Legal basis: How to find the right law or provision using semantic search

What is legal basis?

Legal basis refers to the specific law, rule, or provision that grants authority or justifies a legal action, decision, or argument. It is the foundation upon which a legal claim, defense, or government action stands.

In the Philippine legal context, a legal basis can come from:

• The Constitution (e.g., rights and powers granted by the 1987 Constitution)

• Statutes or Republic Acts passed by Congress

• Supreme Court rulings (jurisprudence) that interpret laws

• Rules of Court or other procedural guidelines

• Executive issuances, such as presidential decrees or administrative orders

In practice, identifying the correct legal basis is essential for writing pleadings, legal opinions, position papers, or government issuances. Without it, legal arguments can lack authority and may be dismissed as weak or invalid.

Finding the right law or provision is one of the most critical—and often most frustrating—tasks in legal research. 

For many Filipino lawyers, law school students, and paralegals, the challenge begins when you're not exactly sure what keywords to search for. You might know the issue at hand, but without the precise article number or legal phrase, traditional search tools can leave you chasing dead ends or buried in irrelevant results.

This matters more than most realize: citing the wrong provision or missing a key law can seriously weaken your argument, delay your drafting process, or even affect the outcome of a case. In high-stakes environments where precision and efficiency are essential, keyword-based tools simply don’t cut it anymore.

Enter semantic search, a smarter way to search that focuses on meaning rather than exact terms or exact keywords. By interpreting legal intent and context, semantic search helps you surface relevant cases, laws and provisions even when your phrasing isn’t exact. 

In this guide, we’ll show you how to use this powerful approach to speed up your legal research and boost the accuracy of your work.

What is semantic search?

Semantic search is a modern search method that goes beyond literal keywords. It focuses on understanding the meaning, intent, and context behind a query, much like how a lawyer would interpret a question rather than just match words.

How it differs from traditional keyword search

This is especially powerful when:

• You don’t know the exact provision number

• The legal term is technical or unfamiliar

• The law is cited differently in various sources
  
  
  

Example: Legal semantic search in action

Let’s say you’re researching a case involving unjustly taking someone’s property but can’t recall the relevant provision.

Query: “Taking of property without owner's permission but no violence”

Result (via Anycase.ai):

• Article 308 – Revised Penal Code (Theft):

  • Under Article 308 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC), theft is committed by any person who, with intent to gain but without violence against or intimidation of persons nor force upon things, takes personal property of another without the latter's consent.

This is something traditional keyword searches would likely miss unless the word “theft” was included in the query.

Why semantic search matters in law

Legal research isn’t just about finding documents, it’s about finding the right provision, fast, even when you don’t remember the exact phrasing. That’s where semantic search becomes a game-changer.

Legal language is complex. 

The way a concept is described in a statute can be very different from how it appears in a court ruling or how a client phrases it in plain language. 

For example, what ordinary people call “harassment” might legally be termed “unjust vexation,” and without the right keyword, traditional tools might miss the relevant provision entirely.

Lawyers don’t always recall article numbers or case titles on the spot. 

In fast-paced environments like hearings, drafting sessions, or consultations, you may only remember a concept or situation, not the legalese. That’s where traditional keyword search often fails.

Semantic search bridges this gap. 

By interpreting the meaning behind your query, semantic tools can retrieve the right laws, rulings, or rules—even if your phrasing is informal or incomplete. 

Whether you're searching for "noisy neighbor law" or "verbal abuse in public," semantic search helps you zero in on the most relevant legal basis without needing perfect recall or exact terms.

How to Use Semantic Search to Find the Right Provision

Semantic search can dramatically speed up legal research, if you know how to use it well. 

Here’s a simple step-by-step guide to help you find the correct law or provision even when you're unsure of the exact terms.

Step 1: Start with a natural-language query

Don’t worry about using exact legal terms. Just type your query the way you’d ask a colleague or professor.

Example:

“Is it illegal to post someone’s photos online without permission?”

Step 2: Describe the legal scenario or question

Use real-world phrasing or facts. Instead of guessing the article number, explain what happened.

You can search for:

• “Verbal threats during a barangay confrontation”

• “Landlord shutting off water and electricity”

Semantic search interprets the meaning behind these phrases and connects them to relevant legal provisions.

Step 3: Refine your query based on AI response

Once you get an initial result, scan the AI-generated summary and suggested laws or cases.

