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GAZETTE
APRIL 1981
Legal
Information
Retrieval
Advertisements for Legal Information Retrieval Systems
abound — We are already urged to subscribe to Lexis or
Eurolex, while we are aware of proposals to establish a
National Law Library in the U.K.
But what is it all about? Do we really need to join?
What about Irish Law? Should we be doing something
about it?
The answers to some of the questions are easily given;
others are still awaited, but should not be too far off. The
functioning of a Legal Information Retrieval System
depends on the establishment of a legal data base, ideally
including all statute law and case law in that jurisdiction
and, most important perhaps from the Solicitors' point of
view, including what are known as "secondary
materials," such as textbooks, articles from legal journals
and sets of precedents. The present trend is to include
every word of the case law in the data base — projects
which have restricted themselves to headnotes appear to
be less favoured.
Establishing a legal data base by putting all this
material into the memory of a computer is a massive task,
even for a small jurisdiction, and it is interesting to note
that the world's most substantial data base, Lexis, was
established, not by a legal publishing house, but by a com-
puter firm Mead Data Systems. Their Lexis System
started by establishing a data base of U.S. Federal Law
and was targeted to include all U.S. State Case Law by
1981. To this has now been added U.K. Statute Law, the
All England Reports and the Weekly Law Reports. Its
principal competitor, Eurolex, a subsidiary of the
Thompson Publishing Group, has concentrated on
material originating in the E.E.C., but has expanded to
include some U.K. Reports, including the Weekly Law
Reports and, more interestingly, some secondary
materials. From the consumer's point of view, the
significant difference between the two systems, apart from
their different data bases, is that Lexis is a "dedicated"
system — which means that the computer terminal used to
access the information can only be used for that pat-
ticular purpose. Eurolex is an "integrated" system —
which means that the same computer terminal may be
used for accessing a firm's accounts, records or word
processing, as well as for accessing the Eurolex Data
Base.
The problem of establishing an Irish legal data base is
an unusual one. It is apparently not possible to separate
either Irish Statute Law or Irish Case Law from U.K.
Statute Law and Case Law; for this reason, the establish-
ment of a complete Irish legal data base would involve the
inclusion of a substantial amount of U.K. material. It
seems clear that duplication of this nature would be
foolish and studies are now in progress with a view to
ascertaining how best an Irish legal data base can be es-
tablished. The study is being carried out by the Depart-
ment of Library and Information Services and the Com-
puter Department of University College, Dublin.
While the subscription charges and charges for using
cither Lexis or Eurolex are not unreasonable, it must be
doubtful if many Irish legal firms would consider taking
out subscriptions. A development which could be of
considerable interest is one which has commenced on an
experimental basis in Belfast, under the aegis of the U.K.
National Law Library, known as a "mid-user" scheme.
In essence, a number of subscribers would share a single
subscription and have access to a centrally located com-
puter terminal and would pay for their individual use of
the terminal. If, as appears to be a likely outcome of the
present enquiries, it appears that the most economical
way to establish an Irish Legal Data Base would be as an
appendage to a U.K. Data Base, a "mid-user" system
might well have considerable attractions.
There is one step which should be taken urgently, in
order to ensure that the cost of establishing an Irish legal
data base does not continue to increase unnecessarily and
that is that the drafting and printing of our legislation,
from its inception, should be prepared in a computer —
compatible form, so that it may ultimately be fed directly
into a computer and not have to be laboriously retyped.
The necessary technology has been in existence for some
time, but the Stationery Office does not as yet appear to
have taken the necessary decision to utilise this
technology.
The Software Dilemma —
A Solution Ahead?
The increasing complexity of the office technology is in
inverse proportion to the ability of the consumer to
evaluate it. Independent consultants are few and far
between. The speed of development of the technology
renders the printed commentary obsolete soon after its
publication.
These are some of the factors which render the choice
of the new technology so difficult. Unlike most of our
major purchases, it is not just the physical equipment (the
hardware) that has to be carefully assessed. Indeed, apart
from the usual concern about service, the choice of hard-
ware is unlikely to give rise to many problems.
It is the software which gives most cause for concern.
For most consumers, the cost of having a special
programme written to meet their needs would be pro-
hibitive. The hardware manufacturers will have
programmes to suit the hardware, but not necessarily to
suit each customer's specific needs. Programmes de-
signed for use in Britain may not be appropriate for Irish
use. If the programme is not suitable, it may be very
expensive to alter it.
A special Law Society sub-committee is exploring two
possibilities
1. the commissioning of a special software programme
for Solicitors accounts which would meet the needs of
all but the largest offices and would be usable on all
but the cheapest machines on the Irish market, and
2. the adaptation of a programme now used by British
Solicitors to Irish requirements.
It is hoped that the Committee's recommendations will be
available in time for the computer seminar. •
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