Dutch Law MCP Server

The Wetten.overheid.nl alternative for the AI age.

Query 3,251 Dutch statutes -- from the AVG and Wetboek van Strafrecht to the Burgerlijk Wetboek, Mededingingswet, and the full BWB corpus -- directly from Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-compatible client.

If you're building legal tech, compliance tools, or doing Dutch legal research, this is your verified reference database.

Built by Ansvar Systems -- Stockholm, Sweden

---

Why This Exists

Dutch legal research is scattered across Wetten.overheid.nl, Rechtspraak.nl, Kamerstukken, and EUR-Lex. Whether you're:

• A lawyer validating citations in a brief or contract
• A compliance officer checking AVG obligations or Mededingingswet requirements
• A legal tech developer building tools on Dutch law
• A researcher tracing legislative history from Kamerstukken to wet

...you shouldn't need dozens of browser tabs and manual PDF cross-referencing. Ask Claude. Get the exact provision. With context.

This MCP server makes Dutch law searchable, cross-referenceable, and AI-readable.

---

Quick Start

Use Remotely (No Install Needed)

Connect directly to the hosted version -- zero dependencies, nothing to install.

Endpoint: https://mcp.ansvar.eu/law-nl/mcp

Client	How to Connect
Claude.ai	Settings > Connectors > Add Integration > paste URL
Claude Code	claude mcp add dutch-law --transport http https://mcp.ansvar.eu/law-nl/mcp
Claude Desktop	Add to config (see below)
GitHub Copilot	Add to VS Code settings (see below)

Claude Desktop -- add to claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "dutch-law": {
      "type": "url",
      "url": "https://mcp.ansvar.eu/law-nl/mcp"
    }
  }
}

GitHub Copilot -- add to VS Code settings.json:

{
  "github.copilot.chat.mcp.servers": {
    "dutch-law": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://mcp.ansvar.eu/law-nl/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Use Locally (npm)

npx @ansvar/dutch-law-mcp

Claude Desktop -- add to claude_desktop_config.json:

macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "dutch-law": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@ansvar/dutch-law-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Cursor / VS Code:

{
  "mcp.servers": {
    "dutch-law": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@ansvar/dutch-law-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

---

Example Queries

Once connected, just ask naturally in Dutch or English:

• "Wat zegt de AVG artikel 5 over de beginselen voor de verwerking van persoonsgegevens?"
• "Is de Mededingingswet artikel 24 over misbruik van machtspositie nog van kracht?"
• "Zoek bepalingen over gegevensbescherming in de Nederlandse wet"
• "Welke EU-richtlijnen implementeert de AVG?"
• "Valideer de citatie 'Wetboek van Strafrecht artikel 138b'"
• "Bouw een juridisch standpunt op over privacyrecht in Nederland"
• "What does Burgerlijk Wetboek Boek 6 say about contractual liability?"
• "Find provisions about trade secrets in Dutch law"

---

What's Included

Category	Count	Details
Statutes	3,251 laws	Full BWB corpus from Wetten.overheid.nl (100% coverage)
Provisions	77,531 sections	Full-text searchable with FTS5
Premium: Case Law	59,261 rulings	Hoge Raad, Gerechtshoven, Rechtbanken decisions
Premium: Preparatory Works	2,994 documents	Kamerstukken, memorie van toelichting
Database Size	126 MB	Optimized SQLite, portable
Daily Updates	Automated	Freshness checks against Wetten.overheid.nl

Key Statutes Covered

Statute	Subject
Burgerlijk Wetboek (Boek 1–10)	Civil Code -- persons, property, contracts, tort
Wetboek van Strafrecht	Criminal Code
Algemene wet bestuursrecht	General Administrative Law Act
Uitvoeringswet Algemene verordening gegevensbescherming (AVG)	GDPR implementation
Mededingingswet	Competition Act
Auteurswet	Copyright Act
Arbeidsomstandighedenwet	Working Conditions Act
Wet bescherming bedrijfsgeheimen	Trade Secrets Act
Telecommunicatiewet	Telecommunications Act (ePrivacy)
Wet op het financieel toezicht (Wft)	Financial Supervision Act

Verified data only -- every citation is validated against official sources (Wetten.overheid.nl, Overheid.nl). Zero LLM-generated content.