If the result isn’t quite right, tweak your query or ask a follow-up question to narrow it down.

Example follow-up:

“What provision in the Anti-Photo and Video Voyeurism Act applies to photo sharing without consent?”

Step 4:  Navigate search results with filters 

To hone in on your, toggle between filters like:

• Search libraries (Laws, Jurisprudence, and Issuances)

• Sory by the date of decision or issuance

This gives you different ways to view and consume the legal references that were returned by your search query.

Step 5: Read summaries and check citations

AI-powered platforms like Anycase.ai provide a summary of the law or ruling, along with a link to the full text.

Use the summary to quickly assess relevance, and copy the citation directly if it fits your research. This allows you to skim through many cases and laws quickly, before reviewing the full text. 

Using semantic search this way not only saves time, it helps ensure you’re citing the right law, from the right source, for the right issue.

Anycase.ai supports legal semantic search

Among the few legal tools tailored specifically for the Philippine legal system, Anycase.ai stands out for its powerful semantic search engine, designed to help users find laws, provisions, and jurisprudence based on meaning, not just keywords.

Built with Filipino legal professionals in mind, Anycase.ai understands your query whether you use legal terminology or everyday language. This makes it especially useful when you're unsure of the exact provision or citation.

Key Features of Anycase.ai:

With Anycase.ai, legal researchers in the Philippines finally have access to a smarter, more intuitive research companion that cuts through complexity and delivers on-point results in seconds.

Best practices for effective legal semantic search

To get the most out of semantic search tools like Anycase.ai, it’s important to shift your mindset from keyword-hunting to meaning-driven inquiry. Here’s how to make your searches more accurate and efficient:

1. Use full questions, not just keywords

Instead of typing isolated terms like “libel” or “tenant rights,” frame your search as a complete legal question:

• “Is it libel to post false accusations on Facebook?”

• “Can a landlord evict a tenant without a court order?” 

This helps the semantic engine understand what you’re really asking.

2. Think like a judge or opposing counsel

Before searching, ask yourself:

• “What legal principle or issue would I need to prove or defend here?”

This helps you focus on the underlying doctrine or test, rather than surface-level terminology. It’s also a great way to anticipate counterarguments by finding related or contrasting rulings.

3. Use AI summaries as a launchpad, not the final word

Semantic tools give you summarized results, but they’re only the beginning. 

Always verify with the full legal text—whether it’s a provision, ruling, or administrative order—to ensure accuracy and context before citing or applying it.

Used thoughtfully, semantic search can dramatically improve your research workflow. But like any legal tool, it works best when paired with critical thinking, doctrinal knowledge, and careful verification.

Limitations and how to work around them

While semantic search is a major step forward in legal research, it’s not without its limitations. Understanding these helps you use tools like Anycase.ai more effectively and responsibly.

1. May return broad or tangential results

Semantic search interprets meaning, which means it sometimes casts a wide net, pulling in results that are related in context but not directly on point.

Workaround: Refine your query using more specific facts or legal concepts. Follow up with clarifying questions to guide the AI toward your exact issue.

2. AI summaries are helpful, but not authoritative

AI-generated answers and digests are summaries, not substitutes for the actual law.

Workaround: Always verify the full text of any provision or case before citing or applying it. Use the summary to assess relevance, then read the source for accuracy and nuance.

By being aware of these limitations and using semantic tools as part of a thoughtful research process, you can enjoy the speed and efficiency of AI without compromising legal rigor.

Upgrade the way you search the law

Legal research doesn’t have to feel like guesswork. With semantic search, you can stop chasing keywords and start asking real legal questions, confident that the system understands what you mean. 

Whether you're searching for a specific provision or building a case theory, Anycase.ai helps you find the right law faster and with greater accuracy.

If you're new to the platform, you can explore its core features through the Free Plan, ideal for quick queries and basic case lookups. 

For more advanced needs, the Pro Plan (₱999/month) gives you unlimited semantic searches, full-text access, citation tools, and PDF downloads, perfect for practicing lawyers. 

Law students and academic users can opt for the Edu Plan (₱599/month) to access the same features at a discounted rate.

Whether you're drafting pleadings, preparing for hearings, or just trying to make sense of a legal question, Anycase.ai is the research partner that understands the law the way you do.

Visit Anycase.ai to start your free trial or choose a plan that fits your legal workflow.