The Diritto Italia project to search for legal information on the Internet

The affirmation and diffusion of the use of telematic networks, the Internet in particular brings a new and, in certain respects, revolutionary element. Access to information in this net-like perspective, is diffused; the user is immersed, so to speak, in a rich and disordered mass of data which spreads all over the globe. The vision of centralised databases, with their undisputed advantages, is joined by a broader vision of information which is distributed, dislocated on several points of the Net. It is necessary to make use of tools such as guides, specific search engines and intelligent agents which enable the user to determine his bearings and obtain pertinent information. On these premises, after taking an overview of Italian legal information online, the article throws light on the need to use specific mechanisms enabling the user to efficiently retrieve information, pointing out the solutions possible at present. It then describes the operational contribution proposed by the Istituto per la Documentazione Giuridica as a first step towards retrieving law on the Internet. Then prospects are examined and ideas for reflection are solicited, in the hope of pooling ideas, experiences and efforts to attain satisfactory and concretely practical solutions