How to find relevant case law: a practical guide

Finding the right precedent is a skill in itself: the same database can look empty or inexhaustible depending on how you phrase the search. This guide describes two complementary strategies — keyword search and semantic search — and how to combine them.

Keyword search

Classic search finds documents that literally contain your terms. It is the right tool when you know exactly what you are after:

• a case number (“2ra-344/23”) or an ECtHR application number (“48787/99”);
• an established legal term: “unjust enrichment”, “termination of contract”;
• a case name you already know.

The golden rule: use the vocabulary of the statute and of the judgments, not everyday language. Courts write “recovery of debt”, not “getting the money back”.

Semantic search

Semantic search compares not words but meanings: you ask in natural language and the system finds conceptually equivalent passages even when they use different words. It is the right tool when:

• you are exploring a new problem and do not yet know the settled vocabulary;
• the question is situational: “can an employer dismiss during the probation period without reasons?”;
• literal search returns nothing, but you know the case law exists.

The combined strategy

1. Start semantically with the question phrased naturally — you get a quick map of the case law;
2. Harvest the vocabulary from the first relevant results: what do the courts call your problem?
3. Refine with keywords, using the exact terms you have just discovered;
4. Follow the thread of similar cases: every case page on Precedentia shows semantically related cases — the key precedent is often one click away from a mediocre result;
5. Filter by court and year: older case law may have been overturned; always check for recent judgments in the catalogue by court.

Testing the result

A precedent is usable only if it survives three questions:

• Are the facts comparable? A well-phrased principle from a different context persuades less than a nearly identical case;
• Is the case law current? Look for later judgments on the same point;
• Is the source verifiable? Cite with a link to the full text and the official source (see the citation guide).

Thematic ECtHR research

For Convention rights, start from the article pages — for instance Article 6 (fair trial), Article 8 (private life) or Article 10 (freedom of expression) — and narrow down from there.