# UK Case Law MCP Server

A [Model Context Protocol (MCP)](https://modelcontextprotocol.io) server that provides Claude with tools to search and retrieve UK case law from [The National Archives](https://caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/).

## Features

- **Search UK Case Law**: Query across all courts and tribunals (2003+)
- **Retrieve Full Judgments**: Get complete case text with numbered paragraphs
- **Filter by Court/Legal Area**: Focus on specific jurisdictions or practice areas
- **Pagination Support**: Access results beyond the first page
- **Rate Limited**: Respects TNA API limits (1,000 requests per 5 minutes)

## Tools

### `uklaw_search`

Search UK case law with optional filters:

- `query` - Search terms (legal concepts, party names, keywords)
- `legal_area` - Filter by area (IP, commercial, employment, etc.)
- `court` - Filter by court level (Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, etc.)
- `year_from` / `year_to` - Date range filtering
- `limit` - Max results (1-50)
- `page` - Pagination

### `uklaw_get_case`

Retrieve full case text:

- `citation` - Neutral citation (e.g., `[2024] UKSC 1`) or document URI
- `paragraphs` - Optional range (e.g., `1-50`)
- `include_metadata` - Include judges, court, date

## Supported Courts

| Court Level | Examples |
|-------------|----------|
| Supreme Court | UKSC |
| Court of Appeal | EWCA Civ, EWCA Crim |
| High Court | EWHC (Ch, QB/KB, Admin, Comm, Patents, IPEC, TCC, Fam) |
| Tribunals | EAT, UKUT (IAC, LC, AAC) |

## Installation

### Prerequisites

- [Bun](https://bun.sh) runtime

### Setup

```bash
# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/georgejeffers/uk-case-law-mcp-server.git
cd uk-case-law-mcp-server

# Install dependencies
bun install

# Run tests
bun test

# Start the server
bun start
```

### Claude Desktop Configuration

Add to your Claude Desktop config (`~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json` on macOS):

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "uk-case-law": {
      "command": "bun",
      "args": ["run", "/path/to/uk-case-law-mcp/src/server.ts"]
    }
  }
}
```

## Usage Examples

Once configured, you can ask Claude questions like:

- "Search for patent obviousness cases in the High Court"
- "Find recent unfair dismissal tribunal decisions"
- "Get the full text of [2024] UKSC 1"
- "What did the Court of Appeal say about breach of fiduciary duty in 2023?"

## API

This server uses the [TNA Find Case Law API](https://caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/), which:

- Covers judgments from 2003 onwards
- Requires no authentication
- Returns results in Atom/XML format
- Provides full text in LegalDocML (Akoma Ntoso) format

## License

This project is licensed under the [PolyForm Noncommercial License 1.0.0](LICENSE).

**You may use this software for personal, educational, and non-commercial purposes only.** Commercial use requires a separate license.

## Contributing

Contributions are welcome for non-commercial purposes. Please open an issue or PR.

## Acknowledgments

- [The National Archives](https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/) for the Find Case Law API
- [Model Context Protocol](https://modelcontextprotocol.io) by Anthropic