Computer technology does not exclude legal profession? Really? True enough Computer technology, specifically computer database services is by far the most important, useful, and most comprehensive computer information retrieval service for legal practitioners available all around the world. The Woolf report on Access to Justice has placed the role of information technology high on the agenda of modification of the civil justice structure. Moreover, a new line of solicitors and barristers brought up in the age of the Internet will bring its knowledge of technology into solicitors' office and barristers' chambers.
The legal databases, which have been developed, fall into two main groups. First, information retrieval systems which when fed appropriate search terms by the user, will locate information stored in the computer's memory. These information retrieval systems are essentially law libraries stored on a computer system. The user calls up the requested new information, which he or she then proceeds to analyse and apply. On the contrary, more sophisticated computer programmes, known as 'expert systems', enable the computer itself to apply information to a given set of facts and produce some sort of 'resolution', for example, possible answers to a legal problem. In the field of law, such expert system is still in their infancy.
Major information retrieval systems are available for legal use, in particular, LEXIS, a general legal database including UK, EC, international and foreign law, and the JUSTIS services including JUSTIS CELEX an exclusively EC database. The volume of legal information available via the Internet has increased tremendously over the past few years, and is now considerable and ever expanding. However, the Internet is not legal specific, therefore, any searches on any subject of interests could give different results, most of the time, not necessarily relevant to the legal matters. Nonetheless, computer technology is indeed a very powerful tool containing major valuable informations. |
