German Law MCP Server

The gesetze-im-internet.de alternative for the AI age.

Query 6,870 German federal statutes -- from the BGB and StGB to the GG, BDSG, and more -- directly from Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-compatible client.

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

Built by Ansvar Systems -- Stockholm, Sweden

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Why This Exists

German legal research is scattered across gesetze-im-internet.de, dejure.org, rechtsprechung-im-internet.de, and DIP Bundestag. Whether you're:

• A Rechtsanwalt validating citations in a Schriftsatz or contract
• A compliance officer checking if a statute is still in force
• A legal tech developer building tools on German law
• A researcher tracing legislative history from Drucksache to statute

...you shouldn't need 47 browser tabs and manual PDF cross-referencing. Ask Claude. Get the exact provision. With context.

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

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Quick Start

Use Remotely (No Install Needed)

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

Endpoint: https://german-law-mcp.vercel.app/mcp

Client	How to Connect
Claude.ai	Settings > Connectors > Add Integration > paste URL
Claude Code	claude mcp add german-law --transport http https://german-law-mcp.vercel.app/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": {
    "german-law": {
      "type": "url",
      "url": "https://german-law-mcp.vercel.app/mcp"
    }
  }
}

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

{
  "github.copilot.chat.mcp.servers": {
    "german-law": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://german-law-mcp.vercel.app/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Use Locally (npm)

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

Cursor / VS Code:

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

Example Queries

Once connected, just ask naturally:

• "Was sagt § 823 Abs. 1 BGB über Schadensersatz?"
• "Ist das BDSG 2018 noch in Kraft?"
• "Find provisions about Datenschutz in German law"
• "What EU directives does the BDSG implement?"
• "Which German laws implement the GDPR?"
• "Get the preparatory works for the IT-Sicherheitsgesetz"
• "Validate the citation § 433 BGB"
• "Search for Kündigungsschutz in case law"
• "Compare DSGVO implementation across German statutes"

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What's Included

Category	Count	Details
Statutes	6,870 laws	Complete German federal legislation
Provisions	91,843 sections	Full-text searchable with FTS5
Case Law	5,000 decisions	BVerfG, BGH, BVerwG, BAG, BSG, BFH, BPatG
Preparatory Works	89,423 records	Drucksachen + Plenarprotokolle (WP 19 + 20)
Database Size	~300 MB	Runtime download on cold start (Strategy B)
Daily Updates	Automated	Freshness checks against gesetze-im-internet.de

Verified data only -- every provision is ingested from official government sources. Zero LLM-generated content.

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See It In Action

Why This Works

Verbatim Source Text (No LLM Processing):

• All statute text is ingested from gesetze-im-internet.de official XML exports
• 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)
• Three-tier search strategy: exact citation match → FTS5 full-text → LIKE fallback
• Cross-references help navigate without loading everything at once

Technical Architecture:

gesetze-im-internet.de → Parse XML → SQLite → FTS5 snippet() → MCP response
                  ↑                          ↑
           Provision parser           Verbatim database query

Traditional Research vs. This MCP

Traditional Approach	This MCP Server
Search gesetze-im-internet.de by law name	Search by plain German: "Datenschutz Arbeitnehmer"
Navigate multi-section statutes manually	Get the exact provision with context
Manual cross-referencing between laws	build_legal_stance aggregates across sources
"Is this statute still in force?" → check manually	check_currency → answer in seconds
Find EU basis → dig through EUR-Lex	get_eu_basis → linked EU directives instantly
Check DIP Bundestag for legislative history	get_preparatory_works → structured results
No API, no integration	MCP protocol → AI-native

Traditional: Search gesetze-im-internet.de → Download XML → Ctrl+F → Cross-reference with Drucksache → Check EUR-Lex for EU basis → Repeat

This MCP: "What EU law is the basis for § 1 BDSG?" → Done.

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Available Tools (19)

Core Legal Research Tools (8)

Tool	Description
search_legislation	FTS5 search on 91,843 provisions with BM25 ranking
get_provision	Retrieve specific provision by document ID
search_case_law	Search 5,000 federal court decisions with court/date filters
get_preparatory_works	Get Drucksachen and Plenarprotokolle 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 German conventions (default/short/pinpoint)
check_currency	Check if statute is in force in the ingested corpus

Citation Tools (2)

Tool	Description
parse_citation	Parse § 823 Abs. 1 BGB or Art. 1 Abs. 1 GG into structured components
validate_citation	Check if a citation exists in the database

EU Law Integration Tools (5)

Tool	Description
get_eu_basis	Get EU directives/regulations for a German statute
get_german_implementations	Find German laws implementing an EU act
search_eu_implementations	Search EU documents with German implementation counts
get_provision_eu_basis	Get EU law references for specific provision
validate_eu_compliance	Check implementation status

Discovery & Metadata Tools (2)

Tool	Description
list_sources	Data provenance and source metadata
about	Server version, tier, statistics, and freshness

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Data Sources & Freshness

All content is sourced from authoritative German legal databases:

• gesetze-im-internet.de -- Federal Ministry of Justice, all consolidated federal statutes
• rechtsprechung-im-internet.de -- Federal court decisions (BVerfG, BGH, BVerwG, BAG, BSG, BFH, BPatG)
• DIP Bundestag -- Legislative preparatory works (Drucksachen, Plenarprotokolle)
• EUR-Lex -- EU cross-reference metadata

