Proactive Law, an information issue.!?

This is an excerpt from the article "Proactive Law – and the Importance of Data and Information Resources", written by me for the University of Stockholm in 2005/2006.

Proactive Law is based on the notion of “do the right things first”. We should use computers to understand the mass of laws, rules and regulations, associated stipulations and dependencies.

Computers should also be used to understand my personal information that describes my needs and actions, and by combining the personal information with the current laws, be able to draw the best conclusions and provide me with recommendations, to “do the right things first”.

In a world where more and more functions will be handled by computers, Proactive Law will prove to be one of the best ways to enhance our quality of living. Proactive Law will introduce a new sense of justice among average citizens and build up a new trust in the rule of law.

Is this possible to do? This paper will address the problem area, and the opportunities we are facing. Proactive Law as it is presented here can naturally be done in less or even more advanced versions. A probable strategic development and implementation of Proactive Law might start with the current situation of managing paper and the need to turn it into something compatible with computer language, in accordance with the following changes:

1. Current laws, rules and regulations need to be cleaned up, quality-assured, digitized, simplified, translated and made available so average citizens can understand and act in accordance with the desired Legal Knowledge. This includes changes, where we will go from managing paper/documents to computer-interpreted rules and information objects.
2. Information on citizens needs to be integrated, quality-assured and managed. This will lead to a better understanding of the citizen’s current needs and activities, so authorities can support and aid with adapted services. This is a huge paradigm shift, which includes moving bits and pieces of data and information that is scattered around the government and integrating them into one comprehensive information resource.
3. Protecting citizens’ rights to privacy is essential for Proactive Law to become a success story. Instead of having numerous government organizations responsible for bits and pieces of data and information, which is a nightmare to manage, we should assign the overall ownership of his/her information to the individual citizen. Local municipalities would then assist and help citizens manage the integrated and quality-assured citizen information (see #2 above).
4. Absolute identification of physical and legal individuals is a fundamental pre-requisite in order to know which authority or person needs to be connected to which individual. Ensuring the identification allows us to entrust our tools such as information technologies and communication networks. This includes changes, where we will go from identification of computers and other equipment to identification of people.

So, what can be achieved if we now have access to legal knowledge, citizen information and we can handle personal integrity and security problems and we have identification of individuals? Let’s just browse through some future scenarios:

1. I am at my desk and through my computer I am connected to my friend Thomas. I don’t know his current pager number, phone number (home, hotel, work, etc., fax number, e-mail address, post address or mobile phone number, but I know his name and perhaps his personal-ID. Thomas can travel the globe and can assign his ID to a multitude of gadgets. As soon as he borrows a cell phone, his ID will be assigned to that number. In this manner, Thomas as a person will always be reached. If he is not attached to anything, then I can leave voice, text or video messages, that will be activated as soon as he attaches his ID to any communication gadget.
2. I have received notification from my new employer in Denmark that I am employed, and welcomed to start work on Monday 0900. Proactive Law systems will automatically update my CV with this new information, and they will guide the taxation authorities to update my tax-record and the rules for my IRS-report, like rules for deductible travel between Sweden-Denmark. Updated information will also be transmitted to my employer. The Social Security Agency will update its records and send information to Denmark that my Social Security will now be covered by the Danish Authorities. My Bank in Sweden is sending me a trusted e-mail, and asks if I would like to connect to my new employer, so salary can automatically be transferred.
3. I am writing a contract with an international supplier/contractor. During the process I am continually updated through the Proactive Law system on our corporate clauses and on international and national laws, rules and regulations, which will help me formulate the contract. The Proactive Law system guides me also through the maze of import rules, customs documentation, money transfer, accounting, etc.
4. I am a local chief for the Emergency Trauma Team, and I am guided by the Proactive Law system on how to receive reliable and trusted information on patients, their blood types, allergies, current medication or medical treatment, insurance coverage, language, next of kin and other information. Here the Proactive Law system will function as a security-portal, in order to abide by information security regulations to protect citizen’s individual integrity.
5. I’m going to buy a new car, and the regulated “paperwork” is managed through the Proactive Law systems. The national car-register will automatically be updated, and if I am buying a vehicle that is restricted in some way, then the appropriate “forms” will be managed. I can be connected to the local car dealer for follow-up services, and bank connections are handled.

To conclude: Information resources grow in importance and influence all areas and require multi-disciplinary support. The legal community is challenged with the possibilities of a “new renaissance” by being the driving force by changing the focus from IT to information, and should express the need to migrate the current legacy data- and information resources that enable Proactive Law services to support our citizens. The legal community should also be an advocate for an International Infrastructure for secure and trusted identification.

Remember – data and information is power, for those who can find/access, understand and make use of it. The legal community should also be concerned about how these new “resources” are managed and used. The quality of services and decisions are directly related to the quality of information.