Volume 20, 2001, No. 6

Guest Editorial
	Ephraim NISSAN, Antonio A. MARTINO

 

An AI Formalism for Competing Claims of Identification: Capturing the ``Smemorato di Collegno'' Amnesia Case

Ephraim NISSAN   Abstract A formal representation is given of the situational structure, and the agents' beliefs about personal identity, in the Smemorato di Collegno amnesia case tried in 1927, in Pollenza, Italy. Another section discusses and formalizes a sample heuristic rule for conjecturing whether an individual identity other than personal, being conveyed by a toponym, was used literally or fictitiously in a given historical corpus of legal casenotes. For example, a landlocked city being named and referred to as though it was a sea port is a fairly good cue for assuming that the toponym is a disguise. Yet, the interpretation is governed by other conventions, when in a play by Shakeaspeare it is stated that a given scene is set on the sea coast of Bohemia. Further discussion of a situational casuistry for identification (especially individual and personal) along with more formal representations will appear in a companion paper "nissanidentifpirandello", also at the disciplinary meet of AI formalisms and legal applications.

 

The DAEDALUS System: a Tool for the Italian Investigating Magistrate

Carmelo ASARO, Ephraim NISSAN   Abstract Daedalus is a computer tool, developed by an Italian magistrate --- Carmelo Asaro --- and integrated in his own daily routine as an investigating magistrate conducting inquiries, then as a prosecutor if and when the case investigated goes to court. This tool has recently been adopted by magistrates in judiciary offices throughout Italy, spawning moreover other related projects. First, this paper describes a sample session with daedalus. Next, an overview of an array of judicial tools leads to positioning daedalus in the context of the spectrum.

 

Expert Witnesses in the Interrogative Model

Ghita Holmstrom-HINTIKKA   Abstract The Interrogative Model for Truth seeking (IMT) was originally developed by Jaakko Hintikka as a model to be used in science. (For an easy access to this model see [7].) Thus initial premises and presuppositions are thought of as being established theories in science and in particular that very branch of it which is under investigation at that particular time. As the focus of interest in this essay is not science but legal investigation, this model shall be extended to cover legal reasoning as well. Earlier attempts in this regard were made, e.g., in [8].

 

Modelling Agent Attitudes in Legal Reasoning

Afzal BALLIM, Tomas BY, Yorick WILKS, Christian LIESKE   Abstract Common approaches to using artificial intelligence techniques in legal reasoning have generally been based on the logical reasoning methods developed in AI. In most cases, such systems can be considered to be expert systems applied in the legal domain. Other aspects of AI technology that rely more heavily on human psychology or behavioural patterns have rarely been used. This paper aims to show that some of these techniques have a rightful place in legal reasoning, and in particular that the notion of modelling the attitudes of agents can be of great benefit in developing more realistic systems for re-enactment in investigation and proof.

 

Volume 20, 2001, No. 6