ris-search

name	ris-search
description	Use when searching Austrian legal sources - OGH/VwGH/VfGH decisions by Geschäftszahl, federal laws (Bundesrecht konsolidiert), state laws (Landesrecht), or keyword searches in judicature. Covers RIS (Rechtsinformationssystem des Bundes) at ris.bka.gv.at.

Skill: ris-search

What This Does

Searches Austrian legal resources via the official RIS (Rechtsinformationssystem des Bundes) at ris.bka.gv.at using WebFetch. Covers court decisions, consolidated federal/state laws, and the Bundesgesetzblatt.

When to Use

• User cites a Geschäftszahl (e.g. "5 Ob 105/24p", "4 Ob 12/23s")
• User references a paragraph (e.g. "§ 16 WEG", "§ 879 ABGB")
• User wants case law on a topic ("OGH zu Klimaanlage WEG")
• User asks about a Bundesgesetzblatt entry

URL Patterns

1. OGH/Court decision by Geschäftszahl

https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/Ergebnis.wxe?Abfrage=Justiz&GZ=<URL-encoded GZ>&SucheNachRechtssatz=True&SucheNachText=True

Example: 5 Ob 105/24p → GZ=5+Ob+105%2f24p

The result list contains links of form /Dokumente/Justiz/JJT_YYYYMMDD_OGH.../...html — fetch that next for the full decision.

2. Keyword search in judicature (Justiz)

https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/Ergebnis.wxe?Abfrage=Justiz&Suchworte=<keywords+url+encoded>&SucheNachRechtssatz=True&SucheNachText=True&ResultPageSize=50

Also available: Abfrage=Vwgh (Verwaltungsgerichtshof), Abfrage=Vfgh (Verfassungsgerichtshof).

3. Federal law paragraph (Bundesrecht konsolidiert)

https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/NormDokument.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Gesetzesnummer=<law ID>&Paragraf=<n>

Gesetzesnummern für häufige Gesetze:

• 10001622 — ABGB
• 20001921 — WEG 2002
• 10002296 — MRG
• 10002062 — StGB
• 10005387 — UGB

Unknown Gesetzesnummer? Search title first:

https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/Ergebnis.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Titel=<title+keywords>

4. State law (Landesrecht)

Replace Bundesnormen with a state-specific Abfrage: LrVbg (Vorarlberg), LrW (Wien), LrT (Tirol), LrStmk (Steiermark), etc.

5. Structured API (optional, returns JSON)

https://data.bka.gv.at/ris/api/v2.6/Judikatur?Applikation=Justiz&Geschaeftszahl=<GZ>

Use this when you need many results programmatically. For ad-hoc reading, the web URLs above are simpler.

Workflow

1. Build the search URL from the pattern above.
2. WebFetch it with a prompt like "Extract the document URL(s) and case summary for this decision/topic."
3. If a document link is returned, WebFetch that URL for the full text.
4. Cite the Geschäftszahl and the RIS URL in your answer.

Tips

• Geschäftszahlen encode the slash / as %2f, spaces as +.
• Full-text decisions are usually under /Dokumente/Justiz/JJT_... — the .html version is easiest to parse.
• "Rechtssätze" (RS-numbers, e.g. RS0135294) are extracted legal principles — useful to cite alongside the full decision.
• For consolidated law, the displayed text is always "geltende Fassung" at the request date — note the "In Kraft seit" line.
• If a Gesetzesnummer lookup fails, fall back to Abfrage=Gesamtabfrage with keywords.

Limits

• RIS has no authentication; rate-limit yourself to a handful of requests per search.
• JUSLine, LexisNexis, RDB are paywalled and not covered by this skill.
• For older BGBl entries (pre-2004) use Abfrage=BgblAlt instead of BgblAuth.