bibliography for law essay

Q. What is the format for the bibliography for Law coursework and dissertations? (OSCOLA)

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Answered By: Claire Mazer Last Updated: 16 Oct, 2023     Views: 21902

**Please check for current guidance from Brunel Law School**

In academic work more generally, a bibliography is typically used to show everything you have cited and anything else you have read, even if not cited. Recent advice from the Law School suggests that academic colleagues only wished for cited works to appear in the bibliography and not anything else. So, if you have read a source (book, article etc) , but not cited it in your footnotes, then don't include it in your bibliography.

Bibliography format for law coursework: The key points to note are that sources need to be in categories, with primary sources (cases, legislation) listed first, followed by secondary sources (books, journals, websites) all in alphabetical and then chronological order. Note that case names appear in plain text and not italics.

Note that authors names are inverted. Surname appears first followed by the initial of the first name and then a comma, i.e. Choo A, or Natile S, This does not apply to company, departmental or organisational names (including law firms and barristers chambers), i.e. European Commission, Ministry of Justice, British Red Cross, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, which remain as they are in both footnotes and the bibliography.

Electronic versions of cases and journal articles: Many cases and journal articles can be found in legal databases such as Westlaw, Lexis+ etc. However, it is not necessary to cite databases as the source. Almost all law reports and journals are available in printed form. The citation itself is sufficient since it includes the law report or journal in which the case was reported or journal article was published. There are a few journals where only an electronic version is available, usually the clue is in the title: The Internet Journal of Criminology. For these titles it is necessary to add the URL in triangular brackets and the date it was accessed.

Here is a sample bibliography:

Bibliography

Pepper v Hart [1993] AC 593 (HL)

Mastercard Inc v Merricks [2021] Bus LR 25

R v Brockway (Andrew Robert) (2008) 2 Cr App R (S) 4

R v Edwards (John) (1991) 93 Cr App R 48

Legislation

Crime and Disorder Act 1998

Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984

Dembour M-B, Who believes in human rights?: reflections on the European Convention (Cambridge University Press 2006)

Herring J, Criminal Law: Text and Materials (9th edn, OUP 2020)

Norrie A, Crime, Reason and History (3rd edn, Cambridge University Press 2014)

Ashworth A, ‘Social Control and “Anti-Social Behaviour”: the Subversion of Human Rights’ (2004) 120 LQR 263

Behan C and O'Donnell I, 'Prisoners, Politics and the Polls: Enfranchisement and the Burden of Responsibility' (2008) 48(3) Brit J Criminol 31

Stephens-Chu G, ‘Is it Always All About the Money? The Appropriateness of Non-Pecuniary Remedies in Investment Treaty Arbitration’ (2014) 30(4) Arbitration International 661

Gazard B, ‘What’s happened to crime during the pandemic? How ONS has responded to the measurement challenge’ ( Office for National Statistics , 25 August 2020) <https://blog.ons.gov.uk/2020/08/25/whats-happened-to-crime-during-the-pandemic-how-ons-has-responded-to-the-measurement-challenge/> accessed 16 December 2020

Gowin J, ‘Can We Predict Crime Using Brain Scans?’ ( You, Illuminated. Psychology Today, 2013)  <https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/you-illuminated/201304/can-we-predict-crime-using-brain-scans> accessed 20 October 2020

Metropolitan Police, ‘What is hate crime?’ ( Metropolitan Police, 2021) < https://www.met.police.uk/advice/advice-and-information/hco/hate-crime/what-is-hate-crime/ > accessed 26 February 2021

Bibliography format for law dissertations: Broadly the same as above except that separate tables of cases / legislation / EU or International legal materials (as applicable) should appear between the end of the dissertation and the beginning of the bibliography. The purpose of the bibliography at dissertation level is to provide a list of secondary sources, i.e. books, journals, online documents, websites, blogs.

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How to Cite a Law in APA Style | Format & Examples

Published on February 11, 2021 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on December 27, 2023.

To cite federal laws (also commonly referred to as statutes or acts) in APA Style , include the name of the law, “U.S.C.” (short for United States Code ), the title and section of the code where the law appears, the year, and optionally the URL.

The year included is when the law was published in the source consulted, not when it was passed, amended, or supplemented.

Table of contents

Symbols and abbreviations in law citations, citing federal statutes with the public law number, citing state laws, frequently asked questions about apa style citations.

The United States Code and most other compilations of laws are divided into parts called “titles,” and within those titles, sections.

No symbol is used for the title in your reference, but the section number is preceded by the symbol §. To insert the section symbol in Word, click on “Insert,” “Symbol,” “More symbols,” “Special characters,” and then find it in the list under “section.”

When a law is spread across multiple consecutive sections, the term “ et seq .” (Latin for “and following”) is added after the initial section number. It is always italicized and followed by a period.

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A law may also have a public law number . This is not used in the citation, except in special cases: when the law is not (yet) included in the United States Code , or when it is spread across non-consecutive parts of the Code .

Laws not included in the Code

A law that has not been codified (published in the United States Code ) should be cited using its public law number and information about wherever it was published.

The law below was published in the United States Statutes at Large , which is abbreviated to “Stat.”

Laws spread across different sections

When an act is codified across different non-consecutive sections of the Code , it is also cited using the public law number and information about its location in the Statutes at Large .

The example below was codified in titles 2, 28, and 42 of the Code , so it is cited using the public law number instead.

The laws and statutes of individual states are cited in a similar format to federal laws where possible. “U.S.C.” is replaced with an abbreviation for the law code of that state, and titles and sections are presented in the same way. However, some state codes use article or chapter numbers instead of or in addition to section numbers, or do not use titles.