---

See It In Action

Why This Works

Verbatim Source Text (No LLM Processing):

• All statute text is ingested from Wetten.overheid.nl official sources via the BWB API
• Provisions are returned unchanged from SQLite FTS5 database rows
• Zero LLM summarization or paraphrasing -- the database contains regulation text, not AI interpretations

Smart Context Management:

• Search returns ranked provisions with BM25 scoring (safe for context)
• Provision retrieval gives exact text by BWB identifier + chapter/article
• Cross-references help navigate without loading everything at once

Technical Architecture:

Wetten.overheid.nl BWB API → Parse → SQLite → FTS5 snippet() → MCP response
                                ↑                      ↑
                       Provision parser         Verbatim database query

Traditional Research vs. This MCP

Traditional Approach	This MCP Server
Search Wetten.overheid.nl by wet name	Search by plain Dutch: "persoonsgegevens verwerking"
Navigate multi-boek statutes manually	Get the exact provision with context
Manual cross-referencing between wetten	build_legal_stance aggregates across sources
"Is this statute still in force?" → check manually	check_currency tool → answer in seconds
Find EU basis → dig through EUR-Lex	get_eu_basis → linked EU directives instantly
Check Kamerstukken.nl separately	Premium get_preparatory_works → linked documents
No API, no integration	MCP protocol → AI-native

Traditional: Search Wetten.overheid.nl → Open BWB page → Navigate articles → Check Kamerstukken → EUR-Lex for EU basis → Repeat

This MCP: "What EU law is the basis for AVG artikel 5 about data processing principles?" → Done.

---

Available Tools (15)

Core Legal Research Tools (8)

Tool	Description
search_legislation	FTS5 search on 77,531 provisions with BM25 ranking
get_provision	Retrieve specific provision by wet identifier + article number
search_case_law	FTS5 search on case law with court/date filters
get_preparatory_works	Get linked Kamerstukken and memorie van toelichting for a statute
validate_citation	Validate citation against database (zero-hallucination check)
build_legal_stance	Aggregate citations from statutes, case law, prep works
format_citation	Format citations per Dutch conventions (full/short/pinpoint)
check_currency	Check if statute is in force, amended, or repealed

EU Law Integration Tools (5)

Tool	Description
get_eu_basis	Get EU directives/regulations that a Dutch statute implements
get_dutch_implementations	Find Dutch laws implementing a specific EU act
search_eu_implementations	Search EU documents with Dutch implementation counts
get_provision_eu_basis	Get EU law references for a specific provision
validate_eu_compliance	Check implementation status (requires EU MCP)

History & Metadata Tools (2)

Tool	Description
get_provision_at_date	Retrieve a provision as it was at a specific historical date
list_sources	List data sources with provenance, coverage, and freshness info

---

EU Law Integration

Netherlands is a founding EU member state. Dutch law directly transposes EU directives across the full acquis communautaire.

Metric	Value
EU Member State	Yes (founding member, since 1958)
GDPR Status	Directly applicable; implemented by Uitvoeringswet AVG
Key Implementation	AVG → Uitvoeringswet Algemene verordening gegevensbescherming
Competition Law	Mededingingswet implements EU Treaty Articles 101-102
ePrivacy	Telecommunicatiewet transposes ePrivacy Directive

Dutch Law and EU Directives

• AVG (GDPR) -- GDPR is directly applicable in the Netherlands. The Uitvoeringswet AVG implements the member-state derogations and supplements. The get_eu_basis tool links AVG provisions to the underlying GDPR articles.
• ePrivacy Directive -- transposed via the Telecommunicatiewet, governing electronic communications and cookie consent.
• Competition law -- Mededingingswet aligns with EU Treaty Articles 101 (cartels) and 102 (abuse of dominance) and Commission enforcement practice.
• Trade Secrets Directive -- implemented by Wet bescherming bedrijfsgeheimen (2018).
• Financial regulation -- Wet op het financieel toezicht (Wft) transposes MiFID II, the Capital Requirements Directive, and related EU financial services directives.

The EU bridge tools provide bi-directional lookup: start from a Dutch provision to find its EU basis, or start from an EU directive to find its Dutch implementation.

See EU_INTEGRATION_GUIDE.md for detailed documentation.

---

Premium Tier

The free tier includes all 77,531 provisions with full-text search and EU cross-references. The premium tier adds case law, preparatory works, and version history.

