Improving access to justice is something that is frequently invoked, and rightly so. It is one of the most important missions of any legal system. But it is also a very broad concept. It encompasses the ability to understand one’s rights, to obtain legal advice or representation when necessary, to seek recourse through the courts or other dispute resolution mechanisms, and to participate in a fair process.
Access to legal information is part of this broader context. It provides everyone with an essential starting point: the ability to find legal documents, read them, and better understand how they apply. When court decisions, legislation, and other secondary sources are easier to find and access, legal professionals can conduct their research more efficiently, institutions can promote greater transparency, and citizens can better understand their rights and obligations.
For legal information institutes (LII), this creates an important responsibility. Making legal documents available online is not enough on its own. The information also needs to be retrievable through their search engine and organized in a way that helps users find what they need. Just as importantly, it must be supported by features that make the content easier to navigate and understand.
As stated in the Montreal Declaration on Free Access to Law, maximizing access to public legal information promotes justice and the rule of law. It is central to every member of the Free Access to Law Movement. And it is precisely this that led the Seychelles Legal Information Institute (SeyLII), to choose Norma, our all-in-one legal publishing platform.
A National Resource for Seychelles Legal Information
Established in 2012 under the auspices of the Judiciary of Seychelles, with the support of AfricanLII, SeyLII became an independent registered association in 2015. It is also a member of the international Free Access to Law Movement and subscribes to the principles of the Declaration on Free Access to Law.
Its mission is to provide free and anonymous access to case law, legislation, and secondary legal materials from Seychelles. Its vision is to become its primary legal resource institution.
By moving to Norma, SeyLII took a strong stance toward strengthening the way their legal information is managed, published, and accessed online.
Supporting SeyLII’s Team Behind the Scenes
Before a legal document appears on a LII website, a great deal of work has already taken place behind the scenes.
The document may need to be reviewed for accuracy and converted into a responsive and accessible format. Key information such as the title, date, citation, parties or file number must also be captured in the publishing system so that the document becomes easy to search and retrieve.
Norma provides SeyLII a structured and proven environment to manage the work that happens before legal information reaches the public website.
First, SeyLII’s legal materials can be organized around the structure of its own collections. Metadata fields such as dates, citations, file numbers, parties, or document types can be configured accordingly, with labels adapted to SeyLII’s terminology and users’ search habits.
Then, once documents are ready to be added or updated, Norma helps reduce the manual work involved in publishing it. Source files such as Word documents or PDFs are automatically converted into responsive online formats. Key metadata are autofilled from the document body and reviewed by an editor, helping SeyLII maintain consistency while saving time on repetitive data entry.
This means the platform can support the full journey of a document, from source file to public access. It also means that online publishing can be handled in a more consistent and efficient way as SeyLII’s collections continue to evolve.
A Phased Transition
SeyLII’s transition to Norma is being carried out in phases. The case law collection is already partly available through SeyLII’s website. The legislation collection and secondary legal materials will be made available as the remaining source files and metadata are reviewed and finalized. Some of these materials will also benefit from Norma’s Interactive Online Manuals Viewer, which is designed to make dense legal documents easier to navigate and consult.
The initial import of the SeyLII database includes approximately 6,500 documents, allowing them to move a substantial part of their legal information collection into Norma.
A Project with Significance Beyond Seychelles
SeyLII’s mission remains clear: to provide free and anonymous access to Seychelles legal information. With Norma, that mission now has a stronger foundation. The platform supports the people working behind the scenes while helping users access legal materials more easily on the public website. But it also reflects Lexum’s growing impact internationally.
Although Lexum’s work has historically been concentrated in North America, Norma is also a great fit for national publishers of legal information from around the world. SeyLII’s transition demonstrates how efficiently Lexum’s all-in-one legal publishing platform can be deployed globally to meet the needs of foreign jurisdictions. With Lexum’s outreach increasingly directed toward the international scene, we are confident that this example will soon be followed by many others.
