ACTIVITIES :: eGovernment :: eParticipation preparatory action :: Projects
Projects funded under the 2006 eParticipation Workprogramme
SEAL (Smart Environment for Assisting the drafting and debating of Legislation)
Legislation drafting is a complex process that takes
place in a political and dynamic environment usually involving many
stakeholders. Since a new or adapted piece of law often is connected to existing
laws the drafters and other stakeholders should be aware of relationships
between the law under construction and those existing legal sources. Legal
drafting practice has learned that legal quality can benefit from the use of
specific legal drafting patterns.
In the SEAL project we will provide the stakeholders involved in legislation
drafting with a supporting environment that enables easy construction of legal
drafts using drafting patterns and creation of connections from and to existing
legal sources. The infrastructure will contain a repository with existing laws,
draft versions and amendments and offer easy to use access methods.
Collaboration between stakeholders will be supported by groupware facilities
such as automated signalling functions and routing of drafts and amendments.
With the SEAL supporting environment we will improve cooperation between members
of parliament and legislation drafters. The SEAL environment will be based upon
open standards and improve exchange between the European legislative processes
and national and municipal legislative processes. It will allow for citizen
consultation processes.
The project includes three parliaments. An initial working environment is
foreseen medio 2007. This working environment will be tested, refined and
implemented in cooperation with the parliaments and legislation drafters during
the project.
Project co-ordinator :
prof. dr. T.M. van Engers
Leibniz Center for Law, University of Amsterdam
vanengers@uva.nl