Legal research AI that cites the provision

What legal research in Consilena is

You ask a question in plain language, for example what notice an employer must give under section 86 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, or when the qualifying period for unfair dismissal applies. Consilena searches the legal sources it holds, reads the relevant provisions, and writes an answer in which each statement is tied to a numbered source.

The sources are the official publishers: legislation.gov.uk, eur-lex.europa.eu and gesetze-im-internet.de. Opening a citation shows the provision itself, its jurisdiction, its status and the date it was retrieved.

How a research question runs

1. AskType the question. Choose the jurisdictions, or let Consilena pick them.
2. See the estimateThe price is shown beside the send button before you send.
3. Watch the research stepsSearches and reads appear in the trace with their times, so you can see which sources were consulted.
4. Read the cited answerThe answer streams in with numbered citations and, where useful, a summary table. It shows “Law as of” its date.
5. Open the lawOpen each citation to read the provision. In the recorded example on the home page, source 2 opens the Employment Rights Act 2025 text that substitutes “six months” for “two years”.

When several models answer, Consilena shows where they agree and where they differ. Agreement is a signal, not proof.

What the law library covers, and what it does not

• Selected UK Acts and regulations.
• German federal statutes.
• EU law, including GDPR, the AI Act, DORA and MiCA.
• French, Swiss and US federal law.
• Austria, the Netherlands, Spain and Italy through EU law only.

There is no UK or German case law yet. If a question turns on how courts have interpreted a provision, Consilena can point you to the text but not to the judgments; research those in a case-law database.

The coverage page lists what is in the library today, counted from the live index.

How to check a research answer

• Open every citation and confirm the words are in the provision.
• Confirm the provision is in force on the date that matters, and whether it has been amended.
• Confirm the proposition is what the text says, not a stretch of it.
• Note what the trace shows was not searched.

In June 2025 the Divisional Court said lawyers who use AI for research must check it against authoritative sources such as legislation.gov.uk. The citation-checking guide sets out a short routine.

Examples of research questions

• What notice must an employer give under section 86 of the Employment Rights Act 1996?
• What does section 172 of the Companies Act 2006 require of directors?
• Which transfer mechanisms does Chapter V of the GDPR allow?
• What are the notice periods under BGB § 622 for an employee with ten years' service?