Automated Freshness Checks (Daily)

A daily GitHub Actions workflow monitors all data sources:

Source	Check	Method
Statute amendments	gesetze-im-internet.de XML index	All 6,870 statutes checked
New statutes	New entries in federal gazette	Diffed against database
Case law	rechtsprechung-im-internet.de feed	Compared to database
Preparatory works	DIP API query (30-day window)	New records detected

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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

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

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Important Disclaimers

Legal Advice

THIS TOOL IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE

Statute text is sourced from official gesetze-im-internet.de publications. However:

• This is a research tool, not a substitute for professional legal counsel
• Court case coverage is limited (5,000 decisions) -- 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 German statute text, not EUR-Lex full text

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

Client Confidentiality

Queries go through the Claude API. For privileged or confidential matters, use on-premise deployment. Lawyers should consider Bundesrechtsanwaltskammer (BRAK) confidentiality obligations when using cloud-based AI tools. See PRIVACY.md for compliance guidance.

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Documentation

• Architecture -- Multi-country adapter architecture
• Accuracy Plan -- Roadmap to production accuracy
• Auto Update -- Automated data freshness system
• Security Policy -- Vulnerability reporting and scanning details
• Disclaimer -- Legal disclaimers and professional use notices
• Privacy -- Client confidentiality and data handling

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Development

Branching Strategy

This repository uses a dev integration branch. Do not push directly to main.

feature-branch → PR to dev → verify on dev → PR to main → deploy

• main is production-ready. Only receives merges from dev via PR.
• dev is the integration branch. All changes land here first.
• Feature branches are created from dev.

Setup

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

Running Locally

npm run dev                                       # Start MCP server
npx @anthropic/mcp-inspector node dist/src/index.js   # Test with MCP Inspector

Data Management

npm run ingest                    # Ingest statutes from gesetze-im-internet.de
npm run ingest:cases              # Ingest case law from rechtsprechung-im-internet.de
npm run ingest:prep               # Ingest preparatory works from DIP Bundestag
npm run auto-update               # Run full update cycle
npm run auto-update:dry-run       # Preview what would be updated
npm run drift:detect              # Detect schema/data drift

Performance

• Search Speed: <100ms for most FTS5 queries
• Database Size: ~300 MB (runtime download, Strategy B)
• Ingestion Coverage: 6,870/6,870 statutes (100% TOC coverage)

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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/german-law-mcp (This Project)

Query 6,870 German statutes directly from Claude -- BGB, StGB, GG, BDSG, and more. Full provision text with EU cross-references. npx @ansvar/german-law-mcp

@ansvar/dutch-law-mcp

Query 3,248 Dutch statutes directly from Claude -- BW, Sr, Awb, and more. Full provision text with EU cross-references. npx @ansvar/dutch-law-mcp

@ansvar/swedish-law-mcp

Query 717 Swedish statutes directly from Claude -- DSL, BrB, ABL, MB, and more. Full provision text with EU cross-references. npx @ansvar/swedish-law-mcp

@ansvar/us-regulations-mcp

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

@ansvar/automotive-cybersecurity-mcp

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

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Contributing

Contributions welcome! See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

Priority areas:

• Lower court decisions (Landesgerichte, Oberlandesgerichte)
• Historical statute versions and amendment tracking (Fassungsvergleich)
• Expanded case law coverage (currently 5,000 of ~50,000+ published decisions)
• State law (Landesrecht) for major Bundesländer

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Roadmap

• Full statute coverage -- 6,870 federal statutes, 91,843 provisions
• Case law -- 5,000 federal court decisions
• Preparatory works -- 89,423 DIP records (WP 19 + 20)
• EU cross-references -- Extracted from statute text
• Citation parsing -- § 823 Abs. 1 BGB and Art. 1 Abs. 1 GG formats
• Free/Professional tier gating -- Honest messaging for tier limitations
• Expanded case law (full archive, ~50,000+ decisions)
• Lower court coverage (Landesgerichte)
• Historical statute versions (Fassungsvergleich)
• State law (Landesrecht)
• English translations for key statutes

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Citation

If you use this MCP server in academic research:

@software{german_law_mcp_2025,
  author = {Ansvar Systems AB},
  title = {German Law MCP Server: Production-Grade Legal Research Tool},
  year = {2025},
  url = {https://github.com/Ansvar-Systems/German-law-mcp},
  note = {Comprehensive German legal database with 6,870 statutes, 91,843 provisions, and EU cross-references}
}

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License

Apache License 2.0. See LICENSE for details.

Data Licenses

• Statutes & Regulations: gesetze-im-internet.de (public domain, German federal government)
• Case Law: rechtsprechung-im-internet.de (public domain)
• Preparatory Works: DIP Bundestag (public domain)
• EU Metadata: EUR-Lex (EU public domain)

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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 German law -- turns out everyone building for the DACH market has the same research frustrations.

So we're open-sourcing it. Navigating 6,870 statutes shouldn't require a law degree.

ansvar.eu -- Stockholm, Sweden

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_{Built with care in Stockholm, Sweden}