’s Pure Theory of Law
Abstract
Hans Kelsen’s Pure Theory of Law is among the most prominent and influential legal theories. Kelsen’s book (1967) contains neither logical notation nor pictures, only text. In spite of this, our impression is that Kelsen himself had a very clear imagination. We make an attempt to visualise his theoretical models because it is important for legal informatics. Explicit visualisations of the structures of law and their theoretical representations are significant for the development of legal ontologies. Visuals also contribute to legal education and an understanding of the law that is expressed in a non-textual mode. In particular, the legal machinery has a non-textual effect in legal situations.
Vytautas Cyras, Friedrich Lachmayer
Chapter 9. From Kelsen’s PTL to Yoshino’s Logical Jurisprudence
Abstract
Hajime Yoshino’s Logical Jurisprudence (LJ) aims for a logic-based systematisation in the legal domain. Legal reasoning and systematisation are its focus. Inevitably, embracing law as a whole brings us to Kelsen’s Pure Theory of Law. We single out elements in PTL and LJ that function as parallels. The separation of law and legal science is also an issue. The notions of legal validity and scientific truth are differentiated. The thesis of the separation of law and legal science says that legal validity is determined by law and not by legal science. Analogically, the truth of scientific statements is determined by legal science and not by law. The question of whether or not a norm exists does not need legal science. Law and legal science are autonomous systems, although they are related. Both have their institutional meanings, which are called, respectively, legal institutional meaning and scientific institutional meaning.
Vytautas Cyras, Friedrich Lachmayer
Chapter 10. Semiotic Aspects of Law and Legal Science
Abstract
This chapter discusses the notion of legal meaning from the point of view of semiotics. Logic can be applied to the meta-level of law, and offers instruments for formal structuring in both law and legal science. From the perspective of a meta-level or a meta-meta-level, there are, however, other approaches that offer means for giving structure. These include semiotics, which is typically divided into syntax, semantics and pragmatics.
Vytautas Cyras, Friedrich Lachmayer
Chapter 11. Content Meaning and Institutional Meaning of a Legal Act
Abstract
We distinguish two entities: an act and its legal meaning. We treat the legal meaning (henceforth institutional meaning) as an abstract objective entity. In this chapter, this entity is also viewed from an information systems perspective. Representing the institutional meaning in computers (legal machines) is a research question for future. We consider operations that strengthen or lessen the institutional meaning. Our idea is to link institutional meaning (which appears in Ought) with its representation (which appears inspiepr146 Is). Suppose a process is performed to modify the meaning of a legal act (including its content and its institutional meaning). Our idea is to link the process with events (institutional facts) which lead to this modification. Thus the modification in Ought is related with the modification of representation in Is. In this way we relate the modification in Ought with events in Is but do not reduce Ought to Is.
Vytautas Cyras, Friedrich Lachmayer

