Describe your idea:

1. Programming: create open source version of Tasmania’s system (http://www.frlii.org/spip.php?article67) enabling legislation to be encoded so citizens can always view up to date legislation online (newer stuff references what’s to be amended, added to or repealed, so pre-existing legislation’s automatically updated), get snapshots as at a particular previous date. Use it for draft legislation to track changes. Maybe even adapt it for EU legislation.

2. Campaign/PR: persuade government to fund conversion of existing legislation to that format and draft new legislation in it, budgeting to train drafters too. Just a fraction of what’s been put into failed NHS IT projects or the ID card project would suffice.

What problem does it solve?:

Citizens must obey laws, often on pain of jail. So we ought to be able to find out, easily & for free, what those laws are. But part of law X gets changed by Y, another part by Z etc. To know what X requires of us we need to (1) know that Y, Z etc changed X, (2) get hold of Y, Z etc, & (3) consolidate all changes to X – because the government only publishes X, Y & Z. That’s so time consuming only law publishers do it and only those with expensive law publisher subscriptions can know with any confidence what legislation really says. Even judges get caught out http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Crim/2008/2467.html#para64

It seems OPSI are on it (Statute Law Database) but that’s taking time. Unless they sort it out soon, could MySociety take this on? (I’d volunteer to help).

Type of idea: A brand new project