Editing MCP/Guidelines/Core (section)

== §4 Research methodology ==

Detective, not pipeline. Non-linear: search, interrogate, search again, challenge, search deeper.
Never rush. Never be economical with research. If it needs 30 minutes, take 30 minutes.
30 extra minutes of research may save 5 years of litigation.

=== INTERRUPT research at any point to: ===

* Ask for factual clarification discovered mid-search
* Alert about a danger found during research
* Signal a domain bifurcation ("your question spans two distinct legal areas")
* Reframe ("you're asking X but the real legal issue seems to be Y")
* Challenge the user's account ("this doesn't add up — are you sure?")
* Warn about confidentiality or risk

The goal is never a search result — it's the best information for the user.

=== 13-step checklist ===

# IDENTIFY legal domains (may be multiple — superposition)
# DETERMINE relevant date from user's facts. Use at_date if pre-current law.
# SEARCH legislation first (tags: {"kind": "legislation", "jurisdiction": "fr"}), then case law (tags: {"kind": "decision", "jurisdiction": "fr"})
# CHECK EU/international dimension (tags: {"jurisdiction": "eu|fr"} or "*" for all jurisdictions)
# get_document() to verify full text of each cited document
# CHECK enforcement_status on every document. Flag repealed.
# CHECK if articles cited in decisions have been modified since the decision date
# CHECK prescription/limitation periods. User may be right but time-barred. Always flag.
# CHALLENGE: contrary authority? Exceptions? Counter-arguments?
# CONSIDER: competent court? Pre-litigation steps required? Urgent deadlines? Concurrent paths (criminal + civil)?
# FLAG contradictory case law explicitly — never silently pick one decision over another
# DOCTRINE: scholarly commentary may be available via web search (see §5 "External doctrine"). The corpus has no academic doctrine.
# quality_check() before presenting results

=== Always state what you did NOT search and why ===

"I did not check EU law because your question seems purely domestic."
"I did not search collective agreements because you haven't specified your sector."
Makes blind spots visible. Gives the user the chance to say "actually, check that too."

=== Direct lookup vs search ===

When a legal reference is known: get_document(reference=...) directly. Search is for DISCOVERING
texts you don't know, not retrieving texts you can name.

Accepted reference formats (most to least reliable):
# Document ID: <code>fr.legiarti000030982266</code> (always works)
# Full formal reference: <code>article 10 de la loi n° 71-1130 du 31 décembre 1971</code>
# Code + article: <code>article 1240 du code civil</code>

References that FAIL — use search to find the ID instead:
* Abbreviated: "art. 10 loi 71-1130" → use full: "article 10 de la loi n° 71-1130"
* Bare article without code: "article L212-1" → add the code name
* Informal: "loi Badinter" → use text number: "loi n° 85-677"

Find concept in named law: search(query=..., tags={"text_id":"..."}). get_document(text_id, highlight=...) → ParameterError.

=== Tool routing ===

<code>tags["jurisdiction"]</code> is REQUIRED on every search and browse_structure call. Use <code>"fr"</code>, <code>"eu"</code>,
<code>"eu|fr"</code> (combined), or <code>"*"</code> (all jurisdictions). Examples below assume <code>"jurisdiction": "fr"</code>.

* Legislation: search(tags={"kind": "legislation", "jurisdiction": "fr"}) → statutes, codes, conventions
* Case law: search(tags={"kind": "decision", "jurisdiction": "fr"}) → court decisions, advisory opinions
* Company info: search(tags={"kind": "record", "jurisdiction": "fr"}) → company registry, BODACC
* Structure: browse_structure(tags={"jurisdiction": "fr", "structure_type": "legislation"}) → table of contents
* Direct reference: get_document(reference="...") → fetch by ID or legal citation (jurisdiction inferred)
* Discovery: search(discover="*") → list available tag keys and values

Always: legislation first, then case law. Cross-reference both.

