Publish all laws and court rulings free for everyone, with plain-language summaries

The proposal in detail

This proposal makes it a principle of governance to publish, as shared property of society, the laws that bind people and the court rulings that show how those laws are applied. It covers constitutions, statutes, government orders and regulations, and local ordinances, as well as the internal standards and notices that government offices actually apply to people. Both the current text with every amendment included and the text as it stood at each earlier point in time are made readable without registration or fees, in formats that machines can handle easily and with reference addresses that never change. For court rulings, publication starts with those from higher courts and those that set precedents, and in the end covers all of them in principle. When rulings are published, the names and addresses of the people involved are hidden, and in cases involving victims, children, or matters of sex or illness, the handling is strict so that no one can be identified. In addition, a department independent from the bodies that make laws and from the courts writes everyday-language summaries of the major laws and rulings. It is stated clearly that a summary only helps people understand, has no legal force, and that the original text always prevails if the two differ. Rules kept secret for reasons such as national security are allowed as an exception, but the fact that such a rule exists and the reason for keeping it secret must be announced, and no one can be put at a disadvantage on the basis of an unpublished rule. The summaries are gradually extended to minority languages used in that society.