Legal Norm

Frontmatter
Chapter 12. Extended Legal Thesaurus: Legal Terms as a Modally Indifferent Substrate
Abstract
We hold that the modes of obligation, in the same way as legal terms, constitute the subject matter of a legal thesaurus. Moreover, we propose to consider three more relations. These are three types of weak relations: dialectical relations, context relations and metaphorical relations. They augment the five types of strong logical relations of synonymy, semi-synonymy, antonymy, hypernymy/hyponymy and thematic relations. (A hyponym is a word or phrase whose semantic field is included within that of another word, its hypernym. For example, there is the hyponymic relationship between red and colour (see Wikipedia, https://​en.​wikipedia.​org/​wiki/​Hyponymy_​and_​hypernymy).) We begin with combinations of ought modes, which result in obligation, permission, liberty and vetum. Then we explore the types of norms by combining structural parts such as condition, ought, which includes subject, modus, action, and object, and also purpose (telos).
Vytautas Cyras, Friedrich Lachmayer
Chapter 13. Normative Resultants
Abstract
This chapter is devoted to the concept of normative resultants of rules. Two concepts—unified status (einheitlicher Status) and summary status (zusammenfassender Status)—are explored. Here we follow the theory of norms and the concept of normative resultants (normative Resultanten) (see Lachmayer, Grundzüge einer Normentheorie: Zur Struktur der Normen dargestellt am Beispiel des Rechtes, 1977, pp. 88–92). In summary, this chapter concerns structuring of legal semantics, in particular, duties and obligations.
Vytautas Cyras, Friedrich Lachmayer
Chapter 14. Legal Frameworks of Three-Dimensional Virtual Worlds
Abstract
In this chapter, we reflect on constructing legal frameworks which affect computer applications which are called three-dimensional online virtual worlds. The normative regulation of avatars is concerned. Non-game virtual worlds such as Second Life, developed by Linden Lab (https://secondlife.com/ ), are in the primary focus. About ‘serious’ virtual worlds—opposed to leisure-based—see a scoping study by Sara de Freitas (Serious virtual worlds: a scoping study. The Serious Games Institute, Coventry University Enterprises, JISC, 2008).
Vytautas Cyras, Friedrich Lachmayer
Chapter 15. Legal Taboos
Abstract
We propose to formalise a taboo as a prohibition on speaking (in general, on informing). Three levels of norms are distinguished. First are basic prohibitions, Forbidden X. These are norms which prohibit basic actions, Norm(¬X). Second-level norms comprise primary taboos which prohibit information about facts or fakes, Norm(¬Inf(X)), but permit them to happen. Third-level norms comprise meta-taboos, which prohibit information that a primary taboo exists, Norm(¬Inf(Norm(¬Inf(X)))). The message also is that a taboo on the essential causes A of an effect E can be officially camouflaged with a fake relationship between certain facts B and E.
Vytautas Cyras, Friedrich Lachmayer

Text–Document

Frontmatter
Chapter 16. Dual Textuality of Law
Abstract
This chapter addresses the textual granularity of representation of law. Thus, both law and legal documentation are concerned. The word granularity questions what the smallest entity is. Furthermore, two standpoints are concerned—law and legal informatics—and building a bridge between these two realms is discussed.
Vytautas Cyras, Friedrich Lachmayer
Chapter 17. Legal Norms and Legal Institutions as a Challenge for Legal Informatics
Abstract
Although legal informatics is on the periphery of jurisprudence, it can make a significant impact on the centre in respect of legal dogmatics. We believe that the impact from legal informatics can be reached through situational legal visualisation and situational terms, for example, by correcting the boundaries of legal terms. The latter is the subject matter of legal theory and hence contributes to the centre of jurisprudence.
This chapter makes analogy between Begriffsjurisprudenz (jurisprudence of concepts) in the nineteenth century and legal ontologies of the present, and stresses a situational treatment of law in addition to a normative one. Therefore both situational contents and institutional contents are important when representing legal semantics within legal informatics. However, the differences between legal norms, texts and documents have to be taken into account. Legal norms are interpretative products whereas legal documents are tangible products and are represented according to documentary rules. The themes of granularity and metadata remain aside from the norm–institution relationship but emerge in the law–legal informatics relationship. The granularity question, “What is the smallest entity?”, can have different answers in legal documentation: the whole text of a law, an article, a paragraph, a sentence, a word (legal term) or even a symbol.
Vytautas Cyras, Friedrich Lachmayer
Chapter 18. Different Views to Legal Information Systems: Separate Legal Meanings and Legal Sublevels
Abstract
This chapter is concerned with the legal system and legal documentation systems, as well as their interconnectedness and introduces the idea of legal sublevels. Examples of legal sublevels are legal terms, annotations, commentaries, etc. A sublevel is treated as a representation level of the legal domain. In terms of software engineering, a sublevel can be defined as a level of infrastructural services for several domains. A key question is “What are the sublevels in law and legal informatics?”. In this way, an exploratory research on the operational treatment of legal meaning is presented. The research question is based on how the legal meaning of a legal act should be represented. Different legal meanings are related to separate representations and various stakeholders view the act differently. We hold that views are related with representations. Thus different contents are revealed.
Vytautas Cyras, Friedrich Lachmayer
Chapter 19. Logic-Oriented Methods for Structuring in the Context of Lawmaking
Abstract
With the transition from a text culture to a machine culture, the language changes, too. The language of the machine culture is the formal logic that is adequate for the machine, but not in the same way for people in their everyday language usage. In the mainstream of greater rationalisation, logic is increasingly used in legislation, especially allowing only correct interpretations. However, logic is not the only instrument which can be used to shape and improve legislative rationality. In the neighbourhood of logic there are further methods which can find application in structuring legislative texts. We propose to supplement legislative documents ex ante with explicit logic-oriented information which is relevant to ontologies and taxonomies. This information in a form of a mini-thesaurus can already be used in ex ante legislative procedure, and should not be added only in the ex post analysis of legal documentation.
Vytautas Cyras, Friedrich Lachmayer

