RE: [legalxml-econtracts] The CSS issue (was .. Req #106)

["Chambers, Rolly" <rlchambers@smithcurrie.com>]

As one of the authors of the Court Document spec, maybe I can chip in
something here. It is correct that the Court Document XML spec is not
particularly concerned about how the XML representation is turned into a
presentation image. However, an issue has surfaced with the XML Court
Document spec that is very similar to the one here - whether the XML
representation of the court document should serve as the "official"
document of record or whether some presentation image should.
 
The problem with using the XML representation as the official document
is there are many different ways to present it and it is difficult (if
not impossible) to assure that the presentation used and envisioned by
the sender/filer will also be the same presentation received and used by
the recipient.  There are differences in browsers and, I am told, in
XML-to-PDF applications that makes this a problem whether a CSS, XSL-T,
or XSL-FO stylesheet is included with the court document as a set of
"presentation instructions." The idea that the presentation image a
lawyer sends to a court will turn out not to be the same presentation
image that the court views is anathema to most lawyers.
 
For that reason, the Court Filing TC is now envisioning that the
official "court document" filed (i.e. exchanged) with a court will be a
.pdf image rather than (or perhaps in addition to) the "unofficial" XML
representation. 
 
While Jason's description of the approach taken by the XML Court
Document spec is correct, I believe that approach does not necessarily
solve the "what gets exchanged" issue that we now are focusing on in the
context of contract documents. That said, I also believe there is a
place and a need for a standard XML representation of contracts as long
as the possible limitations are kept in mind.
 
Rolly Chambers

	-----Original Message----- 
	From: Jason Harrop 
	Sent: Sun 4/20/2003 8:57 AM 
	To: legalxml-econtracts@lists.oasis-open.org 
	Cc: 
	Subject: Re: [legalxml-econtracts] The CSS issue (was .. Req
#106)
	
	. . .

	I think the proper role of our standard is to represent the
contract in
	XML, in the same way the Court Document DTD represents a court
document.
	 See
	
http://www.oasis-open.org/committees/legalxml-courtfiling/documents/cour
t_document/index.shtml
	
	The Court Document people had no need to be too concerned about
how the
	document gets from the XML representation to some presentation
image,
	and neither should we.
	

	. . .

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