At your service, on the definition of services from sources of law

Abstract

In this paper, we describe our work towards a method for a formal analysis of law. The Dutch Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) is responsible for the implementation and execution of complex and ever changing regulations. Given the amount of cases to handle, the use of IT systems is a necessity. From 2007 the IND, being aware of their dependence on trustworthy methods to assure the correct implementation of law into their operations and services, have been working on developing an approach that enables them to 'translate' the legal rules expressed in natural language to specifications in computer executable form. In this paper, we will explain this approach and illustrate it with some concrete examples. The work is part of a larger innovation programme initiative that we collaboratively conduct within a virtual collaboration, called the 'Blue Chamber'.