format_citation

Format an Australian case citation according to AGLC4 rules. Combines case name, neutral citation, reported citation, and optional pinpoint into the correct format.

ServerAusLaw MCP
CategoryRead

How to control format_citation ↓

WHAT IT DOES

What format_citation does on AusLaw MCP

AI agents call format_citation to retrieve information from AusLaw MCP without modifying anything — typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.

THE RISK

Low Risk

Why format_citation needs a policy

This tool takes existing citation data and reformats it according to AGLC4 rules. It is purely a data transformation/presentation function with no side effects. No data is created, modified, deleted, or executed. The operation is deterministic and reversible (reformatting does not alter the source citations).

From the tool's definition Tool performs citation formatting based on input parameters (case name, neutral citation, reported citation, pinpoint).

Documented attack patterns abuse exactly the kind of access format_citation gives an agent:

POLICY

How to control format_citation

PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway — it sits between your AI agents and AusLaw MCP, and nothing reaches the server without passing your rules. This is the rule we recommend for format_citation:

policy.json

{
  "version": "1",
  "default": "deny",
  "tools": {
    "format_citation": {}
  }
}

format_citation is read-only, so it stays allowed — but everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.

Create a free account and register AusLaw MCP — nothing to install.
Add this policy — paste it, or build it visually.
Point your MCP client (Claude, Cursor, anything) at your gateway URL.

CAP THIS TOOL →

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EXPLORE

Related tools and policies

More AusLaw MCP tools

Write cache_cited_by Fetch citing cases for a cached citation from jade.io and store them locally. Write check_source_freshness Check whether the locally cached source file for a citation is still current. Issues a con Write cache_citation Store or update a citation in the local project cache. Assigns a biblatex-compatible cite Write export_bibliography Export cached citations as a BibLaTeX .bib file. Returns the bib text and the path where i Read fetch_document_text Fetch full text for a legislation or case URL (AustLII or jade.io), with OCR fallback for Read format_short_citation Format an AGLC4-compliant short-form, Ibid, or subsequent reference. Use Read get_cached_citation Retrieve a citation from the local cache without any network calls. Looks up by cite key, Read get_cited_by Return the locally cached cited-by list for a citation. Zero network calls.

All 18 AusLaw MCP tools →

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Go deeper

The MCP Attack Database → Documented attack patterns against MCP deployments — and the policies that stop them.
Data exfiltration → How read access becomes an exfiltration channel when chained with untrusted content.
MCP token cost → What connecting this server costs in context-window tokens on every request.
Rate Limiting MCP Tool Calls: A Practical Guide →
MCP Security: Why Prompt Guardrails Aren't Enough →

FAQ

Questions about format_citation

What does the format_citation tool do? +

Format an Australian case citation according to AGLC4 rules. Combines case name, neutral citation, reported citation, and optional pinpoint into the correct format. It is categorised as a Read tool in the AusLaw MCP MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.

How do I enforce a policy on format_citation? +

Register the AusLaw MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for format_citation: allow, deny, rate-limit, or require approval. Point your MCP client at the PolicyLayer proxy URL and the rule is enforced on every call, before it reaches AusLaw MCP. Nothing to install.

What risk level is format_citation? +

format_citation is a Read tool with low risk. Read-only tools are generally safe to allow by default.

Can I rate-limit format_citation? +

Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the format_citation rule in your PolicyLayer policy. For example, setting max: 10 and window: 60 limits the tool to 10 calls per minute. Rate limits are tracked per agent session and reset automatically.

How do I block format_citation completely? +

Set action: deny in the PolicyLayer policy for format_citation. The AI agent will receive a policy violation error and cannot call the tool. You can also include a reason field to explain why the tool is blocked.

What MCP server provides format_citation? +

format_citation is provided by the AusLaw MCP server (russellbrenner/auslaw-mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.

Enforce policy on every AusLaw MCP tool call.

Start from AusLaw MCP, add the rest of your stack, and see everything your agents can call. Then put policy on all of it.

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18 AusLaw MCP tools catalogued and risk-classified — across an index of 43,000+ MCP servers.