Make sure to adapt your reference to the standards of the state. For example, the title for a law from the Virginia Code is included with the section number, separated by a hyphen , as shown in this example.

Generally, you should identify a law in an APA reference entry by its location in the United States Code (U.S.C.).

But if the law is either spread across various sections of the code or not featured in the code at all, include the public law number in addition to information on the source you accessed the law in, e.g.:

No, including a URL is optional in APA Style reference entries for legal sources (e.g. court cases , laws ). It can be useful to do so to aid the reader in retrieving the source, but it’s not required, since the other information included should be enough to locate it.

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Caulfield, J. (2023, December 27). How to Cite a Law in APA Style | Format & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved April 9, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/apa-examples/law/

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Documenting Legal Works in MLA Style

Gaining familiarity with the legal-citation practices used to document legal works may be impractical for student writers and sometimes even for scholars working in nonlegal fields. Nonspecialists can use MLA style to cite legal sources in one of two ways: strict adherence to the MLA format template or a hybrid method incorporating the standard legal citation into the works-cited-list entry. In either case, titles of legal works should be standardized in your prose and list of works cited according to the guidelines below.

Legal Style

Legal publications have traditionally followed the style set forth in the Harvard Law Review Association’s Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation , although some law reviews, such as the University of Chicago Law Review , have published their own style manuals. A more streamlined version of the Bluebook ’s legal-citation method, the ALWD Guide to Legal Citation , was introduced in 2000. The Legal Information Institute, a nonprofit associated with Cornell Law School, publishes an online guide to legal citation geared toward practitioners and nonspecialists instead of academics.

Those working in law are introduced to the conventions of legal citation during their professional training. Legal style is a highly complex shorthand code with specialized terminology that helps legal scholars and lawyers cite legal sources succinctly. It points specialists to the authoritative publication containing the legal opinion or law, regardless of the version the writer consulted.

Students and scholars working outside the legal profession and using MLA style should follow the MLA format template to cite laws, public documents, court cases, and other related material. Familiarize yourself with the guidelines in the MLA Handbook , sections 5.17–22, for corporate authors and government authors.

Following one of the fundamental principles of MLA style, writers citing legal works should document the version of the work they consult—not the canonical version of the law, as in legal style. As with any source in MLA style, how you document it will generally depend on the information provided by the version of the source you consulted.

Titles pose the greatest challenge to citing legal works in MLA style. Since MLA style keys references in the text to a list of works cited (unlike court filings, which cite works in the text of the brief, or academic legal writings, which cite works in footnotes ), writers should, with a few exceptions (noted below), standardize titles of legal sources in their prose and list of works cited. Following the MLA Handbook , italicize the names of court cases (70):

Marbury v. Madison

When you cite laws, acts, and political documents, capitalize their names like titles and set them in roman font (69):

Law of the Sea Treaty

Civil Rights Act

Code of Federal Regulations

When a legal source is contained within another work—for example, when the United States Code appears on a website that has a separate title—follow the MLA Handbook and treat the source as an independent publication (27). That is, style the title just as you would in prose—in italics if it is the name of a court case, in roman if it is a law or similar document; even though the legal source appears within a larger work, do not insert quotation marks around the title:

United States Code. Legal Information Institute , Cornell Law School, www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text.

For more on titles in legal citations in MLA style, see “Tips on Titles,” below.

Commonly Cited Sources

A few examples of using MLA style for commonly cited legal sources follow.

United States Supreme Court Decisions

United states supreme court dissenting opinions, federal statutes (united states code), public laws, federal appeals court decisions, federal bills, executive orders, state court of appeals, unpublished decisions, state senate bills, constitutions, international governing bodies.

Where you read the opinion of a United States Supreme Court decision will dictate how you cite it in MLA style. Legal-citation style, in contrast, points to the opinion published in the United States Reports , the authoritative legal source for the United States Supreme Court’s decisions, and cites the elements of that publication.

For example, the case Brown v. Board of Education is commonly abbreviated “347 U.S. 483” in legal citations: 347 is the volume number of United States Reports ; “U.S.” indicates that the opinion is found in United States Reports , which is the official reporter of the Supreme Court and indicates the opinion’s provenance; and the first page number of the decision is 483. (The American Bar Association has published a useful and concise overview of the components of a Supreme Court opinion .)

Regardless of the version you consult, you must understand a few basic things about the source: that it was written by a member of the United States Supreme Court on behalf of the majority and that, when you cite the opinion, the date on which the case was decided is the only date necessary to provide.

Following are examples of works-cited-list entries in MLA style for Brown v. Board of Education . The entries differ depending on whether the information was found on the Legal Information Institute website, published by Cornell University Law School, or on the Library of Congress website.

Legal Information Institute

The works-cited-list entry includes

• the government entity as author
• the name of the case (“Title of source” element)
• the year of the decision; it would also not be incorrect to include the day and month if it appears in your source
• the title of the website containing the case (“Title of container” element)
• the publisher of the website
• the website’s URL (“Location” element)

United States, Supreme Court. Brown v. Board of Education . 17 May 1954. Legal Information Institute , Cornell Law School, www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/347/483.

Library of Congress

The Library of Congress site allows researchers to link to or download a PDF of the opinion from the United States Reports . To locate the case, the researcher must know the volume number of the United States Reports in which Brown v. Board of Education was published. A works-cited-list entry in MLA style would include the author (the government entity) and the title of the case, as well as the following information for container 1:

• United States Reports (“Title of container” element)
• vol. 347 (“Number” element)
• the date of the decision (“Publication date” element)
• page range (“Location” element)

Container 2 includes the name of the website publishing the case and its location, the URL. The publisher of the site is omitted since its name is the same as that of the site.

