Das österreichische Rechtsinformationssystem im Spannungsfeld von privatem und öffentlichem Interesse

Access to "public sector information" is a broadly discussed topic at the moment, as current publications like the "green book on public sector information in the information society" compiled by the European Union and a number of recent conferences dealing with this topic show. Legal information plays a special role within this field, as it is the prerequisite to obeying the law and to exercising one's rights and duties as a citizen. The paper deals with the Austrian legal information system "Rechtsinformationssystem" (RIS) as an example of public sector information and its commercial opponent "Rechtsdatenbank" (RDB). It uses data gathered by a literature review and interviews with experts. One member of a non-governmental organization, one representative of the federal agency providing the RIS, the head of a group representing the information industry's interests, a representative of the Austrian bar association and the managing director of the RDB, a Vienna-based company selling legal information, were consulted. The dissertation has sought arguments that support or vitiate the following hypotheses: 1. Non-restrictive access to legal information is necessary for legal and democratic/political reasons. 2. The existing Austrian legal information system "RIS" has to be complemented by legal advise supplied by qualified persons familiar with law and jurisdiction. 3. Free-of-charge basic information, provided by the government, and commercial added-value services can coexist – under certain circumstances. Supporting arguments for the hypotheses 1 and 2 could be found. The assessment of the third hypothesis depends on current market developments and cannot be undertaken yet.