al-legal-mcp
# Albania Legal Research MCP Server (`al-legal-mcp`)
Model Context Protocol (MCP) server providing direct, read-only access to **Albania (AL)** legislation, multi-tier judicial decisions (First Instance, Regional/Cantonal/Appellate, and Supreme/Constitutional courts), and statutory citation verification for Claude Desktop, Cursor, and Antigravity.
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## Quick Desktop Setup (No Command Line Required)
This package includes a graphical installer for legal practitioners who prefer not to use terminal commands or edit JSON configuration files manually.
1. **Download:** Click **`<> Code`** at the top right of this repository, select **`Download ZIP`**, and extract the folder to your computer.
2. **Run the Setup Utility:**
- **Windows:** Double-click `Click_Here_To_Install_Windows.bat`
- **macOS:** Double-click `Click_Here_To_Install_Mac.command`
3. **Connect:** Click **Install & Connect Automatically** in the setup window and restart Claude Desktop.
**System Integrity Note:** The setup utility operates strictly in read-only mode with respect to your personal files and documents. It installs an isolated Python environment inside the extracted folder and registers the server entry in your AI client configuration.
---
## Multi-Tier Judicial Hierarchy & Official Sources
This server indexes and queries decisions across the full judicial hierarchy of **Albania**, allowing practitioners to filter research by procedural stage:
| Judicial Tier | Covered Courts & Tribunals |
|:---|:---|
| **Tier 1 — First Instance** | Gjykatat e Shkallës së Parë të Juridiksionit të Përgjithshëm (13 District First Instance Courts), Gjykatat Administrative të Shkallës së Parë & GJKKO |
| **Tier 2 — Regional / Cantonal / Appellate** | Gjykata e Apelit të Juridiksionit të Përgjithshëm (Tiranë), Gjykata Administrative e Apelit & Gjykata e Posaçme e Apelit |
| **Tier 3 — Supreme & Constitutional** | Gjykata e Lartë e Republikës së Shqipërisë (gjykataelarte.gov.al) & Gjykata Kushtetuese (gjk.gov.al) |
### Primary Legal Portals
- **National Legislation Registry:** Qendra e Botimeve Zyrtare - QBZ (qbz.gov.al Official Publications Center) (`https://qbz.gov.al`)
- **Multi-Tier Case Law Database:** Portali Gjyqësor Kombëtar Gjykatat.gov.al & Gjykata e Lartë Unifying Decisions (`https://gjykatat.gov.al`)
- **Supported Citation Format Example:** `Vendimi Nr. 123/2024 or Fletorja Zyrtare Nr. 15/2024`
### Indexed Court & Regional Sub-Portals
| Sub-Portal Identifier (`sub_court`) | Official Endpoint / Registry |
|:---|:---|
| `gjykatat_portal` | `https://gjykatat.gov.al` |
| `gjykata_e_larte` | `https://www.gjykataelarte.gov.al` |
| `gjykata_kushtetuese` | `https://www.gjk.gov.al` |
---
## Available MCP Tools
| Tool | Description |
|:---|:---|
| `search_legislation` | Searches enacted statutes, codes, decrees, and official gazette publications in Albania. |
| `search_case_law` | Searches national jurisprudence and European/ECLI-linked judgments for Albania. |
| `search_tiered_court_decisions` | Filters case law specifically by judicial instance (`first_instance`, `appellate_regional`, `supreme_constitutional`) or regional/cantonal court key (`sub_court`). |
| `list_court_hierarchy` | Returns the complete 3-tier court structure and registered sub-portal endpoints for Albania. |
| `get_legal_document_markdown` | Retrieves full statutory or judicial texts and converts them into clean Markdown. |
| `verify_citation` | Validates statutory and case law citations against official registries. |
---
<details>
<summary><b>Manual Configuration for Developers (Optional)</b></summary>
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"al-legal-mcp": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": [
"--from",
"git+https://github.com/jurisatlas/al-legal-mcp",
"al-legal-mcp"
]
}
}
}
```
</details>
TDQS
Scored across 6 tools
The two search tools (search_case_law and search_tiered_court_decisions) overlap substantially: both return Albanian court decisions, and the distinction between 'named apex courts' vs 'filter by tier' is only clear after reading the full descriptions. The remaining tools (legislation search, document fetch, hierarchy listing, citation verification) are cleanly distinct.
All six tools follow a consistent snake_case verb_noun pattern: list_*, search_*, get_*, verify_*. Lengths vary but the convention is uniform and predictable.
Six tools is well-scoped for a legal research server: one per core action (hierarchy, legislation search, case law search, tiered search, document retrieval, citation verification). Each tool earns its place.
The surface covers discovery, search, full-text retrieval, and citation verification, which is a solid lifecycle for read-only legal research. Minor gaps remain, such as a direct fetch-by-citation path or a tool for treaty/international-law lookup separate from the legislation search.