Subsumption. Legal Relations

Frontmatter
Chapter 20. Legal Subsumption
Abstract
A novelty in this chapter is that legal subsumption is divided into two steps: cognitive (also known as factual or terminological) subsumption and normative subsumption. Subsumption refers to the application of the law, or more precisely, the application of a norm to a fact, thus concluding the legal qualification.
Vytautas Cyras, Friedrich Lachmayer
Chapter 21. Formalising Legal Relations
Abstract
This chapter concerns arbitrary relations in law and extends beyond concrete types of legal relations. There is no established ontology of relations in the legal domain, although ontologies of legal concepts are discussed in literature. Different legal terms, such as duty, contract, debt, husband, etc. can be viewed as relations. However, on the meta-level, there is no model of relation types in law.
Vytautas Cyras, Friedrich Lachmayer
Chapter 22. Tertium Comparationis in Law: Variations on Arthur Kaufmann’s Theme
Abstract
This chapter tackles the following types of relations: (a) direct relation; (b) indirect relation through tertium comparationis (see Chap. 3 in this volume); (c) subsumption, that is, a relation between fact and the normative condition; and (d) amplitude relation. We follow Arthur Kaufmann’s assertion that relations in law can be managed similarly to substances (see Lachmayer, Verantwortetes Recht: Die Rechtsphilosophie Arthur Kaufmanns. Archiv für Rechts- und Sozialphilosophie – Beihefte (ARSP-B), Band 100, 2005). In the end, an ontology of legal relations is approached. Therefore legal relations are classified according to Is–Ought combinations.
Vytautas Cyras, Friedrich Lachmayer

Legal Machines and Compliance

Frontmatter
Chapter 23. Multisensory Legal Machines and Production of Legal Acts
Abstract
A legal machine is defined as a machine in a system whose actions are legally significant and draw legal consequences. Simple examples are traffic lights and vending machines. Complicated examples are computer-based information systems in organisations, workflows for proceedings that use forms, and machines that replace officials in organisations. This chapter explores the creation of institutional facts by machines and multimodal communication of legal content to humans. Machines similarly as humans can be imposed status-functions of legal actors. Thus the concept of iustitia distributiva and societal distribution is enhanced. The thesis is that a machine can replace an organ, an office (Latin officium) or an executive agency in an organisation.
Vytautas Cyras, Friedrich Lachmayer
Chapter 24. Formulating the Compliance Problem
Abstract
We start with the Klaus Julisch’s (Security compliance: the next frontier in security research. In: Proceedings of the 2008 workshop on new security paradigms, NSPW’08. ACM, New York, pp 71–74, 2008) IT compliance problem definition and make an attempt to formulate the enterprise architecture (EA) compliance problem. The challenging issues comprise the complexity of the law phenomenon, compliance frameworks and methodologies to check EA for non-compliance with laws and regulations. We hold that a compliance methodology should take into account ‘shared’ relevant laws and a requirements engineering framework. We reflect mainly on the view of enterprise architects on legal informatics and a vision driven approach on requirements elicitation in the context of enterprise engineering, which was proposed by Albertas Čaplinskas (Informatica 20(3):343–368, 2009). Then we raise a question of placing the compliance problem into the Bonazzi–Hussami–Pigneur regulation and IT alignment framework (Information systems: people, organizations, institutions, and technologies. Physica-Verlag HD, pp 391–398, 2009).
Vytautas Cyras, Friedrich Lachmayer
Chapter 25. Software Transparency for Design of Legal Machines
Abstract
This chapter further investigates compliance. Software transparency is in the focus. The context is the changeover from a text culture to a machine culture in law. The target is the explainable legal machine. We remark that equal access to e-procedures does not guarantee justice. We formulate two requirements for legal machines: (1) the software architecture must be accessible, and (2) the software must provide legal protection. In the engineering phase for these requirements, the legal requirements must flow down to lower-level specifications.
Vytautas Cyras, Friedrich Lachmayer

