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-stable deeplink.rechtspraak.nl URL,
• 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.