Terms of Service
Effective: 18 June 2026
1. Acceptance of Terms
By accessing or using BabelCite ("the Service"), you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.
2. Description of Service
BabelCite is a free legal research platform providing semantic search across Hong Kong court decisions. The Service includes:
- AI-powered search with query expansion and relevance typing
- Full-text access to judgment HTML as published by the Hong Kong Judiciary
- AI-generated summaries, headnotes, and structured metadata for enriched cases
- Citation graph navigation between cases
- Optional account features: saved cases and research notes
3. Not Legal Advice
BabelCite is a search and reference tool. It does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. AI-generated summaries and relevance labels are produced by automated systems and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the original judgment text. Consult a qualified legal professional for advice on specific matters.
4. Accuracy and Disclaimers
While we strive for accuracy, we do not guarantee that:
- Case metadata (parties, dates, judges, outcomes) is complete or correct
- AI-generated summaries accurately reflect the judgment's holdings
- Search results represent an exhaustive or definitive list of relevant cases
- The judgment text is free from scraping or formatting errors
The Service is provided "as is" and "as available" without warranties of any kind, express or implied.
5. Acceptable Use
You agree not to:
- Use automated scripts, bots, or scrapers to extract data at scale beyond normal interactive use
- Attempt to overload, crash, or disrupt the Service
- Use the Service for any unlawful purpose
- Redistribute or republish large portions of the case database without attribution
- Reverse engineer or attempt to extract the underlying AI models or embeddings
We may rate-limit or block access for users who violate these terms or whose usage patterns indicate abuse.
6. Accounts
Account creation is optional. If you create an account, you are responsible for maintaining the security of your credentials. You agree to accept responsibility for all activities under your account.
7. Intellectual Property
Hong Kong court judgments are public records published by the Hong Kong Judiciary. BabelCite provides access to these judgments as published, without claim of ownership.
AI-generated summaries, the search index, the citation graph, and the platform's source code are proprietary to BabelCite. You may use search results and summaries for personal legal research. Commercial redistribution requires written permission.
8. Limitation of Liability
To the maximum extent permitted by law, BabelCite shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, including loss of profits, data, or goodwill, arising from your use of or inability to use the Service.
The Service is provided free of charge. Your sole remedy for dissatisfaction is to stop using the Service.
9. Third-Party Content and Links
The Service may link to external resources (e.g., the Hong Kong Judiciary website, PDF download links). We are not responsible for the availability or content of external sites.
10. Service Changes and Termination
We may modify, suspend, or discontinue the Service or any feature at any time. We may also update these Terms periodically; continued use after changes constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.
11. Governing Law
These Terms are governed by the laws of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Any disputes shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Hong Kong courts.
12. Contact
Questions about these Terms: [email protected]