{"slug": "show-hn-codify-ai-for-transforming-and-reforming-law", "title": "Show HN: Codify, AI for transforming and reforming law", "summary": "A developer released Codify, an AI tool that extracts searchable text, headings and sections from scanned legal documents and links each amendment to the exact provision it changes. The tool is demonstrated on an illustrative corpus of 900 acts, tracking a sample amendment that adds \"including in accessible formats\" to section 5(1) of a 14 May 1992 law, effective 1 June 2001, and offers machine translation into Arabic, French, Spanish, Russian and Indonesian with terminology notes and consistency audits. Codify labels its translations unofficial and non-binding, requiring jurist sign-off before use.", "body_md": "SurveyToo much law is still locked in scanned pages.\n\nApproachA scanned page can be seen. Its text cannot be searched.\n\nReadingCodify finds the text, headings and sections.\n\nResolutionFind a section. Cite it. Check the original page.\n\nNine hundred acts, once every citation can be followed. The clusters are subject areas, and the lines between them are what a graph makes visible.One tangle of overlapping instruments, as a consolidation would draw them together: a single current text, with the rest kept behind it.\n\nIllustrative corpus.\n\nOne amendment. One exact destination.\n\nAn illustrative amendment adds “including in accessible formats” to section 5(1). The connection identifies both the affected provision and the instrument responsible for the change.\n\nIn this illustration, the original wording dates from 14 May 1992. The accessible-formats amendment takes effect on 1 June 2001. A dated record preserves both versions and the instrument responsible for the change.\n\nSee what an amendment changes.From the highlighted source law · illustrative amendment\n\nThe amending instrument\n\nPublic Access Amendment Act\n\nIn section 5(1), after “free of charge”, insert “, including in accessible formats”.\n\nAmending instruction → § 5(1)\n\namends § 5(1)\n\nThe affected provision\n\nRight of access to the official text\n\nEvery person shall have the right of access to the official text of any law in force, in a form that is complete, current and free of charge, including in accessible formats.\n\nPublic Access to Legislation Ordinance · § 5(1)\n\nThe new words stay linked to the law that introduced them.\n\nThe libraryOne readable law, kept in view as the collection grows.\n\nThe collectionEvery law gets the same treatment. References connect them.\n\nThe wholeTogether, the laws show how the state works, searchable with every source kept.\n\nThe effectFollow the amendment. See the changed words.\n\nThe domainsLaws cluster into subjects, found from their structure and their language.\n\nThe tangleSeveral laws often govern the same thing.\n\nOne textA lawmaker draws them into one text. A simpler statute book, and surer implementation.\n\nIllustrative translation\n\nOne text. Every language.\n\nTranslation notes\n\nTranslating\n\nConsistency audit\n\nSource · Atlantis · English\n\nart_1\n\nTranslation notes\n\namending instrument→instrument modificatifdefined term\n\nofficial text→النص الرسميdefined term\n\nin force→en vigorterm of art\n\ncommencement→entrada en vigorfalse friend · not “comienzo”\n\nthe Gazette→Ведомостиnamed entity\n\nshall→wajibdeontic convention\n\nthe Minister→le ministrenamed entity\n\nregister of legislation→سجل التشريعاتdefined term\n\nWorking from 8 terms\n\nArabic Zerzura\n\n0%0 of 24 sections\n\nA · clean\n\nart_1المادة ١\n\nFrench Ys\n\n0%0 of 24 sections\n\nA · clean\n\nart_1Article 1\n\nSpanish Quivira\n\n0%0 of 24 sections\n\nB · advisory\n\nart_1Artículo 1\n\nRussian Kitezh\n\n0%0 of 24 sections\n\nA · clean\n\nart_1Статья 1\n\nIndonesian Langkasuka\n\n0%0 of 24 sections\n\nA · clean\n\nart_1Pasal 1\n\nNumbers and sentinels · 100%\n\nTerminology · matches the notes\n\nClauses · counts agree\n\nUnofficial machine translation. The original-language text is the sole binding version.\n\nRead whole. Terms first.\n\nThe act is read whole and its terms fixed before a word is translated.\n\nThe discipline of the UN’s translators, at machine speed.\n\nSection by section, in parallel.\n\nArticle 1 stays Article 1 in every language.\n\nEach section is keyed to its number, so headings, numbering and citations survive.\n\nAudited and aligned.\n\nChecked for every number, term and clause.\n\nUnofficial until a jurist signs it off. The original text stays binding.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/show-hn-codify-ai-for-transforming-and-reforming-law", "canonical_source": "https://codify.centreai.global/", "published_at": "2026-09-28 10:21:59+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-09-28 10:47:57.883247+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["artificial-intelligence", "ai-tools", "natural-language-processing", "ai-products"], "entities": ["Codify", "Public Access Amendment Act", "Public Access to Legislation Ordinance"], "also_reported_by": [], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/show-hn-codify-ai-for-transforming-and-reforming-law", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/show-hn-codify-ai-for-transforming-and-reforming-law.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/show-hn-codify-ai-for-transforming-and-reforming-law.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/show-hn-codify-ai-for-transforming-and-reforming-law.jsonld"}}