United States, Supreme Court. Brown v. Board of Education . United States Reports , vol. 347, 17 May 1954, pp. 483-97. Library of Congress , tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/ll/usrep/usrep347/usrep347483/usrep347483.pdf.

Sometimes, Supreme Court justices write dissenting opinions that accompany the published majority opinion. They are part of the legal record but not part of the holding—that is, the court’s ruling. If you cite only the dissent, you can treat it as the work you are citing:

Ginsburg, Ruth Bader. Dissenting opinion. Lilly Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. United States Reports , vol. 550, 29 May 2007, pp. 643-61. Supreme Court of the United States , www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/boundvolumes/550bv.pdf.

In MLA style, it will generally be clearest to create an entry for the United States Code in its entirety and cite the title and section number in the text, especially if you are referring to more than one section of the code.

If an online search directs you to the web page for a specific section of the United States Code, it would not be incorrect to cite the page for that section alone. For example, if you want to use MLA style to document title 17, section 304, of the United States Code—commonly abbreviated 17 U.S.C. § 304 in legal citations—title 17 can be treated as the work and thus placed in the “Title of source” slot on the MLA template, or if you cite the United States Code in its entirety, title 17 can be placed in the “Number” slot.

Your entry will once again depend on the version you consult. Below are examples from various websites.

website for the United States Code

On the website for the United States Code, you would likely determine that the United States House of Representatives is the author of the code. The United States Code is the title of the source, and since the source constitutes the entire website, no container needs to be specified: the source is self-contained, like a book (see p. 34 of the MLA Handbook ). The site lists the Office of the Law Revision Counsel as publisher, so you would include that name in the “Publisher” slot, followed by the date on which the code was last updated, and the URL as the location:

United States, Congress, House. United States Code. Office of the Law Revision Counsel, 14 Jan. 2017, uscode.house.gov.

The body of your text or your in-text reference must mention title 17 and section 304 so the reader can locate the information you cite. It would not be wrong to include chapter 3 as well (title 17, ch. 3, sec. 304), although a discerning researcher will note that section numbers (304) incorporate chapter numbers (3), making “chapter 3” unnecessary to include.

If you do not include title 17 and section 304 in the text, you must include that information in the works-cited-list entry:

United States, Congress, House. United States Code. Title 17, section 304, Office of the Law Revision Counsel, 14 Jan. 2017, uscode.house.gov.

A nonspecialist would not be able to determine from the Legal Information Institute site that the United States House of Representatives is the author of the United States Code. A basic citation would include the title of the code as displayed on the site, the title of the website as the title of the container, the publisher of the website, and the location:

Government Publishing Office website

The website of the Government Publishing Office (variously referred to as the Government Printing Office) displays each statute heading (or “title”) as a web page:

You can treat title 17 as the work and the United States Code as the title of the container, as follows:

Title 17. United States Code, U.S. Government Publishing Office, 2011, www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/USCODE-2011-title17/html/USCODE-2011-title17.htm.

Or you can treat the United States Code as the title of the source and title 17 as a numbered section within the code, by placing title 17 in the “Number” slot on the MLA template:

United States Code. Title 17, U.S. Government Publishing Office, 2011, www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/USCODE-2011-title17/html/USCODE-2011-title17.htm.

Below are examples of how to cite other common legal sources in MLA style.

United States, Congress. Public Law 111-122. United States Statutes at Large , vol. 123, 2009, pp. 3480-82. U.S. Government Publishing Office , www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/STATUTE-123/pdf/STATUTE-123.pdf.

United States, Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Moss v. Colvin . Docket no. 15-2272, 9 Jan. 2017. United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit , www.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions.html. PDF download.

It is customary to title court cases by using the last name of the first party on each side of the v . You may also wish to shorten a long URL, as we have done here .

United States, Congress, House. Improving Broadband Access for Veterans Act of 2016. Congress.gov , www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/6394/text. 114th Congress, 2nd session, House Resolution 6394, passed 6 Dec. 2016.

United States, Congress, House, Committee on Education and Labor. The Future of Learning: How Technology Is Transforming Public Schools . U.S. Government Publishing Office, 16 June 2009, www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CHRG-111hhrg50208/html/CHRG-111hhrg50208.htm. Text transcription of hearing.

After a president signs an executive order, the Office of the Federal Register gives it a number. It is then printed in the Federal Register and compiled in the Code of Federal Regulations. Executive orders usually also appear as press releases on the White House website upon signing.

United States, Executive Office of the President [Barack Obama]. Executive order 13717: Establishing a Federal Earthquake Risk Management Standard. 2 Feb. 2016. Federal Register , vol. 81, no. 24, 5 Feb. 2016, pp. 6405-10, www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2016-02-05/pdf/2016-02475.pdf.

Minnesota State, Court of Appeals. Minnesota v. McArthur . 28 Sept. 1999, mn.gov/law-library-stat/archive//ctapun/9909/502.htm. Unpublished opinion.

Wisconsin State, Legislature. Senate Bill 5. Wisconsin State Legislature , 20 Jan. 2017, docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2017/related/proposals/sb5.

If a constitution is published in a named edition, treat it like the title of a book:

The Constitution of the United States: A Transcription . National Archives , U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, 28 Feb. 2017, www.archives.gov/founding-docs/constitution-transcript.

The Constitution of the United States, with Case Summaries . Edited by Edward Conrad Smith, 9th ed., Barnes and Noble Books, 1972.