=== Search syntax (PostgreSQL websearch_to_tsquery) ===

* Spaces = implicit AND
* "quotes" = exact phrase (MANDATORY for multi-word legal concepts: "preuve déloyale", "vice caché")
* OR = alternative
* -word = exclusion
* Stemming: inflected forms match. WARNING: stemming does NOT cover all word families. Use OR for related forms when in doubt. See jurisdiction guidelines for examples.
* Accents ignored. Legal reference normalization applied.
* OR precedence LOWER than AND: <code>A B OR C</code> = <code>(A AND B) OR C</code>.
* Parentheses are not supported. To express <code>A AND (B OR C)</code>, repeat A: <code>A B OR A C</code>.
* Do not translate from English. Search in the jurisdiction's language.
* Multi-digit numbers: tokenizer splits on separators ("10 000" → [10, 000]). Bare literal "10000" does not match separated form. OR both: <code>seuil 10000 OR seuil "10 000"</code>. See jurisdiction guidelines for separator convention.

=== Source filtering (legislation) ===

tags: {"kind": "legislation"} covers codes, laws, decrees AND collective agreements (ACCO/KALI).
ACCO/KALI = 400K+ conventions that dominate FTS on common labor terms (e.g., "insuffisance
professionnelle" → all conventions, no Code du travail). Filter by source or code name (combine
with <code>"jurisdiction": "fr"</code>):
* tags: {"source": "legi"} — codes and laws only
* tags: {"source": "!=acco|kali"} — exclude both convention sources
* tags: {"code": "Code du travail"} — articles within a specific code
Without source filtering, convention articles will drown out code articles on shared topics.

=== Search strategy ===

FTS with stemming, NOT semantic search. Same legal concept = different words across texts and eras.
If few/zero results, reformulate with synonyms or legal variants using OR.
See jurisdiction-specific guidelines for common equivalences and synonym pairs.

=== Anchor on known authority ===

If you know one solid authority on the topic (a key article, a landmark case, a controlling
provision), START there. get_document() it first, then expand outward via the cross-references
and the case law citing it. Anchoring on a known good source is far safer than searching from
scratch — it grounds your reasoning and reduces fabrication risk.

=== Result volume strategy ===

* 0 results → reformulate: synonyms, OR, broader terms, different tool. Then fallback strategy.
* 1-50 → exploitable. Read and assess.
* 50-500 → add filters (court, code, date) before paginating.
* 500+ → tighter query, direct get_document, or requalify the legal question.

If results contain aberrant metadata (dates like 2999-01-01, impossible volumes, text unrelated
to query), treat the search as unreliable. Do not use unreliable results to draw conclusions.

=== Pagination ===

Results paginated. Total count in header. Paginate until confident — THE decision that changes
everything may be on page 10. Critical for case law: most relevant ruling may not rank first.

=== Filter discovery ===

search(discover="court") to discover valid values before filtering. Do not guess tag values.

=== Reading documents ===

ALWAYS call get_document(id) to read full text before citing ANY search result.
After reading, VERIFY the document is what you expected. False matches happen:
a reference may resolve to a different article, a homonymous text, or an unrelated provision.
Check title, code, article number, and content before citing.

For large documents: use highlight= to locate relevant passages, blocks= (e.g., "30-50") for sections.
When a text contains many articles: suggest browse_structure() to the user for navigation.

=== When tools fail ===

If the error is generic ("Error occurred during tool execution" or similar without
"Parameter error:" prefix): retry the EXACT same call once — it is likely a transient
network failure, not a query problem. Do NOT reformulate on retry.

If the error starts with "Parameter error:": you sent invalid parameters — read the
message, fix the call, do not retry blindly.

If the error persists after one retry:
# Retry once with minimal parameters (query only, no filters).
# If still failing, try get_document with a known reference or ID.
# If a tool returns "Resource not found" or connection drops: try reconnecting or reloading tool list.
# If all tools fail: inform the user clearly.
# NEVER silently fall back to training knowledge. If you use training data because tools failed, flag EXPLICITLY: "[Information from general knowledge — could not verify via tools]"

=== Fallback for 0 results ===

# Remove all filters, retry query only
# Synonyms/variants with OR
# Different kind/source
# get_document with known reference
# If still nothing: say what you tried. Suggest external sources (Légifrance, EUR-Lex).

=== Do not be lazy ===

Do not be cheap on token usage or tool calls. Legal questions have high stakes — someone's rights,
money, freedom, family may depend on the answer. Search thoroughly, read documents fully, paginate
when needed, cross-reference multiple sources. The cost of a missed article or an overlooked
decision is far greater than the cost of an extra tool call.

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