COUNCIL RESOLUTION of 26 November 1974 on the automation of legal documentation

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Considering the conclusions which it reached on the automation of legal documentation at its meeting in Luxembourg on 3 June 1971;

Having taken note of the report submitted by the Commission, as a result of the abovementioned meeting, and of the working document drawn up by the Commission in collaboration with the services of the other institutions;

Aware of the increasing importance in the legal field of easily and rapidly accessible automated documentation in order to provide a better knowledge of Community and national law throughout the Community;

Anxious to contribute to the improvement of current methods of automating legal documentation;

Convinced that in order to facilitate and encourage exchanges of information it is necessary to develop cooperation between documentation centres, both between national centres and between the latter and the Community centre;

Convinced that, for the sake of efficiency, standard automation of documentation on Community law should be ensured by the Community institutions;

Whereas the automation of legal documentation should be in keeping with the Community policy on data processing defined in the Council resolution of 15 July 1974 (1) and should not give rise to delays in developments, particularly in the short run, of the Community system,

HAS AGREED AS FOLLOWS:

I

The automation of legal documentation, with regard both to the dissemination of Community law and to exchanges of legal information between Member States, is a matter of interest which may warrant both Community action and cooperation between national centres.

It is essential that work already undertaken by the institutions of the Community be continued and that the expansion of activities in other fields, as envisaged in the Commission report, be examined in the light of the work of the Working Party referred to in item III and of the proposals of the institutions.

II

The Council: - considers it necessary that the Community institutions jointly introduce an inter-institutional system of computerized documentation on Community law on a gradual basis, within the limits of the budgeting credits which shall be made available for this purpose;

- recommends that this documentation be kept at the disposal of Member States, under arrangements to be defined.

III

A Working Party, comprising representatives of the Member States and representatives of the Community institutions and of the Economic and Social Committee, shall be set up and instructed, on a proposal from the Commission and taking into account the work already done: (a) to examine the aims of the inter-institutional in relation to the national systems, in particular as regards the documentary field to be covered, the allocation of tasks, possible system link-up modes and the possibility of exchanging information already processed;

(b) to examine the technical aspects of the automation of legal documentation, in particular documentation methods and techniques, data processing equipment and techniques, the (1) OJ No C 86, 20.7.1974, p. 1, and OJ No C 91, 3.8.1974, p. 10. efficiency of the inter-institutional system and the compatibility between systems;

(c) to examine to what extent automation of legal documentation can facilitate the drawing up of indexes of Community law;

(d) to examine the legal aspects of the automation of legal documentation, in particular as regards the selection and objectivity of information and access to recorded data;

(e) to examine the arrangements for participation by the representatives of the Member States in the definition by the Community authorities of guidelines for the inter-institutional system;

(f) to examine a medium term development plan for the inter-institutional system submitted by the Commission, in particular the priorities and costs of the implementation of the various stages in order to define the guide lines for the development of a link-up between the inter-institutional system and the national systems, taking into account the results of the studies provided for in subparagraph (a);

(g) to take account as regards these developments of their consistency with the Community policy on data processing.

The Working Party will make its first report to the Permanent Representatives Committee within six months of its being set up.