References to the United States Constitution in your prose should follow the usual styling of titles of laws:

the Constitution

But your in-text reference should key readers to the appropriate entry:

( Constitution of the United States, with Case Summaries )

If the title does not indicate the country of origin, specify it in the entry:

France. Le constitution. 4 Oct. 1958. Legifrance , www.legifrance.gouv.fr/Droit-francais/Constitution/Constitution-du-4-octobre-1958.

Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. United Nations, 1998, nfccc.int/resource/docs/convkp/kpeng.pdf. Multilateral treaty.

United States, Senate. Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances. Congress.gov , www.congress.gov/114/cdoc/tdoc8/CDOC-114tdoc8.pdf. Treaty between the United States and the People’s Republic of China.

Swiss Confederation. Bundesverfassung der Schweizerischen Eidgenossenschaft. 18 Apr. 1999. Der Bundesrat , 1 Jan. 2016, www.admin.ch/opc/de/classified-compilation/19995395/index.html.

United Nations, General Assembly. Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Resolution 217 A, 10 Dec. 1948. United Nations , www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/. PDF download.

Writing for Specialists: A Hybrid Method

A writer using MLA style to document a legal work for a specialized readership that is likely to be familiar with the conventions of legal documentation may wish to adopt a hybrid method: in place of the author and title elements on the MLA format template, identify the work by using the Bluebook citation. Then, follow the MLA format template to list publication information for the version of the source you consulted.

For example, to cite the United States Code using the hybrid method, treat the section cited as the work. As above, you can omit the title of the website, United States Code , since the code constitutes the entire website and is thus a self-contained work.

17 U.S.C. § 304. Office of Law Revision Counsel, 14 Jan. 2017, uscode.house.gov.

If you are citing a court case, begin the entry with the title of the case before listing the Bluebook citation. In the hybrid style, cite Brown v. Board of Education as found on the Legal Information Institute website thus:

Brown v. Board of Education . 347 U.S. 483. Legal Information Institute , Cornell Law School, www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/347/483.

Other sources (public laws, federal appeals court decisions, etc.) can be handled similarly.

If using the hybrid method, do not follow the handbook’s recommendation to alphabetize works that start with a number as if the number is spelled out. Instead, list works beginning with numbers before the first lettered entry and order numbered works numerically.

TIPS ON TITLES Styling titles when you document legal sources in MLA style may be challenging. Below are some guidelines. Standardize titles of legal sources in your prose unless you refer to the published version: as the MLA Handbook indicates, italicize the names of court cases, but capitalize the names of laws, acts, and political documents like titles and set them in roman font. When a legal source is contained within another work—for example, when the United States Code appears on a website with another title—follow the MLA Handbook , page 27, and treat the work as an independent publication. That is, style the title just as you would in prose—in italics if it is the name of a court case, in roman if it is a law or similar document; even though the legal source appears in a larger work, do not insert quotation marks around the title. In the names of court cases, use the abbreviation v. consistently, regardless of which abbreviation is used in the version of the work you are citing. To determine the name of a court case, use only the name of the first party that appears on either side of “v.” or “vs.” in your source; if the name is a personal name, use only the surname. To shorten the name of a court case in your prose after introducing it in full or in parenthetical references, use the name of the first-listed nongovernmental party. Thus, the case NLRB v. Yeshiva University becomes Yeshiva . If your list of works cited includes more than one case beginning with the same governmental party, list entries under the governmental party but alphabetize them by the first nongovernmental party: NLRB v. Brown University

NLRB v. Yeshiva University

Refer to the nongovernmental party in your prose and parenthetical reference, alerting readers to this system of ordering in a note .

Special thanks to Noah Kupferberg, of Brooklyn Law School, for assistance with these guidelines.

32 Comments

Laurie nebeker 08 august 2017 at 02:08 pm.

My eleventh-grade English students write research papers about Supreme Court cases. In the MLA 7th edition (5.7.14) there was a note about italicizing case titles in the text but not in the list of works cited or in parenthetical references. Has this changed for the 8th edition? Also, you've given examples about formatting SCOTUS rulings, but most of the resources my students use are articles about the cases from news sources, specialty encyclopedias, etc. Should case titles be italicized when they appear within article titles? Thanks!

Your e-mail address will not be published

Angela Gibson 09 August 2017 AT 07:08 AM

You are correct to note this change. To make legal works a bit easier to cite, we now recommend that writers italicize the names of court cases both in the text and the list of works cited. When the name of a court case is contained within another work, style the title just as you would anywhere else. Thus, a SCOTUS ruling in the title of a news article would appear in italics. Thanks for reading; I hope this helps!

Nia Alexander 31 January 2018 AT 06:01 PM

How would I cite the 2015 National Content Report? It contains information similar to that of a census.

Angela Gibson 01 February 2018 AT 07:02 AM

There is an example here: https://style.mla.org/citing-tables/.

Nathan Hoepner 12 February 2018 AT 01:02 AM

One of my students wants to use the Versailles Treaty (officially, "Treaty of Peace with Germany"). The Library of Congress has a pdf copy posted. Should he list the treaty in his sources with the URL, or, since is just a copy of the official treaty, just list title, date, and "multilateral treaty"?

ben zuk 17 March 2018 AT 06:03 PM

how would I cite Supreme Court case from Justia?

Patricia Morris 27 March 2018 AT 10:03 AM

Can you give an example for citing the Occupational Outlook Handbook, published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics?

Michael Park 03 May 2018 AT 12:05 PM

How do i cite a introduced bill into congress

ML Chilson 04 November 2018 AT 05:11 PM

How do I cite a pending case that is still at the trial court level, including citation to the briefs that have been filed by the various parties?

Blah 08 November 2018 AT 11:11 AM

how do you cite a complaint in mla format

Marlow Chapman 10 December 2018 AT 08:12 PM

How would one cite a Title (specifically Title VII) from the Civil Rights Act of 1964?

