NZ Case Law

Use the read-only Python CLI to retrieve and filter records exposed by the official first-party source. Every command supports --json, bounded requests, stable exit codes, source URLs and retrieval timestamps.

Commands

# search published judgments
python3 scripts/cli.py search QUERY --json
# find a neutral citation
python3 scripts/cli.py citation CITATION --json
# filter by court code
python3 scripts/cli.py court CODE --json
# filter by judge
python3 scripts/cli.py judge NAME --json
# discover recent judgments
python3 scripts/cli.py recent --court VALUE --json
# find a judgment identifier
python3 scripts/cli.py judgment ID --json

Add --limit N (1–100) to bound any command. Human output is the default.

Coverage and interpretation

• Retrieval only: not legal advice or outcome prediction.
• Coverage is not exhaustive and varies by court and publication date.
• Respect suppression orders, statutory restrictions and source redactions.
• The connector does not bypass portal or bulk-access controls.

The CLI parses official Courts judgment cards and preserves neutral citation, court, date, judge where published, summary and PDF provenance. Court sources fail independently, and valid zero-result searches return empty success. Coverage limits are explicit on each record.

Resources

• scripts/cli.py — canonical command entrypoint
• scripts/test_contract.py — deterministic repository contract audit
• scripts/smoke_test.py — parser fixture and bounded live probe
• tests/fixtures/judgments.html — deterministic official judgment-card fixture
• references/source-profile.json — command schema, source allowlist and warnings
• references/source-notes.md — feasibility, provenance and source limits