How search works
Select one or more legal sources, type your query, and search. What happens next depends on the sources you selected, because different sources interpret your query differently. A badge in the search box tells you which mode is active. In the source picker, each jurisdiction shows its country flag, so you can scan which country each source belongs to. Jurisdictions that cover more than one country, such as the EU, show a globe instead. Your selected sources are grouped into jurisdiction chips above the results. Open a jurisdiction chip to review its databases. Select or clear individual sources, or choose Select all, to update that jurisdiction without changing sources selected for other jurisdictions. Prompt search lets you describe what you’re looking for in plain language — something like “recent Dutch case law on unfair dismissal during probation.” The source matches on meaning, not just keywords. This is how GenIA-L, Kennisbank, and some Moonlit portals work. Keyword search is the traditional approach: specific terms, boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT), and exact phrases in quotes. Some Moonlit portals use this mode.
Hybrid search combines both — it matches on meaning and specific terms at the same time. This is how Rettsdata, Lovdata, Rechtspraak.nl, and GenIA-L handle queries.
If you’re not sure how to phrase what you’re looking for, click Improve prompt before searching. The AI refines your query to help surface more targeted results.
Search history
Saga keeps a history of your completed legal research searches so you can return to earlier work without rebuilding the query. On the Legal research page, recent searches appear as cards before you run a new search. Open the history menu to browse or search older entries. From there you can:- Reopen a search, restoring the query, selected sources, filters, and sort so you can continue from that setup
- Rename an entry so it has a label you will recognize later
- Favorite an entry to keep important searches easy to find
- Delete one entry, or clear all history when you want a clean slate