Angela Gibson 11 December 2018 AT 05:12 PM

How you cite it will depend on where you access it. Some points: following the MLA format template, your entry will start with the title of the law. This will either be Civil Rights Act or Title 7 (see the discussion of Federal Statutes above for considerations about which title to begin your entry with). Your in-text citation (whether in prose or parentheses) should direct the reader to the first element in your works-cited list (in other words, the title).

Jeff Jeskie 04 February 2019 AT 08:02 AM

How do my students properly list the Supreme Court cases that are linked on the Exploring Constitutional Law site by Doug LInder at UMKC Law School site?

http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/home.html?

Patricia Moseley 14 February 2019 AT 10:02 AM

I need help. My 8th grade history class is answering questions on the US Constitution and citing their answer.

There are five rights in the First Amendment, which include freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, the right to peaceably assemble, and the right to petition the government for a redress of their grievances (U.S. Constitution).

Is this in-text citation done correctly? Also, are the amendments spell out or does one use the Roman numeral in text?

Thank You!!!

Angela Gibson 15 February 2019 AT 10:02 AM

If U.S. Constitution is the first element in the works-cited-list entry, the in-text citation is correct. Spell out ordinal numbers (First Amendment), but use numerals for numbers of count (Amendment V) and, by convention, use Roman numerals for divisions of legal works that use them.

Ella 05 December 2019 AT 08:12 PM

How would you cite a state supreme court case?

Ana 06 December 2019 AT 09:12 AM

How would I cite an Act? More precisely, I want to cite The New York State Dignity for All Students Act. How would I do it on in-text citations and on the work cited page? Thanks!

Amanda 17 April 2020 AT 05:04 PM

How would I cite a tribal constitution? Do I use the date of the original publication or the most recent amendment or resolution?

most are found on their tribal government websites so would i treat it like this:

(italicized) Title of Document: Subtitle if Given (italicized) . Edition if given and is not first edition, Name of Government Department, Agency or Committee, Publication Date, URL. Accessed Day Month Year site was visited.

yet, I still do not know what date to use. Or should i just cite it from a print publication or Nat. Archives so I can use the example given in your list above?

Angela Gibson 20 April 2020 AT 09:04 AM

Cite the version you're looking at and use the date of access if it's the only date you can provide.

Marissa 25 October 2020 AT 05:10 PM

How would you cite The Declaration of Independence?

Jennifer A. Rappaport 26 October 2020 AT 08:10 PM

Thanks for your question. Please consult Ask the MLA: https://style.mla.org/category/ask-the-mla/

Carol Holyoke 19 January 2021 AT 10:01 PM

Could you please tell me how to cite the Declaration of Independence? Do I put it in the Works Cited List?

Angela Gibson 20 January 2021 AT 09:01 AM

It is generally a good idea to create a works-cited-list entry for the version of the document you are transcribing a quotation from (e.g., see our example for the Constitution). Create your entry just as you would for any other source--follow the template of core elements and list any relevant elements that apply.

Diane 23 February 2021 AT 07:02 PM

How do I correctly cite a Congressional public law In Text? I can only find how to cite in works cited pages. Thank you!

Rowena 28 April 2021 AT 09:04 AM

If I quote sections from a piece of legislation does it need to be italicised as well as quotation marks?

Charlotte Norcross 15 November 2021 AT 11:11 AM

How do I correctly cite the congressional record from a specific session? Thanks!

Carl Sandler 02 February 2022 AT 02:02 PM

I am submitting a report to an attorney consisting of investigative findings related to an automobile accident. Some of the information in my report will be technical in nature and other information will be in the form of my opinion(s) based on conclusions drawn from deposition testimony of witnesses and persons knowledgeable of the event. Considering the report will be read by both legal professionals and others not of the legal profession, what approach and format (with examples, please) should be used to cite deposition testimony and also Exhibits presented during the taking of the deposition? I am familiar with Bluebook style of legal citations, however not all persons reading my report would have this same understanding.

Lev 18 April 2022 AT 11:04 AM

Dear MLA Editor: When citing court cases in another language (French), should I keep the title of the case in the original language, translate it, or provide a translation in brackets? The same question goes for the name of the docket number, court, date of publication, and other elements. The MLA manual does not offer any guidance on this! Thanks in advance for any help.

Heidi 27 April 2023 AT 10:04 AM

What is the proper way to reference a recently filed lawsuit (a pending case) in legal writing (letters and memos)? Thanks!

Jennifer Washington 13 February 2024 AT 11:02 PM

How are state educational codes shaping standards for textbooks and materials cited in-text and on works cited?

Margaret Handrow 09 April 2024 AT 09:04 AM

How are state laws and state house bills cited? What would be the in-text citations for state laws and state house bills?

Laura Kiernan 09 April 2024 AT 03:04 PM

For guidance on citing state laws, see this post on the Style Center .

Join the Conversation

We invite you to comment on this post and exchange ideas with other site visitors. Comments are moderated and subject to terms of service.

If you have a question for the MLA's editors, submit it to Ask the MLA!

Law: Referencing

• European Law Databases
• Foreign Law Databases
• International Law Databases

Study Skills

• Legal Research Certification
• Referencing
• UK Official Publications
• EU Official Publications
• UN Official Publications

Law - Referencing

Referencing is the academic practice of acknowledging the sources you have used in your work. Sources may be other people's words and ideas, or legal authorities such as legislation and case law.

Referencing demonstrates your ethical use of information, the range of your research and reading, provides authority to your arguments, enables others to find materials cited, and avoids accusations of plagiarism.

