Search legal documents across jurisdictions (DE federal, EU, Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia, Saxony) using hybrid semantic + keyword search. Returns ranked results with content snippets, not full text.
Rephrase colloquial language into legal terminology for best results. Formuliere Suchanfragen als natürliche Sätze, nicht als Keyword-Listen (z.B. 'Wann verjährt ein Schadensersatzanspruch?' statt 'Verjährung Schadensersatz Frist BGB'). Das System durchsucht Gesetzestexte — verwende die Sprache des Gesetzes, nicht Doktrin-Begriffe (z.B. 'Auslegung mehrdeutiger Klauseln' statt 'contra proferentem'). Set document_kind to match what the question needs: any norm subtype ('statute'/'regulation'/'directive') when it asks for the rule itself — its requirements, definitions or deadlines; 'decision' when it asks how courts apply a rule. The three norm subtypes form ONE filter class — any of them admits all three, so you need not tell statute from regulation from directive, and a reflexive 'statute' never hides an EU regulation/directive. The only real cut this filter makes is norm vs. case-law: 'decision' restricts to court decisions and drops every norm BEFORE ranking, so it can hide the statute that answers a rule question. Leave document_kind empty when the question genuinely needs both (norm + its case-law application), or when German-vs-EU law is unclear (e.g. data protection: BDSG vs DSGVO) — then consider running two searches with different filters instead of guessing. Never combine a statute law_abbreviation with a decision scope ('decision', a decision source_type, court or decision_type): decisions carry file-number identifiers, not statute abbreviations, so that intersection is always empty — use cited_norm instead to find decisions applying a law. See legal://filter_values for the per-value definitions and the disambiguation list. Set law_abbreviation, jurisdiction and source_type only when the user explicitly names a specific law or jurisdiction. When results span multiple laws or versions, check the legal://rechtsrahmen resource to pick the correct jurisdiction (e.g. EU vs national, substantive vs procedural).
COMMON PITFALLS — choose the correct law:
- Procedural law by jurisdiction: ZPO (zivilrecht), STPO (strafrecht), VWGO (verwaltungsrecht), ARBGG (arbeitsrecht), SGG (sozialrecht), BVERFGG (verfassungsrecht), FAMFG (familienrecht)
- AO, ESTG, KSTG, USTG, FGO: AO=procedure, EStG/KStG/UStG=substantive
- VVG, BGB: Insurance rescission → BGB §§ 812ff, not VVG
- VERSAUSGLG, FAMFG: VersAusglG=substantive, FamFG=procedure
- APOG, AMG: ApoG=operation, AMG=drug approval
- WEHRPFLG, SG: WPflG=conscription, SG=soldiers
- AGG, BETRVG: AGG=anti-discrimination, BetrVG=works council
Connector