Tutorial: Retsinformation (Danish Legislation)

Legal

Data source: Retsinformation (api.retsinformation.dk)

Overview

Retsinformation (Danish Legislation) wraps Retsinformation (api.retsinformation.dk), handling authentication, pagination, and rate limits for you. This tutorial covers all 4 tools with working code examples you can copy and run.

Prerequisites

Sign up at https://context.gnist.ai/signup for a free API key (100 calls/day).
Choose your integration method: MCP protocol or REST API.

Connect via MCP

Add to your MCP client config (Claude Desktop, Cursor, etc.):

MCP Config

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gnist-retsinformation": {
      "url": "https://context.gnist.ai/mcp/retsinformation/",
      "headers": {
        "Gnist-API-Key": "YOUR_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

Tools (4)

`harvest_changes`

Get recently changed Danish legislation documents from Retsinformation. Returns documents that were added, modified, or removed in the last 24 hours (or for a specific date within the last 10 days). Includes laws (LOV), regulations (BEK), circulars (CIR), and other official documents. Each document includes an ELI URL for retrieving the full text. Returns: Dict with 'count' and 'documents' list. Each has accession_number, document_type, change_date, reason_for_change, and eli_url.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`date`	any	optional	Date (YYYY-MM-DD, within last 10 days). Omit for today's changes.

curl -X POST "https://context.gnist.ai/mcp/retsinformation/" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Gnist-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc": "2.0", "method": "tools/call", "id": 1, "params": {"name": "harvest_changes", "arguments": {"date": "2025-01-15"}}}'

import httpx

resp = httpx.post(
    "https://context.gnist.ai/mcp/retsinformation/",
    headers={"Gnist-API-Key": "YOUR_API_KEY"},
    json={'id': 1,
 'jsonrpc': '2.0',
 'method': 'tools/call',
 'params': {'arguments': {'date': '2025-01-15'}, 'name': 'harvest_changes'}},
)
print(resp.json())

`get_document`

Get full details of a Danish legal document by its accession number. Retrieves the document XML via ELI (European Legislation Identifier) URI and parses key metadata: title, dates, status, subjects, and body text. Document types include: - LOV: Laws (love) - BEK: Regulations (bekendtgørelser) - CIR: Circulars (cirkulærer) - VEJ: Guidelines (vejledninger) Returns: Document detail dict with title, dates, status, subjects, and body_text excerpt.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`accession_number`	string	required	Accession number from harvest results (e.g. 'B20260037005')

curl -X POST "https://context.gnist.ai/mcp/retsinformation/" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Gnist-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc": "2.0", "method": "tools/call", "id": 1, "params": {"name": "get_document", "arguments": {"accession_number": "'B20260037005'"}}}'

import httpx

resp = httpx.post(
    "https://context.gnist.ai/mcp/retsinformation/",
    headers={"Gnist-API-Key": "YOUR_API_KEY"},
    json={'id': 1,
 'jsonrpc': '2.0',
 'method': 'tools/call',
 'params': {'arguments': {'accession_number': "'B20260037005'"},
            'name': 'get_document'}},
)
print(resp.json())

`search_by_type`

Search recent Danish legislation changes filtered by document type. Filters today's (or a specific date's) harvest feed by document type. Useful for monitoring specific categories of legal changes. Returns: Dict with 'count' and 'documents' list filtered by type.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`doc_type`	any	optional	Document type filter: 'LOV' (law), 'BEK' (regulation), 'CIR' (circular), 'VEJ' (guideline)
`date`	any	optional	Date (YYYY-MM-DD, within last 10 days). Omit for today.

curl -X POST "https://context.gnist.ai/mcp/retsinformation/" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Gnist-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc": "2.0", "method": "tools/call", "id": 1, "params": {"name": "search_by_type", "arguments": {"doc_type": "example"}}}'

import httpx

resp = httpx.post(
    "https://context.gnist.ai/mcp/retsinformation/",
    headers={"Gnist-API-Key": "YOUR_API_KEY"},
    json={'id': 1,
 'jsonrpc': '2.0',
 'method': 'tools/call',
 'params': {'arguments': {'doc_type': 'example'}, 'name': 'search_by_type'}},
)
print(resp.json())

`report_feedback`

Report a bug, feature request, or general feedback for this data source. Use this when something doesn't work as expected, when you'd like a new feature, or when you have suggestions for improvement. Args: feedback: Describe the issue or suggestion. feedback_type: One of 'bug', 'feature_request', or 'general'.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`feedback`	string	required
`feedback_type`	string	optional	(default: `general`)

curl -X POST "https://context.gnist.ai/mcp/retsinformation/" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Gnist-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc": "2.0", "method": "tools/call", "id": 1, "params": {"name": "report_feedback", "arguments": {"feedback": "example"}}}'

import httpx

resp = httpx.post(
    "https://context.gnist.ai/mcp/retsinformation/",
    headers={"Gnist-API-Key": "YOUR_API_KEY"},
    json={'id': 1,
 'jsonrpc': '2.0',
 'method': 'tools/call',
 'params': {'arguments': {'feedback': 'example'}, 'name': 'report_feedback'}},
)
print(resp.json())

Common Patterns

Search then retrieve
Use search_by_type to find items, then get_document to get full details. This two-step pattern is common for exploring data before drilling down.

FAQ

What data does Retsinformation (Danish Legislation) provide?

Danish legislation — daily harvest of changed laws, regulations, and circulars with ELI document retrieval. It exposes 4 tools: harvest_changes, get_document, search_by_type, report_feedback.

What do I need to get started?

A Gnist API key (free tier: 100 calls/day). Sign up at https://context.gnist.ai/signup.

What format does the Retsinformation (Danish Legislation) API return?

JSON, via either MCP protocol (JSON-RPC 2.0) or REST API.