Andrew Stranieri
ABSTRACT
The majority of legal knowledge based systems (LKBS) in commercial use are rule based and target domains of law characterized by large and complex statutes where modelling discretion is not a central concern. Furthermore, to date, few LKBS execute on the World Wide Web. Despite this, LKBS designed for a web environment can make law more universally accessible and transparent. Tools required to facilitate the development of web based systems include a web based expert system shell, conceptual tools that allow for the identification of appropriate domains for web implementation, modeling tools for discretionary domains and architectures for virtual discourse. We present a shell called WebShell that uses two knowledge modelling techniques; decision trees for procedural type tasks and argument trees for tasks that are more discretionary. Rather than translate decision tree knowledge into rules for a conventional inference engine, we map the decision trees into sets we call sequence transition networks. These sets can readily be stored in relational database format in a way that simplifies the inference engine design. Although WebShell facilitates the deployment of LKBS in a web environment, it does not encourage negotiation and virtual discourse. An argumentation shell program, Argument Developer is presented that encourages participants in a virtual discursive community to understand each other's perspectives and reach decisions by consensus.
- 1.Dixon, A., and Self, L., 1994. Copyright protection for the Information Superhighway. In Firth, A., Lane, S and Smythe, Y. (Eds) 1998. Readings in Intellectual Property. A selection of Articles from EIPR and Ent. L. R. Sweet and Maxwell. London.Google Scholar
- 2.Johnson, P. and Mead, D. 1991. Legislative knowledge base systems for public administration-Some practical issues. In the Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Law, 108-117, Oxford: ACM Press. Google ScholarDigital Library
- 3.Matthijssen, L. J., 1999. Interfacing between lawyers and computers. An architecture for knowledge based interfaces to legal databases. Kluwer Law International. The Netherlands. Google ScholarDigital Library
- 4.Richter, K., K., Chicola, J, M., 1999. Digital Rights for Intellectual Property Protection. Proceedings of the IASTED International Conference. Law and Technology (LawTech'99). ACTA Press. pp27-31.Google Scholar
- 5.Softlaw 2000. http://www.softlaw.com.auGoogle Scholar
- 6.Stallman R. 1994 Why Software Should Not Have Owners, at http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/why-free.htmlGoogle Scholar
- 7.Stefik M. 1997 'Shifting The Possible: How Trusted Systems And Digital Property Rights Challenge Us To Rethink Digital Publishing', Berkeley Technology Law Journal, 12, 1 (Spring 1997.Google Scholar
- 8.Stranieri, A., 1999. Automating Legal Reasoning in Discretionary Domains. PhD Thesis. LaTrobe University. Victoria. Australia.Google Scholar
- 9.Stranieri, A., Gawler, M. and Zeleznikow, J. 1994a. Toulmin structures as a higher level abstraction for hybrid reasoning. In the Proceedings of the Seventh Australian Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence AI'94. University of New England. Armidale, Australia : 203-210.Google Scholar
- 10.Stranieri, A., Massey, P. and Zeleznikow, J. 1994b. Inferencing with legal knowledge represented as diagrams, in Williams A.W.F (ed) Poster Proceedings of the Seventh Australian Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence AI'94. University of New England. Armidale, Australia 25- 32.Google Scholar
- 11.Stranieri, A., Zeleznikow, J., Gawler, M. and Lewis, B. 1999. A hybrid-neural approach to the automation of legal reasoning in the discretionary domain of family law in Australia. Artificial Intelligence and Law 7(2-3):153-183.Google ScholarDigital Library
- 12.Stranieri, A., and Zeleznikow, J., 1999. The evaluation of legal knowledge based systems. Seventh International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Law. ICAIL'99 ACM Press. Pp 18-24. Google ScholarDigital Library
- 13.Stranieri, A., and Zeleznikow, J. 1999. A survey of argumentation structures for intelligent decision support. in Burstein, R. (Ed) Proceedings of International Society for Decision Support Systems Fifth International Conference ISDSS'99. Monash University, Melbourne.Google Scholar
- 14.Stranieri, A., Zeleznikow, J., and Yearwood, J., 2001. Argumentation structures that integrate dialectical with monolectical reasoning. Technical Report. Department of Computer Science and Computer Engineering. La Trobe University. (http://www.cs.latrobe.edu.au/research/dbc/)Google Scholar
- 15.Stranieri, A. and Zeleznikow, J. 2001. Copyright regulation in cyber-space: the case for a knowledge based approach. To appear in Information and Communications Technology LawGoogle Scholar
- 16.Toulmin, S. 1958. The Uses of Argument. Cambridge University Press. CambridgeGoogle Scholar
- 17.Waismann, F., 1951. Verifiability. (in) Flew, A (Ed). Logic and Language. Blackwell.Google Scholar
- 18.Yearwood, J., and Stranieri, A., 1999. The integration of retrieval, reasoning and drafting for refugee law: a third generation legal knowledge based system Seventh International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Law. ICAIL'99 ACM Press. Pp 117-137 Google ScholarDigital Library
- 19.Yearwood, J., Stranieri, A., and Anjaria, C. 1999. The use of argumentation to assist in the generation of legal documents. ADCS'99 Fourth Australasian Document Computing Symposium Southern Cross University Press, NSW, Australia.Google Scholar
- 20.Yearwood, J., and Stranieri, A., 2000. An argumentation shell for knowledge based systems. Proceedings of IASTED International conference on Law and Technology. pp105-111.Google Scholar
- 21.Zeleznikow, J. 2000. Building Judicial Decision Support Systems in Discretionary Legal Domains. International Review of Computers, Law and Information Technology 14(3): 341-356.Google ScholarCross Ref
- 22.Zeleznikow, J. and Stranieri, A. 1995. The Split Up system: Integrating neural networks and rule based reasoning in the legal domain. Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on Artificial Intelligence & Law. ICAIL'95. ACM Press. New York. pp185-194. Google ScholarDigital Library
- 23.Zeleznikow, J. and Stranieri, A. 1997. Knowledge Discovery in the Split-Up Project. Proceedings of Sixth International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Law, ACM: 89-97. Google ScholarDigital Library
Index Terms
- Tools for World Wide Web based legal decision support systems
Recommendations
World wide web site summarization
Summaries of Web sites help Web users get an idea of the site contents without having to spend time browsing the sites. Currently, manually constructed summaries of Web sites by volunteer experts are available, such as the DMOZ Open Directory Project. ...
Comments