This paper presents a proposal for an open XML standard for the markup of legal documents: METALex. The standard provides a generic and easily extensible framework for the XML encoding of the structure and contents of legal and paralegal documents. It differs from other existing metadata schemes in two respects: It is language and jurisdiction independent and it aims to accommodate uses of XML beyond search and presentation services.

This document, commissioned by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and developed by the University of Bologna, presents the advantages, opportunities, and challenges involved in applying Legislative XML to a parliamentary workflow. It is addressed to a diverse audience of experts involved in the parliamentary lawmaking system.