Document Retrieval

Retrieve the full text and metadata of any document by its source and ID.

GET /v1/documents/{country}/{source_name}/{source_id}

Fetch a single document with its complete text, metadata, and source-specific fields.

Path Parameters

Parameter	Description
`country`	ISO country code (e.g. `FR`, `DE`, `EU`)
`source_name`	Source name within the country (e.g. `Judilibre`, `EUR-Lex`)
`source_id`	Document ID within the source (may contain slashes)

Alternative form: If the source_id contains characters that are difficult to encode in a URL path, use the query parameter form instead:
GET /v1/documents/FR/Judilibre?source_id=JURITEXT000048123456

Cross-Table Search

The endpoint checks the case_law, legislation, and doctrine tables in order. The first match wins. You do not need to specify which table the document belongs to — the API resolves it automatically.

Response Fields

Common Fields (all document types)

Field	Type	Description
`source`	string	Source identifier (e.g. `FR/Judilibre`)
`source_id`	string	Document ID within source
`data_type`	string	`case_law`, `legislation`, or `doctrine`
`title`	string	Document title
`text`	string	Full document text
`url`	string	Link to original source
`date`	string	Primary date (decision date or publication date)
`country`	string	ISO country code
`language`	string	Language code
`meta`	object	Additional source-specific fields as JSON

Case Law Fields

Field	Type	Description
`court`	string	Court name
`chamber`	string	Chamber or division
`jurisdiction`	string	Jurisdiction name
`ecli`	string	European Case Law Identifier
`case_number`	string	Case or docket number
`decision_type`	string	Type of decision (e.g. arrêt, ordonnance)
`decision_number`	string	Decision number
`court_tier`	integer	1 = supreme, 2 = appellate, 3 = first instance
`summary`	string	Editorial or AI-generated summary
`judges`	string[]	List of judges or rapporteurs

Legislation Fields

Field	Type	Description
`document_type`	string	Type (e.g. regulation, directive, loi, Gesetz)
`authority`	string	Issuing authority or body
`status`	string	Current status (in_force, repealed, amended)
`identifier`	string	Official identifier or number
`eli_uri`	string	European Legislation Identifier URI
`effective_date`	string	Date the law took effect
`expiry_date`	string	Expiry date (if applicable)
`quality_tier`	integer	Data quality tier (1 = highest)

Cache Headers

Responses include cache-control headers tailored to the document type:

Case law: max-age=86400 (24h)

Legislation: max-age=3600 (1h)

Court decisions are immutable once published, so they are cached aggressively. Legislation may be amended or consolidated, so it uses a shorter cache window.

Example

Request

curl https://legaldatahunter.com/v1/documents/FR/Judilibre/JURITEXT000048123456 \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk-your-key-here"

Response

{
  "source": "FR/Judilibre",
  "source_id": "JURITEXT000048123456",
  "data_type": "case_law",
  "title": "Cour de cassation, Chambre civile 1, 15 mars 2024, 22-18.734",
  "court": "Cour de cassation",
  "chamber": "Première chambre civile",
  "court_tier": 1,
  "jurisdiction": "France",
  "date": "2024-03-15",
  "ecli": "ECLI:FR:CCASS:2024:C100215",
  "case_number": "22-18.734",
  "decision_type": "Arrêt",
  "text": "LA COUR DE CASSATION, PREMIÈRE CHAMBRE CIVILE, a rendu l'arrêt suivant :\n\nFaits et procédure\n\n1. Selon l'arrêt attaqué (Paris, 12 septembre 2022), M. [X] a assigné la société [Y] en réparation du préjudice subi du fait de la diffusion de données personnelles...\n\n[full text truncated for documentation]",
  "url": "https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/juri/id/JURITEXT000048123456",
  "country": "FR",
  "language": "fr",
  "summary": "La première chambre civile précise les conditions dans lesquelles le droit à l'effacement des données personnelles peut être opposé à un moteur de recherche.",
  "judges": ["Mme Duval-Arnould", "M. Chevalier", "Mme Kerner-Menay"],
  "meta": {
    "formation": "Formation restreinte",
    "solution": "Rejet",
    "rapporteur": "M. Chevalier",
    "avocat_general": "Mme Caron-Dégl'Innocenti"
  }
}

Error Responses

Status	Meaning
`404`	Document not found in any table. Verify the source and source_id are correct.
`401`	Missing or invalid authentication. See Authentication.
`429`	Rate limit exceeded. Check the `Retry-After` header.

Next: Resolve API →