V Legislative XML Workshop 14-16 June 2006 San Domenico di Fiesole (Florence - Italy)

1. Provisions modifying provisions, and provisions calling for subsequent regulatory acts:a training course organized by the Chamber of Deputies of Italy V Legislative XML Workshop14-16 June 2006 San Domenico di Fiesole (Florence - Italy) Giada ALTOMARE, Emiliana BASSOLINO, Francesco CARELLA, Tiziana FEDERICI, Francesco FRATINI, Valentina MONNIS,Enrico SETA

2. “Project 107”: 1st criticality Laws and decrees issued by the Italian government after Italy’s unification in 1861 70 / 80,000of which 22,000 in force (estimate) V Legislative XML Workshop 2006

3. “Project 107”: 2nd criticality Which provisions are actually “in force” ? Italian Legal System: A General Rule Art. 15 (Civil Code preliminary provisions) A law can be repealed only by a subsequent law by means of an explicit statement, because of incompatibility, or when the new law regulates a subject as a whole V Legislative XML Workshop 2006

4. Repeal: 3 hypothesis • Explicit statement • Incompatibility • Reorganization of the subject as a whole V Legislative XML Workshop 2006

5. ”Project 107”: progress report • 2002: Establishment of the governing bodies (expression of the 3 institutions responsible for the project) • 2004 adoption of the XML standards (created within the framework of the Norme in rete project) • 2004: agreement with the Court of Cassation • 2005: start of the creation of the DB (14thParliament, 2001- ongoing) • December 2006: expected completion of the DB of the 14th Parliament and opening of the website • 2007: start of the retrospective conversion of the historical stock of Italian legislation V Legislative XML Workshop 2006

6. Legal Advisory Committee: its tasks To issue prescriptions regarding: • How to identify acts which have to be included in the DB (regulatory acts) • When the modifications to (or repealing of) previous provisions have to be reported • How acts and individual provisions have to be annotated • What level of compliance of the electronic texts with the original printed versions has to be assured • The way in which data are presented on the website • If the XML data model (DTDs) already issued (“Norme in rete” project) are suitable for the whole historical stock of Italian laws V Legislative XML Workshop 2006

7. When the modifications to (or repealing of) previous provisions have to be reported • Only when they are explicit • At all times • According to the guidelines of the Legal Advisory Committee V Legislative XML Workshop 2006

8. The training course organized by the Chamber of Deputies • Period: January-April 2006 • Participants: 11 having a degree in Law, Political Science or Sociology • Supervision: 6 officials of the Chamber of deputies and the 2 Chairs of the LAC • Object of the analysis: 4 Italian laws • General GOAL: • to identify provisions modifying provisions • to classify modifications according to a given table • Practical GOAL: • to identify problems which will be tackled by the LAC when establishing guidelines regarding provisions modifying provisions • to sum up these problems in a report addressed to the LAC V Legislative XML Workshop 2006

9. Typologiesofmodifications • Explicit • Partly explicit • IMPLICIT V Legislative XML Workshop 2006

10. How should the implicit modifications be handled ? • 1° step: they have to be identified • 2° step: the modified provision has to be identified • 3° step: the modified provision has to be annotated, according to “annotation models” • 4° step: the “regulatory sequence” has to be reconstructed V Legislative XML Workshop 2006

11. Classificationof implicitmodifications • High degree of certainty about the modified provision and the “regulatory sequence” • Uncertainty about the modified provision • Uncertainty about the “regulatory sequence” • High uncertainty about the modified provision and the “regulatory sequence” (need for experts’ intervention) V Legislative XML Workshop 2006

12. A proposal Building upon the 58 cases of provisions modifying provisions quoted and classified in the final report of the course, the LAC could distinguish two categories: • Implicit modifications which have to be pointed out in the public information system, by means of annotations • Implicit modifications whose mapping and annotation are not public (accessible only by the institutional bodies entrusted with “regulatory reorganization”) V Legislative XML Workshop 2006

13. Provisions calling for subsequent acts Very often in the Italian regulatory system, a “primary” provision calls for a subsequent act (subordinate legislation), without which the primary provision cannot be implemented MARK-UP OF THESE PROVISIONS: THE GOAL To link each provision calling for a subsequent act to the act itself (as it is issued) V Legislative XML Workshop 2006

14. Mark-up provisions c. for s. a. MAIN BENEFIT To provide the actual legislation “in force” (the real rules that the citizens have to be aware of) MAIN CRITICALITIES • Difficulties in identifying these provisions (i.e. distinguishing them from rules establishing competencies) • Difficulties in laying down a formal rule (name of the act, linguistic elements, etc.) that allows to select the provisions that have to be marked V Legislative XML Workshop 2006

15. Provisions modifying provisions, and provisions calling for subsequent regulatory actsTHANK YOU V Legislative XML Workshop14-16 June 2006 San Domenico di Fiesole (Florence - Italy) Giada ALTOMAREgiada.altomare@infrastrutturetrasporti.it Emiliana BASSOLINOemilianabassolino@yahoo.it Francesco CARELLAfranzcarel@yahoo.it Tiziana FEDERICIgiannifederici1@virgilio.it Francesco FRATINIf.fratini2@virgilio.it Valentina MONNISvalemonnis@yahoo.it Enrico SETAseta_e@camera.it