DirectCase 1.0.1: law detail shows how courts rule

DirectCase 1.0.1: law detail shows how courts rule

Legal research doesn't start with the search for a judgment but with a question: how is this provision applied in practice? DirectCase 1.0.1 shows the relevant case law right under the section text.

Pavol Trávník

Legal research doesn't start with the search for a judgment. It starts with a question: how is this provision applied in practice?

In the new DirectCase 1.0.1 release, we bring the answer right where you need it — in the detail view of the statutory provision.

DirectCase 1.0.1: The law's detail view shows how courts actually rule

What's new

When you open a specific section of a law in DirectCase, you now find a complete overview of court decisions citing that provision directly below the text. It isn't just a plain list. For each decision you see:

  • Case number with a direct link to the full text
  • Court that ruled
  • Date of the decision
  • Number of citations — how many times the decision is itself cited in other rulings

That last data point is the key. The citation count works as an indicator of the decision's relevance and influence. A judgment cited by dozens of other decisions is very likely the ruling that shapes how that provision is interpreted.

Why it matters

Imagine you're examining § 61 of the Constitutional Court Act — the disciplinary measure. In DirectCase you immediately see that this provision is cited by over 100 decisions. At the top is a Supreme Administrative Court ruling under case number 29 Af 125/2016, which is itself cited in 63 further decisions. That's a clear signal: start here.

Without this overview you'd be searching databases blindly or hoping that the statute's commentary mentions exactly the right ruling. With DirectCase you see the whole picture in one place.

Sorting by importance

You can sort the list of decisions by citation count, date or other criteria. This lets you quickly identify both the latest developments in case law and the most cited — and therefore most important — decisions relating to the provision.

The law detail as a starting point for research

This feature changes how you can work with legal sources. The provision detail in DirectCase stops being a static text of the law and becomes a living map of court practice.

Instead of searching for decisions and then checking back which provision they relate to, you work the other way — you start from the law and see how courts interpret and apply it.

Try it

Version 1.0.1 is available at directcase.ai. Just open any law, go to the section you care about, and see what the case law has to say.

Your first 10 queries are free. No commitments, no credit card registration.

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