Feature	Free	Premium
Statute search (77,531 provisions)	Yes	Yes
EU cross-references	Yes	Yes
Citation validation	Yes	Yes
Case law (59,261 rulings)	--	Yes
Preparatory works (2,994 documents)	--	Yes
Provision version history	--	Yes
Amendment diffs	--	Yes

Premium case law covers decisions from the Hoge Raad (Supreme Court), Gerechtshoven (Courts of Appeal), and Rechtbanken (District Courts) sourced from Rechtspraak.nl.

Premium preparatory works covers Kamerstukken (parliamentary documents), memorie van toelichting (explanatory memoranda), and other preparatory materials from Overheid.nl.

Premium is enabled via PREMIUM_ENABLED=true environment variable. Contact hello@ansvar.ai for access.

---

Data Sources & Freshness

All content is sourced from authoritative Dutch legal databases:

• Wetten.overheid.nl -- Official consolidated statutes, Ministerie van Justitie en Veiligheid
• Rechtspraak.nl -- Official court decisions database
• Overheid.nl -- Official government publications portal
• EUR-Lex -- Official EU law database (metadata)

Data Provenance

Field	Value
Authority	Ministerie van Justitie en Veiligheid / Overheid.nl
Retrieval method	Bulk download from Wetten.overheid.nl BWB API
Language	Dutch (primary)
License	Open Government License -- Netherlands
Coverage	3,251 Dutch federal laws (100% BWB corpus)
Last ingested	2026-02-22

Automated Freshness Checks (Daily)

A daily GitHub Actions workflow monitors all data sources:

Source	Check	Method
Statute amendments	Wetten.overheid.nl date comparison	All 3,251 statutes checked
New statutes	BWB API publications (90-day window)	Diffed against database
Case law	Rechtspraak.nl feed entry count	Compared to database
Preparatory works	Overheid.nl Kamerstukken feed (30-day window)	New docs detected
EU reference staleness	Git commit timestamps	Flagged if >90 days old

---

Security

This project uses multiple layers of automated security scanning:

Scanner	What It Does	Schedule
CodeQL	Static analysis for security vulnerabilities	Weekly + PRs
Semgrep	SAST scanning (OWASP top 10, secrets, TypeScript)	Every push
Gitleaks	Secret detection across git history	Every push
Trivy	CVE scanning on filesystem and npm dependencies	Daily
Docker Security	Container image scanning + SBOM generation	Daily
Socket.dev	Supply chain attack detection	PRs
OSSF Scorecard	OpenSSF best practices scoring	Weekly
Dependabot	Automated dependency updates	Weekly

See SECURITY.md for the full policy and vulnerability reporting.

---

Important Disclaimers

Legal Advice

THIS TOOL IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE

Statute text is sourced from official Wetten.overheid.nl publications. However:

• This is a research tool, not a substitute for professional legal counsel
• Court case coverage is limited -- do not rely solely on this for case law research
• Verify critical citations against primary sources for court filings
• EU cross-references are extracted from Dutch statute text and EUR-Lex metadata, not full EU law text
• Municipal and provincial legislation is not included -- this covers national (rijks) legislation only

Before using professionally, read: DISCLAIMER.md | PRIVACY.md

Client Confidentiality

Queries go through the Claude API. For privileged or confidential matters (including attorney-client privilege under the Wet op de rechtsbijstand), use on-premise deployment. See PRIVACY.md for guidance on use in Dutch legal practice.

---

Documentation

• EU Integration Guide -- Detailed EU cross-reference documentation
• EU Usage Examples -- Practical EU lookup examples
• Security Policy -- Vulnerability reporting and scanning details
• Disclaimer -- Legal disclaimers and professional use notices
• Privacy -- Client confidentiality and data handling

---

Development

Setup

git clone https://github.com/Ansvar-Systems/Dutch-law-mcp
cd Dutch-law-mcp
npm install
npm run build
npm test

Running Locally

npm run dev                                       # Start MCP server (stdio)
npm run dev:http                                  # Start HTTP server
npx @anthropic/mcp-inspector node dist/index.js   # Test with MCP Inspector

