Electronic service delivery is closely tied to legal decision making. Legal decision making is by nature complicated. It involves the (strict) application of rules, but it also inevitably leaves room for discretion. If the ambition of electronic service delivery is taken seriously, this means that (some) legal decisions have to be taken by computers. Legal knowledge based systems (LKBSs) capable of performing this task have been around since the early nineteen nineties. These systems, although successful, never really broke through and are somewhat forgotten. With the advent of e-Government and its focus on electronic service delivery, legal decision making systems are desperately needed. This paper argues that legal knowledge based system technology is neglected undeserved and that it offers opportunities for serious electronic service delivery.
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