Plagiarism is the use of another person's work without proper acknowledgment. Most plagiarism is unintentional and the result of poor academic practice. It's is important to reference when directly quoting or paraphrasing another person's work. 

Referencing styles are sets of rules governing referencing practice. They prescribe the type, order and format of information in a reference. There are 3 main types of referencing style: in-text, footnote and endnote. Always check what referencing style is required by your department or assessment, as there may be local interpretations.

Cite Them Right

An introduction to the general principles of referencing, including why, when and how to reference.

Research & Academic Support Librarian

OSCOLA Workshops

Learn OSCOLA at our Introduction to OSCOLA workshops. Learn about footnote referencing, how to cite primary and secondary sources of legal information, how to do subsequent citations using short forms and ibids, and how to structure your bibliography. 

Appointments

Your Research & Academic Support Librarian is available for 1-2-1 appointments, both on-campus and online, and can advise on all library, research and referencing matters.

Referencing Software

Referencing software allows you to manage references, insert citations and create a bibliography, in your referencing style.

EndNote is referencing software from Clarivate. EndNote Desktop supports the OSCOLA referencing style. EndNote is available from Warwick IT Services, and is supported by Warwick Library. Please see the EndNote LibGuide for further information. 

OSCOLA Referencing Style

The  Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (OSCOLA)  is the referencing style used by the Warwick Law School and by law schools and legal publishers across the UK. It was developed by the University of Oxford and is free to download from the official OSCOLA website :

Referencing in Law Exams

Introduction.

• Law School Guidance

Question:   "Do I need to do OSCOLA referencing in exams?"  Answer:   No

OSCOLA referencing is required for essays and dissertations but not for examinations. In examinations, you need to acknowledge your source, but this should be done in-text (in brackets) and does not require footnotes or a bibliography.

• If citing any authorities, include the name/title in the main body of your text (not in footnotes/references)
• If citing secondary sources, include the author, an abbreviated source title and the year (in brackets in main body of your text)
• If using a direct quotation, you must use "quotation marks" and acknowledge the source in your text

Examples of how to reference in law examinations:

• Cases   Name of Case  (Year) e.g.  Manchester Building Society v Grant Thornton  (2021)
• Legislation   Title of Legislation Year e.g. Human Rights Act 1998
• Books  (Author,  Short Title of Book  Year) e.g. (Bradney,  How to Study Law  2021)
• Articles  (Author, 'Short Title of Article' Year) e.g. (Carr, 'Women in Commercial Law' 2020)

The Law School's current  guidance on examinations states:

• The word limit applies to the aggregate number of words used to answer all questions, and reflects the specified time set for the exam within the 24-hour period. It excludes footnotes/references, but footnotes/references will not be marked, and you will not be given credit for them. The limit is an upper bound on your wordcount and not a target. In answering all required questions, you may write less if you wish. As with any normal exam, you should put citations of authorities and names of authors in the main body of your answer text if you wish to gain credit for them. You are allowed to access module materials, notes, resources, references and the Internet.
• You are not required to use footnotes or include a bibliography. You should include a treaty/ statutory provision or case name for any legal proposition you reference. You do not need to provide the full case citation If you are using a direct quote from a source, you must use quotation marks (see Academic Integrity). It is sufficient to merely state the author of the quote, an abbreviated source and a date. All references should be made in brackets in the body of the essay.

OSCOLA - An Introduction

Bibliography, subsequent citations, secondary referencing.

OSCOLA is a guide to referencing key United Kingdom legal materials including primary sources (legislation and case law), and secondary sources (books and articles). OSCOLA is not a guide to academic or legal writing, nor is it a guide to writing law essays or dissertations.   

OSCOLA provide some guidance to referencing European Union and International primary sources, but no guidance to referencing primary sources from foreign jurisdictions. If referencing foreign legal materials, writers should follow referencing guidance from the home jurisdiction. 

OSCOLA provides referencing rules and examples for the main types of legal information; but it is not comprehensive, and it does not provide referencing rules of all types of information, especially non-legal information. If you are referencing materials not mentioned in OSCOLA, follow the general principles and be consistent. 

OSCOLA is a footnote referencing style . With footnote referencing, numbered footnote markers (superscript numbers) are inserted into your text, normally at the end of your sentence, immediately after the full-stop.¹ You can position footnote markers within your sentence if it improves clarity, e.g. after a semi-colon;² or comma,³ or after a  Case Name.  The reference is written in a corresponding numbered footnote at the bottom of the page. The footnote is closed with a full-stop. 

Insert footnotes

Most word processing software includes footnote referencing functionality. In Microsoft Word, click on the 'References' menu, and then 'Insert Footnote'. Refer to your word processing software’s help pages for further information.

How to Insert Footnotes and Endnotes in Microsoft Word.

Multiple references

• A single footnote may include more than one reference. All references should be separated with a semi-colon (;).
• List primary sources (legislation and case law) before secondary sources (books and articles), and legislation before case law.
• If you have more than one reference of the same type, list them chronologically, with the oldest one first. 

When not to footnote

If you state the full title and year (and section where appropriate) of legislation in the main body of your text, you do not need to repeat the information in a footnote. Omit the footnote entirely but include the full reference in the Table of Authorities.

If you state the full name of the case in the main body of your text, you only need to include the case citations in the footnote. Omit the case name from the footnote, but include the citations only. Include the full reference in the Table of Authorities.

A bibliography is a list of sources or references cited in the work. OSCOLA requires a bibliography only for longer works i.e. monographs and dissertations/theses, not shorter works i.e. journal articles or essays. At law school, it is common practice to include a bibliography at the end of an essay. Please check your assessment guidance for further information.

