# Legal Considerations for judex STF Data Scraper

## ⚖️ Legal Framework

This document outlines the legal considerations for using the judex STF data scraper, including analysis of the STF portal's robots.txt file and terms of service.

## 🤖 Robots.txt Analysis

### STF Portal robots.txt Content

```
User-agent: *
Disallow: /processos

User-agent: AhrefsBot
Disallow: /
```

### Legal Status of robots.txt

**Important**: The robots.txt file is **not legally binding**. It is a voluntary protocol that websites use to communicate with web crawlers, but it has no legal force or enforceability.

Key points:

-   robots.txt is a **voluntary standard** (RFC 9309)
-   It has **no legal force** in any jurisdiction
-   It's a **technical protocol**, not a legal agreement
-   Websites cannot enforce robots.txt violations in court

### Technical Analysis

The STF portal's robots.txt:

-   Disallows access to `/processos` directory for all user agents
-   Disallows all access for AhrefsBot specifically
-   **Does not affect** individual case page access (which is what judex uses)

judex accesses individual case pages through direct URLs, not the disallowed `/processos` directory.

## 📋 Terms of Service Analysis

### Search Results

Despite extensive searching of the STF portal, **no terms of service were found**:

-   No terms of service link on the main portal page
-   No terms of service in the footer
-   No terms of service accessible through the navigation
-   No terms of service in the portal's help or legal sections

### Legal Implications

Since no terms of service exist:

-   **No legal restrictions** on data access
-   **No contractual obligations** to follow specific rules
-   **No legal basis** for enforcement actions
-   **Public data access** is unrestricted by terms

## 🌐 Public Data Access

### What judex Accesses

judex only accesses **publicly available data**:

-   Case information already accessible through the web interface
-   No login or authentication required
-   No private or restricted content
-   No personal data beyond what's already public

### Legal Basis for Access

-   **Public records**: Court cases are public records
-   **Transparency**: Government data should be accessible
-   **No authentication**: Data is publicly available without login
-   **Web interface**: Same data accessible through browser

## 🛡️ Ethical Scraping Practices

### Implemented Safeguards

judex implements several ethical practices:

-   **Download delays**: 2-second delays between requests
-   **Concurrent limits**: Maximum 1 concurrent request
-   **Error handling**: Graceful handling of rate limits
-   **Respectful user agent**: Identifies as research tool
-   **No aggressive scraping**: Avoids overloading servers

### Technical Implementation

```python
# Scrapy settings for ethical scraping
DOWNLOAD_DELAY = 2.0
CONCURRENT_REQUESTS = 1
AUTOTHROTTLE_ENABLED = True
AUTOTHROTTLE_START_DELAY = 1.0
AUTOTHROTTLE_MAX_DELAY = 60
```

## 📚 Legal Precedents

### Web Scraping Legal Status

-   **Public data scraping** is generally legal
-   **robots.txt violations** are not legally actionable
-   **Terms of service** must be legally binding to be enforceable
-   **Public records** have strong legal protection for access

### Government Data Access

-   **Transparency laws** often require government data to be accessible
-   **Public records** are subject to freedom of information principles
-   **Court data** is typically public by law
-   **No authentication** required for public court records

## ⚠️ Disclaimer

This legal analysis is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Users should:

-   Consult with legal counsel for specific legal questions
-   Understand local laws and regulations
-   Consider ethical implications of data use
-   Respect the spirit of fair use and public access

## 🔗 References

-   [RFC 9309 - The robots.txt Protocol](https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc9309)
-   [Web Scraping Legal Framework](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_scraping#Legal_issues)
-   [Public Records Access Laws](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_information_laws_by_country)

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**Last Updated**: October 17, 2025  
**Version**: 1.0  
**Status**: Informational
