The case story of an information system development and its experiences

Abstract

In the Ministry of Justice, Hungary, a computer storage and retrieval system of laws and regulations has been under development since 1982. At the beginning a mainframe system was considered that would have operated as a total information system. However, computer hardware and software criteria for implementing such an overall system have not been available. It was decided instead that a PC based database be created containing the data of the traditional card register of laws and regulations operated since 1952. Version 4 of this database called KARTOTÉK won a price at the exhibition Compfair '91. This system now of extended use by legal professionals has been also marketed as a product and, combined with legal information collections on floppy disks, can provide full information on Hungarian laws and regulations in effect as well as on their changes.