N - Lex - a system which provides easy access to the European legislation

N-Lex (national laws) is an electronic legislative database which is accessible free of charge, and which is connected to the N-Lex European system, which means users have access to the legislation of all the European countries which are connected to the database.

The database is currently being compiled by the Department for European Affairs, together with the Ministry of Justice and Citizen Liberties.

The N-Lex portal wants to become a useful tool for companies, administrations, universities, law specialists, and for all those interested in the legislation of countries in the European Community.

N-Lex makes available a unified search form, available in 22 official languages of the EU. Using N-Lex, all European citizens can perform searches using their own language, on the localized pages. The search forms are connected to the databases of the participating countries (one national website for each country). New member states are joining this project, as their collections become available.

The N-Lex project requires a tight collaboration with member states, to allow for the creation of a stable and uniform system.

This project led to the creation of a new internal communication technology, which consists of the implementation of local connectors to the national legislative databases. Search results come directly from the source, as part of a direct exchange direct between each country and the N-Lex portal.

N-Lex follows the community guidelines for improving the regulation framework, part of the Lisbon Strategy, whose objectives and priorities were implemented on a national level through the Strategy for improving the regulation of the central public administration 2008-2013.

The N-Lex project was launched on April 28th 2006, at the request of the Juridical IT Group of the Council of the European Union, and was implemented by the Office of the Official Publications of the European Community, in cooperation with the member states. Whereas in the beginning the portal only provided access to four national websites, it currently provides access to 23 national websites, due to growing interest.

• Beneficiaries

The N-Lex portal was conceived as a tool for companies, administrations and national parliaments, universities, law experts and citizens. The website provides information on the possibility of studying or working abroad, when there are cross-border issues or to allow the analysis of the legal system of EU member states.

• Utilization

N-Lex provides general information on the contents and search capabilities for each member country, the description of search fields which can be used through N-Lex and the definition of the various types of national papers.

In case searching for a specific word is possible, the interface allows the use of a multilingual dictionary, Eurovec, which facilitates the searching of tems in a foreign language.

Also, contextual help guides users as they browse through the various search fields, by offering more information concerning a specific field or specific examples.