A Unified Graph-Based Framework for Modeling Legal Citations: From Graphs to HyperGraphs and SuperHyperGraphs

Abstract

Hypergraphs extend traditional graphs by allowing each hyperedge to join any number of vertices simultaneously, while superhypergraphs further enrich this idea through iterated powerset layers that capture hierarchical and self‐referential connections. Graph theory has also proven valuable in legal scholarship: Legal Citation Graphs model precedential relationships by representing legal documents as nodes and citations as directed edges. In this paper, we introduce two new formalisms—Legal Citation Hypergraphs and Legal Citation.