Search Swiss Case Law

Instructions

Implementation Reference

• src/index.ts:220-269 (handler)

  The handler function that executes the 'search_case_law' tool logic. It limits the result size, calls the client's searchCases method, formats the results into a structured output, and handles errors.

  async ({ query, size = 10, from = 0 }) => {
    try {
      // Limit size to prevent abuse
      const limitedSize = Math.min(size, 50);
      
      const results = await client.searchCases(query, limitedSize, from);
      
      const formattedResults = results.hits.hits.map(hit => {
        const source = hit._source;
        return {
          signature: hit._id,
          court: source.hierarchy[1] || source.canton,
          language: source.attachment.language,
          date: source.date,
          case_number: source.reference[0] || '',
          title_de: source.title.de,
          title_fr: source.title.fr,
          title_it: source.title.it,
          abstract_de: source.abstract?.de || '',
          abstract_fr: source.abstract?.fr || '',
          abstract_it: source.abstract?.it || '',
          has_html: !!source.attachment.content_url,
          has_pdf: false, // PDF availability not indicated in new structure
          document_url: source.attachment.content_url,
          scrapedate: source.scrapedate
        };
      });
  
      const summary = `Found ${results.hits.total.value} total cases matching "${query}". Showing ${formattedResults.length} results starting from position ${from}.`;
      
      return {
        content: [
          {
            type: "text",
            text: `${summary}\n\n${JSON.stringify(formattedResults, null, 2)}`
          }
        ]
      };
    } catch (error) {
      return {
        content: [
          {
            type: "text",
            text: `Error searching case law: ${error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error)}`
          }
        ],
        isError: true
      };
    }
  }

• src/index.ts:214-218 (schema)

  Input schema for the 'search_case_law' tool using Zod, defining parameters query, size, and from.

  inputSchema: {
    query: z.string().describe("Search query for legal cases"),
    size: z.number().optional().default(10).describe("Number of results to return (max 50)"),
    from: z.number().optional().default(0).describe("Starting position for pagination")
  }

• src/index.ts:210-270 (registration)

  Registration of the 'search_case_law' tool with the MCP server, specifying the tool name, metadata, input schema, and handler function.

    "search_case_law",
    {
      title: "Search Swiss Case Law",
      description: "Search for Swiss court decisions using Entscheidsuche database",
      inputSchema: {
        query: z.string().describe("Search query for legal cases"),
        size: z.number().optional().default(10).describe("Number of results to return (max 50)"),
        from: z.number().optional().default(0).describe("Starting position for pagination")
      }
    },
    async ({ query, size = 10, from = 0 }) => {
      try {
        // Limit size to prevent abuse
        const limitedSize = Math.min(size, 50);
        
        const results = await client.searchCases(query, limitedSize, from);
        
        const formattedResults = results.hits.hits.map(hit => {
          const source = hit._source;
          return {
            signature: hit._id,
            court: source.hierarchy[1] || source.canton,
            language: source.attachment.language,
            date: source.date,
            case_number: source.reference[0] || '',
            title_de: source.title.de,
            title_fr: source.title.fr,
            title_it: source.title.it,
            abstract_de: source.abstract?.de || '',
            abstract_fr: source.abstract?.fr || '',
            abstract_it: source.abstract?.it || '',
            has_html: !!source.attachment.content_url,
            has_pdf: false, // PDF availability not indicated in new structure
            document_url: source.attachment.content_url,
            scrapedate: source.scrapedate
          };
        });
  
        const summary = `Found ${results.hits.total.value} total cases matching "${query}". Showing ${formattedResults.length} results starting from position ${from}.`;
        
        return {
          content: [
            {
              type: "text",
              text: `${summary}\n\n${JSON.stringify(formattedResults, null, 2)}`
            }
          ]
        };
      } catch (error) {
        return {
          content: [
            {
              type: "text",
              text: `Error searching case law: ${error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error)}`
            }
          ],
          isError: true
        };
      }
    }
  );

• src/index.ts:72-98 (helper)

  Supporting method in EntscheidungsucheClient that performs the actual API search to the Entscheidsuche endpoint, used by the tool handler.

  async searchCases(query: string, size: number = 10, from: number = 0): Promise<SearchResult> {
    const searchBody = {
      query: {
        simple_query_string: {
          query: query,
          default_operator: "and"
        }
      },
      size,
      from,
      sort: [{ date: { order: "desc" } }]
    };
  
    const response = await fetch(this.searchEndpoint, {
      method: "POST",
      headers: {
        "Content-Type": "application/json",
      },
      body: JSON.stringify(searchBody)
    });
  
    if (!response.ok) {
      throw new Error(`Search failed: ${response.status} ${response.statusText}`);
    }
  
    return await response.json();
  }