Integrating Legal Ontologies and Digital Twin Technology: Enhancing Rule-of-Law-Compliant Automated Decision-Making in Administrative Law

Administrative laws are traditionally published in natural language, necessitating multiple, redundant software implementations that lead to inefficiencies and inconsistencies. In response, this early-stage Ph.D. research introduces a framework for co-publishing ontologies alongside statutory text, forming a digital twin for administrative law (DTAL). Using an Austrian tourism levy as a case study, this research investigates how simultaneously publishing ontology-based and legal prose representations can minimize redundant software development efforts, reduces errors, and support rule-of-law-compliant automated decision-making. Preliminary prototypes indicate measurable reductions in development effort and update latency, underscoring the approach’s practicalviability.

Keywords: Legal Ontologies, Semantic Interoperability, Digital Twins, Automated Decision-Making, Rule of Law, Administrative Law, e-Government.