With OSCOLA, the bibliography is split into two section:  Table of Authorities  (for primary sources) and  Bibliography  (for secondary sources). Generally, references are copied and pasted from the footnotes to the bibliography, although some minor formatting may also be required.

Table of Authorities

A Table of Authorities   is a  list of primary sources  (legislation and case law) cited in the work. Normally there is a Table of Cases and a Table of Legislation . There may be additional tables depending on the length of work, and volume and types of sources cited.

In the  Table of Cases , cases are listed in A-Z order by party name. Copy and paste the reference (case name and citations) from the footnote to the table. Remove any italics from the case name, any pinpoints for quoted pages/paragraphs, and the full-stop at the end of the reference.

In the  Table of Legislation , list all Acts/Statutes in A-Z order by title, and then all Statutory Instruments in A-Z order by title. Copy and paste the references from the footnote to the table. Remove any italics from the legislation name, any pinpoints for quoted section numbers, and the full-stop at the end of the reference.

If you have cited legislation or case law from other jurisdictions, you should separate references by jurisdiction, and list international materials first, followed by regional materials i.e. European Union, and then by each national jurisdiction i.e. United Kingdom. If you have a large number of references, you may wish to have a separate table for each jurisdiction.

The bibliography is a  list of secondary sources  (books, journals and other commentary) cited in the work. There is only one bibliography, and references are listed in A-Z order by author's surname. You do not need to organise the bibliography into sections by material type unless otherwise instructed in your assessment guidance.

In the bibliography, copy and paste the references from the footnote to the bibliography. Invert the authors' name: from first name last name format, to last name initial format. Remove any pinpoints for quoted pages/paragraphs, and the full-stop at the end of the reference. Keep the italic font in the book or journal titles.

Personal authors (a person) should be presented as First Name Surname in the footnote e.g. Jackie Hanes, and Surname, Initials in the bibliography e.g. Hanes, J  OSCOLA uses little punctuation and there are no periods after or between initials.

Corporate authors (an organisation) should be presented as the full name of the organisation, in both footnotes and the bibliography e.g. University of Warwick.

Titles and postnominals

Give the author's name as it appears in the publication, including for judges, but omit titles e.g. Lord/Lady or Sir/Dame and postnominals e.g. QC/KC.

Multiple authors

If citing between 1 and 3 authors, you should list all authors names, in the order listed on the source, in both the footnotes and the bibliography.

• One author: Smith (2022)
• Two authors: Smith and Jones (2022)
• Three authors: Smith, Jones and Patel (2022)

If citing 4 or more authors names, you should list only the first author's name, followed by words 'and others'. Do not use et al .

• Four authors +: Patel and others (2022)

Some sources have an editor instead of, or as well as, an author. If citing an editor, include the abbreviation ed (for a single editor) or eds (for multiple editors) in round brackets, after the editor(s) name(s) e.g. Jackie Hanes (ed) or Hanes, J (ed).

• Short quotations, up to 3 lines of text, should be incorporated into your text, within 'single quotation marks'. 
• Longer quotations, over 3 lines of text, should be presented in an indented paragraph, without quotation marks.

Page numbers

All direct quotations and paraphrasing should be referenced by a footnote, including the page, paragraph or section number(s) of the original source at the end of the footnote. OSCOLA uses limited page number signals: if citing a book, book chapter or report, the page number(s) stand alone at the end of the footnote (do not use p. or pp. or at). If citing a journal article or law report, where the reference ends with the first page number, you should separate the numbers with a comma i.e. first page, quoted page.

The first time a source is cited, it should be referenced in full, normally in a footnote. If the source is cited again, the subsequent references can be abbreviated, using either ibid or a short form and cross-reference. You are advised to leave ibids and short forms until your work is finished, as the numbering of footnotes may change during editing, and may lead to incorrect cross-references.

Ibid is an abbreviation of the Latin ibidem, meaning 'in the same place'. In referencing it is used to refer to the immediately preceding footnote. If you cite a source, and then cite the same source in the very next footnote, you can use 'ibid' in place of the full reference. If you are citing the same source, but at a different page number, simply add a comma after ibid and then the new page number.

Short forms and cross-references are used to reference to other previous footnotes, where they are not immediately preceding. If you cite a source, and then cite the same source later in your work, you can use a short form and cross reference to the original footnote.

For books and articles, the short form is normally the author's surname. For case law, the short form is normally the first party name, in italics. The short form is followed by the letter 'n' and a number in (round brackets) e.g. Smith (n 5). N is an abbreviation for footnote number, and the number is the number of the footnote containing the original full reference. If you are citing the same source, but at a different page number, simply add the new page number to the end of the reference.

Full reference of Secondary Source (as cited in Full reference of Primary Source, Page)

• Benjamin Bowing,  Violent Racism: Victimization, Policing, and Social Context . (OUP 1998) (as cited in Steve Case and others (eds), The Oxford Textbook on Criminology (2nd edn, OUP 2012) 212).

If you are reading a source, and it mentions another source, you may wish to cite the other source in your work.

The best academic practice is to find and read the original source and then cite it directly. If you are unable to find the original source, you can cite it indirectly, 'as cited in', another source. This practice of  indirect citation  is known as  secondary referencing .

The primary source is the one you have read; the secondary source is the one you have read about. You should cite the full reference of both sources in your footnote, but only the primary source in your bibliography. Be careful, as this practice will create very long footnotes, which take words from your word count.

OSCOLA - Primary Sources

• UK Legislation
• EU Legislation
• ECtHR Cases
• International Legislation

International Cases

Act or statute.

Short Title | Year

• Human Rights Act 1998.

Footnote with section number:

• Human Rights Act 1998, s 12.