Data Management

npm run ingest                   # Ingest statutes from Wetten.overheid.nl BWB API
npm run ingest:all               # Full corpus ingest
npm run ingest:cases             # Ingest case law from Rechtspraak.nl
npm run ingest:prep-works        # Ingest Kamerstukken and preparatory works
npm run build:db                 # Rebuild free-tier SQLite database
npm run build:db:paid            # Rebuild premium SQLite database
npm run drift:detect             # Run drift detection against BWB anchors
npm run check-updates            # Check for statute amendments
npm run extract:definitions      # Extract legal definitions
npm run populate:xrefs           # Populate EU cross-references

Performance

• Search Speed: <100ms for most FTS5 queries
• Database Size: 126 MB (efficient, portable)
• Reliability: 100% ingestion success rate

---

Related Projects: Complete Compliance Suite

This server is part of Ansvar's Compliance Suite -- MCP servers that work together for end-to-end compliance coverage:

@ansvar/eu-regulations-mcp

Query 49 EU regulations directly from Claude -- GDPR, AI Act, DORA, NIS2, MiFID II, eIDAS, and more. Full regulatory text with article-level search. npx @ansvar/eu-regulations-mcp

@ansvar/dutch-law-mcp (This Project)

Query 3,251 Dutch statutes directly from Claude -- AVG, BW, WvSr, Mededingingswet, Wft, and the full BWB corpus. Full provision text with EU cross-references. npx @ansvar/dutch-law-mcp

@ansvar/us-regulations-mcp

Query US federal and state compliance laws -- HIPAA, CCPA, SOX, GLBA, FERPA, and more. npm install @ansvar/us-regulations-mcp

@ansvar/ot-security-mcp

Query IEC 62443, NIST 800-82/53, and MITRE ATT&CK for ICS -- Specialized for OT/ICS environments. npx @ansvar/ot-security-mcp

@ansvar/automotive-cybersecurity-mcp

Query UNECE R155/R156 and ISO 21434 -- Automotive cybersecurity compliance. npx @ansvar/automotive-cybersecurity-mcp

@ansvar/sanctions-mcp

Offline-capable sanctions screening -- OFAC, EU, UN sanctions lists. pip install ansvar-sanctions-mcp

70+ national law MCPs covering Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Norway, Poland, Singapore, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, UK, and more.

---

Contributing

Contributions welcome! See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

Priority areas:

• Court case law expansion (Hoge Raad, Gerechtshoven archive)
• EU Regulations MCP integration (full EU law text, CJEU case law)
• Historical statute versions and amendment tracking
• Lower court decisions (Rechtbanken archives)
• English translations for key statutes

---

Roadmap

• Core statute database -- 3,251 Dutch statutes with FTS5 search (100% BWB coverage)
• EU law integration -- cross-references to EU directives and regulations
• Premium case law -- 59,261 Hoge Raad, Gerechtshoven, and Rechtbanken rulings
• Premium preparatory works -- 2,994 Kamerstukken documents
• Hetzner GHCR deployment -- Docker-based production hosting
• npm package publication
• Full Wetten.overheid.nl coverage -- 3,251 statutes, 77,531 provisions
• Historical statute versions (amendment tracking)
• Lower court coverage (Rechtbanken archives)
• Full EU text integration (via @ansvar/eu-regulations-mcp)
• English translations for key statutes
• Web API for programmatic access

---

Citation

If you use this MCP server in academic research:

@software{dutch_law_mcp_2026,
  author = {Ansvar Systems AB},
  title = {Dutch Law MCP Server: Production-Grade Legal Research Tool},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://github.com/Ansvar-Systems/Dutch-law-mcp},
  note = {3,251 Dutch statutes with 77,531 provisions and EU law cross-references}
}

---

License

Apache License 2.0. See LICENSE for details.

Data Licenses

• Statutes & Legislation: Ministerie van Justitie en Veiligheid (Open Government License -- Netherlands)
• Case Law: Rechtspraak.nl open data
• EU Metadata: EUR-Lex (EU public domain)

---

About Ansvar Systems

We build AI-accelerated compliance and legal research tools for the European market. This MCP server started as our internal reference tool for Dutch law -- turns out everyone building for the Dutch and EU market has the same research frustrations.

So we're open-sourcing it. Navigating 3,251 statutes and 77,531 provisions shouldn't require a law degree.

ansvar.eu -- Stockholm, Sweden

---