Human Digitalities

Frontmatter
Chapter 26. Towards Human Digitalities
Abstract
A new term human digitalities is introduced intentionally to contrast with the well-established term digital humanities. The research subject of human digitalities is the machine, which is required to act in conformance with the law. Human digitalities are viewed in the context of the evolution from plants to animals to humans to machines. We can see an expansion and transfer of standards: digital standards for humanities and human standards for digitalities.
Vytautas Cyras, Friedrich Lachmayer
Chapter 27. Multiphase Transformation: From Legal Text to Program
Abstract
This chapter explores the building of a multibridge between legal texts and their representations in computers. We hold that in the transformation from a legal text to the formalisation of that legal text, the path connecting the legal text to the computer implementation has intermediate steps. Formalising legal meanings reveals additional goals and makes them explicit. The thesis is that symbolisation and visualisation precede formalisation on the way to the representation of legal knowledge. Specifically, the open texture of the law can be decreased. Hence, visualisation serves as a syntactic bridge to technology.
Vytautas Cyras, Friedrich Lachmayer

Argumentation

Frontmatter
Chapter 28. Three Layers of Legal Argumentation: Content, Speech Act, and Role
Abstract
This chapter distinguishes the three layers in legal argumentation. First, the content layer has the following elements: two points of view (A and not A), the parties, pro- and counter-arguments, and the goal (to establish the winner). This layer attracts the attention of artificial intelligence and law researchers who model legal reasoning within general theories of argumentation. The second layer—speech acts—concerns the quality of legal acts. Its elements are the players, a discourse authority, discourse rules, and the goal (to decide upon the validity of speech acts). The third layer—roles—concerns the roles of participants. Its elements are the parties and the rivalry between them. A participant can appear in the role, and would be classified as a non-player, which forbids him to act as a player. Hence, we distinguish between three kinds of issues which are connected with argumentation in law. They are based on the content, speech act validity, and player roles, respectively. Legal argument can be concerned with different concepts, for example, values, teleological structures, and theories. Another dimension distinguishes between Is and Ought, where Is refers to facts and Ought refers to norms.
Vytautas Cyras, Friedrich Lachmayer
Chapter 29. Transparent Complexity by Goals
Abstract
Making explicit the teleological structure of e-government can contribute to its understanding and reduce its complexity. E-government can be viewed from distinct perspectives—those of authorities and citizens, and also from conception and construction. This view of administrative and legal informatics requires paradigmatic changes in the development of e-government. We think that currently dominant normative thinking is not enough to solve specific problems of e-government. Here, a new concept of legal teleology is required. We propose to supplement norms, and even structural parts of a whole legal system, with teleological relations. This will form a separate structural layer of legal-knowledge representation and metadata of legal documents. Proposed notation A teB contains three elements: a basic element A, a target element B, and a teleological relation te→.
Vytautas Cyras, Friedrich Lachmayer
Chapter 30. Standard Cases, Hard Cases, Emergency Cases and Scurrile Cases in Jurisprudence
Abstract
This chapter explores the characterisation of four types of cases. The context is solving cases by computers. Standard cases correspond to the German Normfall, which was introduced by Fritjof Haft. Standard cases (also clear cases) are important in automated form proceedings and are cases that can be made subject to legal machines. A hard case needs a court decision and cannot be solved by computers. Emergency cases have recently been actively discussed. They appear in unexpected and exceptional situations in which there cannot be a differentiated ex post assessment by the authorities, but there must be a rapid decision by the actors themselves in a time-critical situation. Scurrile cases (German skurrile Fälle, Latin adj. scurrilis, noun scurra—clown, buffoon; he can also cure) mean bizarre ones and no connotation of rude or indecent. Scurrile cases can be used for learning purposes. Scurrile cases, which are examples of hypothetical cases, can be used in legal argumentation according to the doctrine of precedent.
Vytautas Cyras, Friedrich Lachmayer
Metadaten
Titel
Essays on the Visualisation of Legal Informatics
verfasst von
Vytautas Cyras
Friedrich Lachmayer
Copyright-Jahr
2023
Electronic ISBN
978-3-031-27957-7
Print ISBN
978-3-031-27956-0
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-27957-7