The challenge is to create a pool of open-source contract templates for developers, starting with a Swiss-adapted version of an OSBA template. The goal is to make these templates accessible and customizable through an assistant-like interface on a website, using tools like Jinja2 or large language models. The project also involves comparing clauses from different contracts to develop criteria for explaining and evaluating contract sections, with the potential for future automation.

Challenge

An essential part of a comprehensive resource for open source developers in Switzerland is to address the challenges of having a solid set of clauses for basic legal compliance at an early stage. We propose creating a new resource to fill the gap in existing tools.

Several groups have already worked on templates for software contracts, as we have learned in feedback to our DINAcon workshop last year. This includes several schematic standards, premium contract libraries, as well as intermediary digital platforms that are commonly used in negotiation. Our next goal here is to publish a microsite with this information. Help us with your ideas on how to address the audience in an engaging and pragmatic way.

We have set up an initial contract based on a translation to Swiss terms of a template from the Open Source Business Alliance (OSBA). Create a version of this that can be processed with a templating engine (like Jinja2), or analysed by Large Language Models. Our goal here will simply be to make the template easily accessible in a wizard-like interface embedded on the website. A quick demo using Proxeus has been shared, something like Docassemble could work well too.

Comparing the clauses of our example contract with others found online, we can start building a set of criteria to better explain the individual sections and positions of the contract. This could in the future be used to do a quick automatic evaluation. Several ideas in this direction were discussed in our research and past editions of the Open Legal Lab (Legal Instruct, Textbausteine). A stretch goal of the challenge is to create a mock-up of such a process, clearly indicating at which points expert legal advice will be recommended.