About Rechtspraak (Dutch Case Law)
Rechtspraak is an MCP server for searching Dutch case law, retrieving rulings by ECLI, and exploring citation links. It uses the official Rechtspraak Open Data API and LiDO, with no API key required.
Key features
- 01Faceted case-law search
- 02Search multiple queries at once
- 03Fetch rulings by ECLI
- 04Bulk retrieval of rulings
- 05Explore LiDO citation links
- 06List filter value sets
Use cases
- 01Find decisions by court, date, or legal area
- 02Retrieve a ruling's full text and metadata
- 03Trace citations and statute references
MCP support
Exposes search, retrieval, filter-listing, and LiDO citation-graph tools to MCP clients.
Configuration
Local server config is the same for every client. Copy it into your client’s MCP config file.
Tools
6Saved tool list · updated 2w ago
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| max | integer | No | Max results to return (default 25). |
| from | integer | No | Zero-based pagination offset (default 0). |
| sort | enum | No | 'date' for newest-first; otherwise the API's default order.relevance | date |
| type | enum | No | Restrict to rulings or AG conclusies.Uitspraak | Conclusie |
| query | string | No | A single ECLI to look up directly. (Open Data has no free-text search; non-ECLI keywords are ignored — use the facet filters instead.) |
| dateTo | string | No | Uitspraakdatum to, YYYY-MM-DD. |
| dateFrom | string | No | Uitspraakdatum from, YYYY-MM-DD. |
| instanties | array | No | Court filter: a single OWMS creator URI (find it via list_waardelijsten). |
| rechtsgebied | string | No | Rechtsgebied slug (e.g. 'civielrecht', 'strafrecht', 'bestuursrecht', 'internationaalpubliekrecht') or full PSI URI. |
Details
From the project README
rechtspraak-mcp
A Model Context Protocol server for Dutch case law (jurisprudentie / uitspraken). It wraps the official Open Data van de Rechtspraak API and the LiDO citation graph, so any MCP-capable agent (Claude, Cursor, …) can search rulings, fetch full text by ECLI, and explore how decisions cite each other.
No API key required.
npx rechtspraak-mcp
Tools
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
search_uitspraken | Search case law (faceted by default; full-text behind a flag). Returns ECLIs + links. |
search_uitspraken_bulk | Run 3–10 searches at once. |
get_uitspraak | Fetch full text + metadata + relations of one decision by ECLI. |
get_uitspraken_bulk | Fetch up to 10 decisions by ECLI in one call. |
list_waardelijsten | List value lists (instanties, rechtsgebieden, proceduresoorten, …) to build valid filters. |
lido_related | LiDO citation graph around an ECLI: what cites it, what it cites, statute references. |
Search
search_uitspraken is a faceted search over the official Open Data feed — filter by date, court (instantie), legal area (rechtsgebied) and document type. It does not do free-text keyword matching; pass an ECLI to query for a direct lookup, or use the facet filters. get_uitspraak fetches the full text and metadata from the documented Open Data content endpoint.
Install in an MCP client
Claude Code (or any client reading claude_desktop_config.json / .mcp.json):
{
"mcpServers": {
"rechtspraak": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "rechtspraak-mcp"]
}
}
}
claude mcp add rechtspraak -- npx -y rechtspraak-mcp
Citations & source links
Every result carries links for its ECLI:
links.deeplink— the citation-stabledeeplink.rechtspraak.nlURL,links.rechtspraak— the human detail page,links.prudai— a PrudAI viewer for the ruling.
When an agent quotes a passage, the tools instruct it to render the citation as a Markdown source link anchored on the exact excerpt:
[Zie bron](https://prudai.com/uitspraak/ECLI:NL:HR:2023:1234?quote=%22<verbatim quote>%22)
Configuration
| Env var | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
RECHTSPRAAK_HTTP_TIMEOUT_MS | 30000 | Upstream request timeout. |
RECHTSPRAAK_BULK_CONCURRENCY | 4 | Concurrency for bulk tools. |
PRUDAI_BASE_URL | https://prudai.com | Base URL for the viewer deeplinks. |
RECHTSPRAAK_USER_AGENT | rechtspraak-mcp/… | User-Agent sent upstream. |
LIDO_REST_ENDPOINT | KOOP default | Override the LiDO service endpoint. |
RECHTSPRAAK_DEBUG | 0 | 1 logs upstream requests to stderr. |
Development
bun install
bun run typecheck
bun test
bun run build # → dist/ (Node-runnable, shebang bundle)
bun src/index.ts # run from source
Data sources & disclaimer
Case-law data is © Rechtspraak and published as Open Data via data.rechtspraak.nl; citation-graph data comes from KOOP's LiDO service (linkeddata.overheid.nl). This project is an independent open-source client and is not affiliated with or endorsed by de Rechtspraak or KOOP. Always verify against the authoritative source before relying on a result.
License
MIT © PrudAI. Maintained by PrudAI.
Comments
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