> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://developers.laws.africa/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://developers.laws.africa/knowledge-bases/judgments.md).

# Judgment Knowledge Bases

Work with judgment Knowledge Bases.

Judgment Knowledge Bases retrieve relevant case law context.

Use them when your product needs:

* case law discovery;
* legal research triage;
* judgment context for AI answers;
* semantic search over case law summaries.

## What they return

Judgment results include:

* a judgment summary in `content.text`;
* judgment metadata such as `title`, `work_frbr_uri`, `expression_date` and `public_url`;
* summary fields such as `blurb` and `flynote` when available;
* a match score.

{% hint style="warning" %}
Judgment Knowledge Bases return summaries and metadata. They do not return the full original judgment text through the retrieve response.
{% endhint %}

## Example query

```json
{
  "text": "delict slip and trip",
  "top_k": 5
}
```

Use the returned `public_url` so users can inspect the source judgment.


---

# Agent Instructions
This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com.

## Querying This Documentation
If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the following URL with the `ask` and `goal` query parameters:

```
GET https://developers.laws.africa/knowledge-bases/judgments.md?ask=<question>&goal=<user_goal>
```

`ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
`goal` is what the user is ultimately trying to achieve, the reason they need the answer. Sharing it helps GitBook give you a better, more relevant answer. A goal is most helpful when it describes the outcome the user wants rather than restating the question. For example, with `ask=how do I create an API token`, a goal like `automate deployments from our CI pipeline` lets GitBook tailor the answer to that use case.

The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.