laws accessible to computer starting today.

For the first time, Parliamentary staff in the Attorney General chambers will be able to electronically update laws every six months -- speeding up what had been a tedious and time consuming task.

Attorney General Mr. Walter Maddocks said when staff updated laws before computerisation they would have to rule them through, then write the amended law above, or attach the amended law on top of the old one. Additional staff also had to be hired to help in the drafting of laws.

But with computerisation, he said staff will be able to draft legislation on computer which will "look just like the printed legislation''.

"Just the producing of laws will probably save about $85,000 a year,'' he said, "because we will be doing this without taking on any additional staff.'' He said the use of computers will also reduce the time needed to reprint laws from years to weeks.

And with the computerised system, staff in his chambers and lawyers in general will also be able to research hundreds of Acts within days instead of months.

This is also expected to reduce clients' legal fees because most lawyers bill clients on a time basis.

Giving an example of the system's ability, Mr. Maddocks said: "I can now sit at my computer and if, for example, I want to find out how often the phrase 21-year-old occurs in the law, the system will tell me. In fact, I did that recently and found out the phrase occurs 83 times.

"A research job that might have taken two months can now be done by computer in two days.'' Parliamentary staff at the Attorney General's chambers recently completed three weeks of training on the system designed by Government consultants in Seattle and Vancouver.

Mr. Maddocks said on-line access to the system should be available to subscribers by January 1. Subscribers will have access to all Bermuda's laws by tapping several keys compared to leafing through 11 thousand-page volumes.

Mr. Maddocks said his chambers are still awaiting software for the system.

"It is the most far-sighted system of producing legislation in the world,'' he added. "It was very far-sighted of Government to do this.'' When plans for the system were unveiled in June, Bar Council president Mr.

John Riihiluoma said he looked forward to the electronic version of Bermuda's printed laws.

"I'd be delighted to see the electronic version,'' he said. "The present system is difficult to work with because amendments come out on paper periodically and one has to do a cut and paste job. You can never be sure that you have the most up-to-date version of any particular statute.''