1.  Open access to the rule of law: how can we help the citizen find his way in the maze of regulation ?
Jean-Pierre BALCOU
Head of the better regulation Unit
General secretariat of the
French Governement

2. Overview What does « access to the law » mean exactly ?
Principle : « nobody is deemed to be ignorant of the law »
Reality : a maze of law and administrative regulation
No so easy for professionals, impossible for the citizens to find their way through it

3. Initiatives from public bodies
Making the law understandable : the way it is designed and written
Enabling everyone to get simple information about legislation in force : public web sites, information desks or services
Providing some help from members of legal professions

4. Disseminating legislation
Legal context in France for disseminating legislation by electronic means
How is Legifrance designed ?
Can private editors get licences ?
A specific committee supervising the system : public service committee for dissemination of the law by internet

5. What advantages ? Free and easy access to regulation for everyone
An easy way to let foreign stakeholders know about french legislation
A limited cost in comparison of its impact
A convenient tool for all the legal professions and the public bodies themselves

6. What about access to EU legislation ?
Availability of legal information at the community level
General databases
Eur lex
Other sites in project
Organisational and technical issues to be dealt with

7. Prospects
All member states and EU institutions face the same difficulties. An opportunity to share good practices ?
Our proposal : making access to legal information a part of the Better regulation policy as a whole
How would it be possible ? Making all stake holder meet around a table ?

8. Competitiveness council 25-26 september 2008
Specific conclusions about access to law
Basic principles for action
Challenging objectives for improving EU sites
Part of the Better regulation policy
Links between the member states level and EU level : DEBR is a good place to make initiatives converge

9. Thank you for your attention