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.

Terminal

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):

config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "rechtspraak": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "rechtspraak-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Terminal

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:

Code

[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

bash

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.

Rechtspraak (Dutch Case Law) README