The law as a dynamic interconnected system of states of affairs:
a legal top ontology
Jaap Hage and Bart Verheij
Abstract
In this paper, an abstract model of the law is presented that has three
primitives: states of affairs, events, and rules. The starting point of the
abstract model is that the law is a dynamic system of states of affairs
which are connected by means of rules and events. The abstract model can be
regarded as a top ontology of the law, that can be applied to legal
knowledge representation.
After an elaboration of the three primitives, the uses of the abstract
model are illustrated by the analysis of central topics of law. Then we
discuss heuristic guidelines for legal knowledge representation that are
suggested by the abstract model. The paper concludes with a comparison
with related work. The appendix contains a formalism for the abstract
model.
Publisher's page
Manuscript
Reference:
Hage, Jaap and Verheij, Bart (1999).
The law as a dynamic interconnected system of states of affairs: a legal
top ontology. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies,
Vol. 51, pp. 1043-1077.
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