SCOTT - How it works

About SCOTT

Welcome! Whether you're a legal practitioner, researcher, or student, SCOTT is designed to make legal research faster, smarter, and more intuitive.

SCOTT's current coverage includes the following:

  • All Singapore judgements that are publicly available on Singapore Law Watch (2000 - Present)
  • Decided cases from the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
  • Decided cases from the House of Lords
  • Decisions from the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
  • Cases from England and Wales:
    • Court of Appeal judgments
    • High Court judgments

We’re continuously expanding coverage to include more jurisdictions and case law sets.

SCOTT Q&A allows you to ask legal research questions in natural language. The more specific your question, the more precise the response.

Best Practices

  • Phrase your input as a question, not a statement
  • Include detailed legal context — don’t worry about being too technical
  • For definitions, be clear (e.g. “What is the legal definition of ___?”)
  • Use punctuation to improve readability and output clarity.
Less Effective Better Example
Contract elements What are the elements of a contract?
How to determine standard of care? What is the test to determine the standard of care for medical professionals?

SCOTT Search: Find Relevant Cases

SCOTT Search returns relevant case law based on the factual or legal details you provide. The richer the description, the more accurate your results.

Best Practices

  • Provide specific facts, legal issues, or procedural context
  • Use SCOTT's guiding prompts to structure your input
  • Avoid Boolean operators (e.g. “AND”, “OR”), which SCOTT does not interpret
  • Refrain from entering only a single keyword or case name
Less Effective Better Example
Parents divorced Parents are divorced; the mother relocates the child to the US without consent.
Contract with 2 parties Contract dispute between a business and a private individual regarding late payment.
Trademark of flower on watch Trademark dispute about the use of a floral motif on luxury wristwatches.

Limitations: What SCOTT Can’t Do (Yet)

While SCOTT is capable, it is not designed to handle:

  • Non-legal or personal queries, like:
    • “What is the weather like?”
    • “How can I know if someone has fallen out of love?”
  • Numerical or date-specific searches, such as:
    • “Show 6 cases related to theft.”
    • “What are the murder cases from 2015?”
  • Statutory code interpretation by citation only, like:
    • “What is s309 abetment?”
  • Opinion-based or policy questions, such as:
    • “Should the death penalty be abolished?”
    • “Should children under ten be held criminally liable?”