The tool accepts queries in everyday language to improve the accessibility of legal research
The Canadian Legal Information Institute has unveiled its new generative artificial intelligence-powered search assistant CanLII Search+, which has been developed to improve the accessibility of legal research and democratize legal information access in Canada.
The tool was constructed on technical infrastructure developed by CanLII technology partner Lexum. CanLII Search+ accepts questions in plain, everyday language and converts them into structured queries.
In their queries, users must include context like jurisdiction, time period, document type, and legal issue. Searches may also contain legal terminology.
Responses are drawn exclusively from CanLII’s database of case law, legislation, and commentary to prevent hallucinations. The tool includes a contextual analysis feature which analyzes decisions, identifies significant passages, and provides relevance scores for results.
A team of legal experts regularly validates CanLII Search+ processes; nonetheless, CanLII warned users of the typical error and inaccuracy risks that come with AI systems. It also said that CanLII Search+ was not intended to replace advice from legal professionals.
CanLII advised users to consult sources cited in generating findings, as only original legal documents were authoritative. It also cautioned users to avoid providing personal or confidential information, even though it stated that data protection measures had been incorporated and queries were not used in public language model training.
CanLII president and CEO Francis Barragan emphasized that the tool is intended to support human experts by recentering primary law in legal research.
“This launch is the result of the unwavering support of the Federation of Law Societies of Canada and its 14 members. Their financial support and shared vision are the pillars that enable us to offer reliable and free legal services, thereby strengthening access to justice across the country,” said Barragan in a statement.
CanLII confirmed that the tool was available to all myCanLII account holders, including students and members of the public. At present, it has implemented daily usage limits of 4 analyses and 10 search query generations; CanLII said the limits may change over time. Users may also upload documents via myCanLII, although the analysis function only works on CanLII documents and will not analyze uploaded ones.
Search histories are set to be linked to users’ accounts in an upcoming update.
