A new Lawful Intercept XML Technical Committee has been formed within the OASIS LegalXML Member Section, supporting the activities of the seven existing LegalXML TCs. The TC is chartered to produce a structured, end-to-end LegalXML Lawful Interception Process framework consisting of XML standards and authentication mechanisms, including the development and harmonization of identifiable related XML standards and XML translations of ASN.1 modules, including proprietary ones made available in accordance with IPR policies. The TC members hope to "develop a universal global framework for supporting rapid discovery and sharing of suspected criminal and terrorist evidence by law enforcement agencies. The LI-XML Technical Committee was formed to meet critical needs emerging from several national and intergovernmental mandates around the world, including the recently passed United States Homeland Security Information Sharing Act of 2002, the new Lawful Intercept additional protocol of the European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters, and e-Government mandates in Europe and the United States." The TC Chair is Anthony M. Rutkowski (Verisign).

From the text of the announcement:

"As the ability for criminals and terrorists to access technology increases, the challenge for law enforcement to detect, comply with legal process, and implement evidence discovery tools also grows," noted Anthony M. Rutkowski of VeriSign, chair of the OASIS LegalXML LI-XML Technical Committee. "Government agencies as well as providers of electronic communication services worldwide will benefit from uniform XML schema that facilitates fully electronic receipt, authentication, and implementation of lawful process."

Rutkowski added that the enhanced precision, authentication, and audit features provided by LI-XML will result in greater public trust in the traditionally sensitive area of legal discovery.

As part of the OASIS LegalXML Member Section, the LI-XML specification will be designed to support an end-to-end legal process where law enforcement, justice, and security agencies are the principal beneficiaries. LI-XML Technical Committee members plan to work closely with related OASIS efforts including the LegalXML Electronic Court Filing and OASIS e-Government Technical Committees.

Current LegalXML Technical Committees

The LegalXML Member Section website provides a brief description of the active TCs:

• LegalXML Court Filing
• LegalXML eContracts
• LegalXML eNotarization
• LegalXML Integrated Justice
• LegalXML Lawful Intercept
• LegalXML Legislative Documents
• LegalXML Online Dispute Resolution
• LegalXML Legal Transcripts

LI-XML TC Overview

Excerpted from the TC Charter as proposed:

The scope of the LI-XML TC will be focused upon lawful interception processes and documents worldwide. This will include both national andlocal levels, although this is dependent on the level of participation by country practitioners. In the USA, the dual levels include federal and state legal domains. Global LI requirements, specifications and standards developed and maintained by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) will be considered through a liaison process with the ETSI Lawful Intercept Technical Committee (TC LI). It is expected that the LI-XML TC will assume English and eventually other languages.

The Lawful Interception process herein described consists of a set of interrelated actions taken by law enforcement or national security agencies (LEAs), judicial authorities, and telecommunication and information system providers or their agents that result in the discovery and production of investigative or evidentiary records associated with network-based communications capabilities and uses to a Law Enforcement Monitoring Facility (LEMF). The process is effected in nearly every country pursuant to national, local or intergovernmental law.

This investigative process typically has as many as four iterations to obtain: a) customer and service provider reference information; b) customer historical communications records; c) real-time Intercept Related Information (also called communications or call-identifying information); and d) real-time communications content.

Each of these iterations consists of actions and objects in as many as five stages -- depending on the law of the jurisdiction(s) involved. Usually the judicial administrative and review process becomes more extensive as privacy considerations come into play. Subpoenas are generally required for customer historical records; and judicial warrants or orders are the norm for real-time information.

The four stages consist of: (1) an initiating Law Enforcement Agency making application to a judicial or administrative body, which in turn (2) issues an authorizing instrument for (3) execution by the party or parties or their agents to (4) obtain the required information through some kind of a technical or administrative mechanism, and (5) handover to a recipient Law Enforcement Monitoring Facility.

At the entry and exit point of each stage, there is additional set of actions that consists of the authentication of the parties, secure transfer of the information object with time stamps and receipts, verification of the content, implementation processing, and the generation of an associated a secure audit log.

If emergency or exigent conditions exist, the second stage of the process (judicial issuance of an authorizing instrument) can usually be altered by the LEA using another instrument coupled with a posteriori judicial or administrative action.

The LI-XML TC shall also consider tagged database resources that provide for the effective authentication of all parties in the lawful intercept process that include LEAs, judicial or administrative authorities, communication systems providers and their agents.

In no event shall this Technical Committee finalize or approve any technical specification if it believes that the use, distribution, or implementation of such specification would necessarily require the unauthorized infringement of any third party rights known to the technical committee, and such third party has not agreed to provide necessary license rights on perpetual, royalty-free, non-discriminatory terms.