Ontologies are traditionally expressed in the Web Ontology Language (OWL), that provides a syntax for expressing taxonomies with axioms regulating class membership. The semantics of OWL, based on Description Logic (DL), allows for the use of automated reasoning to check the consistency of ontologies, perform classification, and to answer DL queries. However, the open world assumption of OWL, along with limitations in its expressiveness, makes OWL less suitable for modelling rules and regulations, used in public administration. In such cases, it is desirable to have closed world semantics and a rule-based engine to check compliance with regulations. In this paper we describe and discuss data model management using the Shapes Constraint Language (SHACL), for concept modelling of concrete requirements in regulation documents within the public sector. We show how complex regulations, often containing a number of alternative requirements, can be expressed as constraints, and the utility of SHACL engines in verification of instance data against the SHACL model. We discuss benefits of modelling with SHACL, compared to OWL, and demonstrate the maintainability of the SHACL model by domain experts without prior knowledge of ontology management.

翻译：传统上，本体论采用Web本体语言（OWL）表达，该语言提供了一种语法，用于通过规范类成员的公理来构建分类体系。基于描述逻辑（DL）的OWL语义支持使用自动推理检查本体一致性、执行分类以及回答DL查询。然而，OWL的开放世界假设及其表达能力的局限性，使其不适合建模公共管理中使用的法规与规则。在此类场景中，需要封闭世界语义和基于规则的引擎来检查合规性。本文描述并讨论了使用形状约束语言（SHACL）进行数据模型管理，用于对公共部门法规文件中的具体需求进行概念建模。我们展示了如何将通常包含多个替代性要求的复杂法规表达为约束，以及SHACL引擎在根据SHACL模型验证实例数据方面的实用性。我们比较了与OWL建模相比使用SHACL的优势，并证明即使是没有本体管理先验知识的领域专家也能维护SHACL模型。