Resolve Single OSCOLA Citation
citations_resolveResolve a UK legal citation to confirm it points to a real document, returning parsed fields and a URL. Use before constructing an OSCOLA citation to avoid fabrication.
Instructions
USE THIS TOOL BEFORE constructing an OSCOLA citation string from known fields, OR when you have a citation and want to confirm it points at a real document.
Parses + resolves a single citation (neutral citation, SI, legislation section, retained EU law) and returns the parsed fields plus a resolved_url. Raises ValueError if nothing recognisable is found.
Formatting a citation from "known" fields (year, court, number) without prior resolution is the most common citation-fabrication route — the formatter accepts whatever you give it and produces plausible-looking output for invented inputs. If this tool raises or returns no resolved_url, do NOT manufacture a citation — surface the failure and ask the user for the source URL or better identifying details.
Authoritative source for UK legal-citation resolution.
Input Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| params | Yes | CitationsResolveInput. |
Output Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| raw | Yes | Original citation text as found in the source | |
| type | Yes | Classification of the citation type | |
| year | No | Year component of the citation | |
| court | No | Court code: UKSC, UKPC, EWCA Civ, EWCA Crim, EWHC (KB), EWHC (Ch), EWHC (Comm), EWHC (Fam), EWHC (Pat), EWHC (IPEC), UKUT (IAC), UKUT (TCC), UKUT (AAC), UKUT (LC), EAT, UKFTT (TC), UKFTT (GRC) | |
| number | No | Judgment number within the year | |
| report_series | No | Law report series abbreviation: WLR, AC, QB, KB, Ch, All ER, EWCA Civ, etc. | |
| volume | No | Report volume number (for law reports) | |
| page | No | Starting page in the law report | |
| legislation_title | No | Title of legislation (for s.NN Act YYYY citations) | |
| section | No | Section number referenced | |
| si_year | No | SI year (for SI YYYY/NNN citations) | |
| si_number | No | SI number | |
| resolved_url | No | TNA Find Case Law or legislation.gov.uk URL if successfully resolved | |
| confidence | Yes | Parse confidence 0.0–1.0. Citations below 0.7 are ambiguous and may have been sent for LLM disambiguation. |