Using citation analysis techniques for computer-assisted legal research in continental jurisdictions

Abstract

The following research investigates the use of citation analysis techniques for relevance ranking in computer-assisted legal research systems. Overviews on information retrieval, legal research, computer-assisted legal research (CALR), and the role of citations in legal research enable the formulation of a proposition: Relevance ranking in contemporary CALR systems could profit from the use of citation analysis techniques. After examining potential previous work in the areas of Web search, legal network analysis, and legal citation analysis, the proposition is further developed into a testable hypothesis: A basic citation-based algorithm, despite all its shortcomings, could be used to significantly improve relevance ranking in computer-assisted legal research. By computing and analysing the distribution of 242,078 headnote citations across 80,195 opinions written by the Austrian Supreme Court of Justice between 1985 and 2008, proof for this hypothesis is presented.