TLDR: This research paper proposes a detailed mapping of Brazilian legal norms to Schema.org’s ‘Legislation’ and ‘LegislationObject’ vocabularies using JSON-LD and Linked Data principles. This approach, exemplified by the Normas.leg.br portal, aims to enhance the machine readability, interoperability, and discoverability of legal information, facilitating the creation of a global Legal Knowledge Graph and boosting transparency in government data.
In an era where transparency and public participation are paramount, the concept of Open Government Data (OGD) has emerged as a cornerstone for modern governance. OGD initiatives aim to make government-generated information freely accessible, fostering accountability, encouraging civic engagement, and spurring digital innovation. However, for legal information, simply making data available isn’t enough; it needs to be structured in a way that machines can easily understand and process.
This is where the field of Legal Tech comes into play. Legal Tech applies information technology to legal practice and research, offering powerful tools to manage, analyze, and comprehend vast amounts of legal data. A key component within this field is the Legal Knowledge Graph (LKG), which models legal concepts and their relationships as interconnected structures. The effectiveness of these graphs, however, hinges on having rich, interoperable data.
Focusing on Brazil, the Normas.leg.br portal, maintained by the Brazilian National Congress, exemplifies OGD principles by providing open access to federal legal norms. To enhance machine readability and ensure global interoperability, this project has embraced international standards like Schema.org and JSON-LD, aligning with the principles of Linked Data.
Structuring Legal Information for the Digital Age
A recent research paper, titled “A Schema.org Mapping for Brazilian Legal Norms: Toward Interoperable Legal Graphs and Open Government Data” by Hudson de Martim, proposes a unified approach to structuring Brazilian legislation. The core idea is to map Brazilian legal norms to the widely recognized Schema.org vocabulary, specifically using its ‘Legislation’ and ‘LegislationObject’ types, serialized in JSON-LD.
Think of Schema.org as a common language that helps search engines and other applications understand the content on a webpage. By using this shared vocabulary, legal data can be easily discovered, linked, and integrated into a global Legal Knowledge Graph. JSON-LD is the specific format used to embed this structured data directly into web content, making it both human-readable and machine-processable.
The paper details how a “Norm” – representing an entire legal instrument – is mapped to ‘sdo:Legislation’. This mapping includes essential properties such as unique identifiers (using the LexML standard’s URNs), the type of legal document (like a law or decree), its official name, publication dates, and even relationships to other legal norms, such as citations or mentions. This granular approach ensures that every piece of information about a legal norm is precisely defined.
Furthermore, the study addresses the digital publications or “manifestations” of these legal norms (e.g., HTML or PDF versions). These are mapped to ‘sdo:LegislationObject’. This distinction is crucial because a single legal norm can have multiple digital representations, perhaps in different languages or formats, or published at different times. The mapping allows for tracking these various manifestations, including their legal value (official or unofficial), language, and the organization responsible for their publication.
For instance, the paper provides examples using “Lei Complementar nº 123 de 14/12/2006” (Complementary Law No. 123 of 2006-12-14), illustrating how its properties, such as its unique identifier, type, name, and publication details, are structured according to Schema.org. It also shows how different digital versions, like an original HTML publication or an intermediate compilation, are represented as ‘LegislationObject’ instances, complete with their specific URLs and publication details.
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Benefits and the Path Forward
This structured schema significantly enhances the quality and interoperability of Brazilian legal data. By making legal information more accessible and understandable to both human users and automated systems, it directly supports the goals of open government, promoting transparency and empowering public participation. It also lays the groundwork for integrating Brazilian legal data into a broader, worldwide Legal Knowledge Graph, facilitating cross-border legal research and analysis.
The authors highlight that this work is a crucial step towards building a robust LKG. Future research will focus on structuring other entities within the legal framework, such as individual components of a legal text (articles, chapters), different versions of a norm over time, and legislative actions. This ongoing effort promises to unlock the full potential of legal information in the digital age, making it a truly interconnected and intelligent resource. For more in-depth information, you can refer to the full research paper here.
