New Commentaries library offers free-to-read legal commentary drafted from primary sources using Moonlit’s proprietary AI, reviewed by named legal experts and linked directly to the underlying law
Amsterdam, 20 October 2026 — Moonlit, an Amsterdam-based legal publisher whose platform connects legislation and case law across multiple jurisdictions, making it easier to research legal information and trace it back to its original sources, today announced the launch of Commentaries. This new library is a free collection of legal commentary drafted directly from primary sources using Moonlit’s proprietary AI, and reviewed and validated by named legal experts before publication. Commentaries is free to read with a free Moonlit account.
Moonlit’s engine drafts each commentary directly from official primary sources, including legislation, case law, directives, and parliamentary history. Every proposition is linked to the provision it interprets and the source it rests on, allowing readers to navigate directly to the original publication, such as EUR-Lex for EU law. Paid academic editors and practitioner-authors review each draft at publication, with verified review badges showing which passages have been validated by an expert. Each commentary also carries a reference date indicating the state of the law it describes.
Commentaries covers the core provisions practitioners work with most, structured article by article. The launch focuses on indirect tax (VAT), where rules are largely harmonised at EU level but interpreted and applied across different national jurisdictions. Moonlit draws on legislation and case law from across EU member states, connecting rulings that interpret the same provisions. This gives practitioners a broader view of how jurisdictions apply VAT rules within a single commentary.
Legal commentary has traditionally been distributed through specialist subscription services, making access to expert analysis dependent on paid resources. While legislation and court judgments are increasingly available through public sources, the commentary that helps practitioners interpret and apply the law largely remains behind those subscriptions.
“Public spending is under scrutiny everywhere and legal knowledge is a clear case of paying twice,” said Roderick Lucas, Founder and CEO of Moonlit. “Much of this commentary is written by academics at publicly funded universities, who then have to pay to access it. The primary sources are public, and we believe the commentary built on them should be more accessible too.”
Beyond cost barriers, traditional legal commentary also operates on slower update cycles. While some major commercial commentary series are reviewed for currency only once or twice a year, Moonlit’s Data Layer is updated daily, flagging new rulings to editors who then review and revise the commentary and update its reference date accordingly.
The growing use of generative AI in legal research adds another challenge around trust and data provenance. AI models can easily read public statutes and judgments, but they cannot access the interpretive layer that explains what the law actually means, because that commentary remains locked behind commercial publisher licenses. Deprived of this context, models often fill the gap themselves.
A September 2026 survey by LexisNexis revealed that 83% of legal professionals were concerned about inaccurate or fabricated information when using AI, while 81% said they felt more comfortable using AI when it was grounded in trusted legal sources.
Court records show why that apprehension is well-founded: as of writing, 2,149 court decisions involving AI hallucinations had been recorded, with 854 cases directly tied to legal practitioners. These documented cases of fabricated citations highlight the importance of using AI tools that can trace legal information back to verified sources.
Commentaries is designed to address this by pairing AI drafting with human expert validation and complete source provenance. For instance, one of the launching commentary links to 165 verified sources. Readers can also suggest refinements or request commentary on new areas of law through an on-page form, which editors review before any updates are republished. To Moonlit’s knowledge, no other publisher offers free-to-read legal commentary with attached sources and a public route for corrections.
“Commentary belongs next to the law it interprets,” added Lucas. “If you cannot click through to the ruling a conclusion rests on, you are being asked to take it on faith. We built Commentaries so nobody has to.”
Launching editors include experts from universities, courts, government, advisory firms and law firms. Beyond making their expertise freely available through Moonlit’s own platform, the company is also expanding access through its legal technology partners. Moonlit’s data already runs inside many legal tech platforms, serving thousands of legal professionals every day. Those platforms can now offer Commentaries to their users as well, starting with Saga and Legal Mind. Moonlit is also bringing Commentaries to its Data API and MCP connector, so expert-reviewed commentary appears directly in AI tools such as Copilot, ChatGPT and Claude.
Data protection is slated as the second practice field to be covered by Commentaries. The launch expands Moonlit’s platform and follows features including its Citation Knowledge Graph, Luna, and daily regulatory monitoring in its mission to become the legal publisher built for both humans and AI.
About Moonlit
Moonlit (moonlit.ai) is a legal publisher built for humans and AI. On the Moonlit Platform, legal professionals research the law, read commentaries and monitor changes. Underneath sits the Data Layer: legislation and case law from dozens of jurisdictions and hundreds of millions of references, updated daily and verifiable down to the source. The same Data Layer reaches AI assistants such as Copilot, ChatGPT and Claude through Moonlit’s MCP connector and other legal AI products through the Data API. Law firms, Big Four advisories and public institutions use Moonlit for cross-border legal research. With Commentaries, Moonlit publishes expert-reviewed legal commentary that is free to read. Moonlit is ISO 27001 certified, GDPR compliant and based in Amsterdam.
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