| name | authority-triage-en |
| description | Routes source authority BEFORE a legal answer is generated - maps an EU or member-state legal question onto source layers (EU primary law, general principles, Charter, regulations, directives with transposition check, decisions, CJEU case law, national constitution-statute-regulation chain, national apex courts, soft law from EDPB/ESMA/EBA), sets the verification order, checks collision rules and points to the right MCP connector for each layer. Use when: "where do I check this", "what is the source hierarchy", "which source prevails", "where do I start the research", "map the sources for this question", before any legal research without one obvious source. |
| license | Apache-2.0 |
| allowed-tools | ["Read"] |
| data-residency | local |
| requires-human-approval | false |
| pii-egress | none |
| attribution | {"source":"swiss-legal-source-authority-triage (Enrique G. Zbinden)","license":"MIT","relationship":"pattern-only","note":"The \"route authority before answer\" pattern only. No code or text taken; the PL/EU substance is written from scratch.\n"} |
| metadata | {"author":"Wiesław Mazur / MateMatic","version":"1.0.0","companion_skills":"citation-grounding-pl, legal-request-router-pl, saos-orzecznictwo, eu-sparql-search, legal-data-hunter-pl"} |
Authority Triage EN - route the source before the answer
Philosophy
Before a legal answer exists, you need to know which source controls it.
A model that starts from the conclusion and then shops for a provision works
in the wrong order - first the layer map, then the research, then the thesis.
This skill is the layer BEFORE grounding. Three skills, three jobs:
- authority-triage-en (this skill) says WHERE to look and IN WHAT ORDER,
- citation-grounding-pl verifies WHETHER a quote and citation are real,
- legal-request-router-pl decides WHAT level of control the result gets.
The skill gives no legal advice. It produces a source map and a verification
order. The output is a draft that goes through the human gate.
When to use
- An EU or member-state legal question with no single obvious source
("can a controller...", "is this clause enforceable...", "what sanctions
apply under...").
- The user asks directly: where to check this, what prevails, where to start,
what the hierarchy is.
- Before firing connectors - so queries follow the layer order instead of
hitting databases at random.
- Whenever a directive may be in play (transposition status changes the
answer) or two instruments may collide.
What it does NOT do
- Does not verify quote content or citation existence - that is
citation-grounding-pl.
- Does not assess stakes or pick a control path - that is
legal-request-router-pl.
- Does not answer the legal question on the merits - it delivers a map,
not a conclusion.
- Does not fetch sources itself - it names the connector, the connector fetches.
- Does not resolve a national-constitution vs EU-primacy standoff - that
collision is flagged to the human.
Layer map
Layer 1 - EU primary law
| # | Source | Notes |
|---|
| 1 | Treaties (TEU, TFEU) | the constitutional frame of the EU legal order |
| 2 | Charter of Fundamental Rights | same rank as the Treaties (Art. 6(1) TEU); binds member states when implementing EU law (Art. 51 CFR) |
| 3 | General principles of EU law | proportionality, legal certainty, legitimate expectations, effectiveness - developed by the CJEU |
Layer 2 - EU secondary law
