What is LegalRuleML?
LegalRuleML is an OASIS standard for representing the rules contained in legal and regulatory texts in a machine-readable form. It extends RuleML with features legal rules need: deontic modalities such as obligation, permission and prohibition, defeasible reasoning for exceptions and conflicts, temporal validity, jurisdiction, alternative interpretations, and references to the source provisions. It is a standard for the rules; Akoma Ntoso is the companion OASIS standard for the documents.
What LegalRuleML represents
- Norms with deontic modalities: obligations, permissions, prohibitions and rights.
- Defeasibility: which rule prevails when rules conflict, and how exceptions override defaults.
- Temporal information: when a rule is in force, applies or was modified.
- Jurisdiction and authority: where a rule applies and who issued it.
- Interpretations: alternative readings of the same provision, each recorded separately.
- Legal sources: references from each rule to the text it formalises.
LegalRuleML and Akoma Ntoso together
Akoma Ntoso structures the document: articles, paragraphs, definitions and identifiers. LegalRuleML represents the rules the document contains and points back to those identifiers. Together they give a machine-readable source and a machine-readable rule layer that remain connected, which is the foundation of interoperable regulatory data.
How NormLogic uses LegalRuleML
NormLogic’s internal regulatory knowledge model is designed for interoperability with LegalRuleML and Akoma Ntoso, so rules and sources can be exchanged with other systems and organisations rather than locked into a proprietary format. Where execution needs more than the standard provides, NormLogic uses domain-specific languages while preserving the mapping back to the standard representation and to the source provision.
Frequently asked questions
Is LegalRuleML executable?
LegalRuleML is a representation standard. Executing it requires a reasoner or a translation to an execution language. NormLogic treats it as an interchange and documentation format and executes rules through its own validated representations, keeping the mapping between them.
Who maintains LegalRuleML?
The OASIS LegalRuleML Technical Committee, which also relates to the OASIS LegalDocML committee responsible for Akoma Ntoso.
Do organisations need to adopt LegalRuleML to work with NormLogic?
No. LegalRuleML support is about interoperability and openness. Organisations work with NormLogic through its applications and APIs and can export to or import from LegalRuleML when exchanging with other systems.
Related topics
- What is machine-readable regulation?
Machine-readable regulation is regulation in a structured format software can parse: provisions, concepts and requirements with identifiers. What it includes.
- What is regulation as code?
Regulation as code expresses legislation, regulation and policy in executable form. Its relation to rules as code and policy as code, and NormLogic’s approach.
- What is Regulatory Engineering?
Regulatory Engineering turns regulatory requirements into structured, machine-readable, testable and executable representations. Definition, scope and practice.
- NormLogic, the platform
How Sireto applies Regulatory Engineering to machine-readable and executable regulation.
Interoperable by design.
If you work with LegalRuleML, Akoma Ntoso or related standards, we would like to compare notes.