Footnote if subsequently referring to Act with abbreviation:

• Human Rights Act 1998, s 12 (HRA 1998).

Table of Authorities:

• Human Rights Act 1998

Statutory Instrument

Title | Year, | SI | Year/Number

• Working Time Regulations 1999, SI 1999/3372.

Footnote with regulation number:

• Working Time Regulations 1999, SI 1999/3372, reg 3.
• Working Time Regulations 1999, SI 1999/3372

Case with a neutral citation

Case Name | Neutral Citation, | Law Report Citation

Case Name | [Year] Court-Abbreviation Case-Number, | [(Year)] Volume Law-Report-Abbreviation First-Page

After 2001, cases were assigned a neutral citation, in addition to their law report citation, which identifies the case by year, court and case number.

• Manchester Building Society v Grant Thornton UK LLP [2021] UKSC 20, [2022] AC 783.

Footnote with page [paragraph] number (and judge):

• Manchester Building Society v Grant Thornton UK LLP [2021] UKSC 20, [2022] AC 783, 790.
• Manchester Building Society v Grant Thornton UK LLP [2021] UKSC 20, [2022] AC 783 [4].
• Manchester Building Society v Grant Thornton UK LLP [2021] UKSC 20, [2022] AC 783 [177] (Burrows JSC).

Footnote if full case name stated in main body of text:

• [2021] UKSC 20, [2022] AC 783.
• Manchester Building Society v Grant Thornton UK LLP [2021] UKSC 20, [2022] AC 783

Case without a neutral citation

Case Name  | Law Report Citation (Court-Abbreviation)

Case Name  | [(Year)] Volume Law-Report-Abbreviation First-Page (Court-Abbreviation)

Before 2001, cases were identified by the law report citation and an abbreviation for the court.

• Kelly v Corston [1998] QB 686 (CA).

Footnote with page number (and judge):

• Kelly v Corston [1998] QB 686 (CA) 708.
• Kelly v Corston [1998] QB 686 (CA) 714 (Butler-Sloss LJ).
• [1998] QB 686 (CA).
• Kelly v Corston [1998] QB 686 (CA)

EU Treaties

Legislation Title | [Year] OJ | Issue/First-Page

• Agreement between the Governments of the States of the Benelux Economic Union, the Federal Republic of Germany and the French Republic on the gradual abolition of checks at their common borders [2000] OJ L239/13.

Footnote with article number:

• Agreement between the Governments of the States of the Benelux Economic Union, the Federal Republic of Germany and the French Republic on the gradual abolition of checks at their common borders [2000] OJ L239/13, art 19.
• Agreement between the Governments of the States of the Benelux Economic Union, the Federal Republic of Germany and the French Republic on the gradual abolition of checks at their common borders [2000] OJ L239/13, art 19 (Schengen Agreement 2000).
• Agreement between the Governments of the States of the Benelux Economic Union, the Federal Republic of Germany and the French Republic on the gradual abolition of checks at their common borders [2000] OJ L239/13

EU Regulations, Directives etc

Legislation Type | Number | Legislation Title | [Year] | OJ | Issue/First-Page

• Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) [2016] OJ L119/1.
• Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) [2016] OJ L119/1, art 5.

Footnote if subsequently referring to legislation with abbreviation:

• Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) [2016] OJ L119/1, art 5 (GDPR 2016).
• Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) [2016] OJ L119/1

Case Number | Case Name  | ECLI Citation, | Law Report Citation

Case Number | Case Name  | Jurisdiction:Court:Year:Case-Number, | [(Year)] Volume Law-Report-Abbreviation First-Page

After 2011, EU cases were assigned a uniform citation ( European Case Law Identifier or ECLI ), in addition to their law report citation, which identifies the case by jurisdiction/country, court, year, and case number. ECLI citations are not covered in the OSCOLA 4th edition, but are included in the OSCOLA Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), and are expected to feature in the next edition of OSCOLA.

• Case C-311/18) Data Protection Commissioner v Facebook Ireland Ltd and Maximillian Schrems  EU:C:2020:559, [2021] 1 CMLR 14.

Footnote with page [paragraph] number:

• Case C-311/18) Data Protection Commissioner v Facebook Ireland Ltd and Maximillian Schrems  EU:C:2020:559, [2021] 1 CMLR 14, 502.
• Case C-311/18) Data Protection Commissioner v Facebook Ireland Ltd and Maximillian Schrems  EU:C:2020:559, [2021] 1 CMLR 14, para 55.
• EU:C:2020:559, [2021] 1 CMLR 14.

Case Name | (Number) | ECLI Citation, | Law Report Citation

• Data Protection Commissioner v Facebook Ireland Ltd and Maximillian Schrems (C-311/18) EU:C:2020:559, [2021] 1 CMLR 14

In the Table of Authorities, the order of case name and case number are reversed, to aid alphabetical ordering of the list of cases.

Case Name  | Law Report Citation

Case Name  | [(Year)] Volume Law-Report-Abbreviation First-Page

• Lopez Ribalda v Spain (2020) 71 EHRR 7.
• Lopez Ribalda v Spain (2020) 71 EHRR 7, 319.
• Lopez Ribalda v Spain (2020) 71 EHRR 7 [109].
• (2020) 71 EHRR 7.
• Lopez Ribalda v Spain (2020) 71 EHRR 7

Unreported cases

Case Name | App no Number/Year | (ECtHR, Judgment Date)

• Lopez Ribalda v Spain App no 1874/13 (ECtHR, 19 October 2019).
• Lopez Ribalda v Spain App no 1874/13 (ECtHR, 19 October 2019)

If a case is unreported in an official series of law reports, you can cite the judgment using the application number, court and judgment date.

International Treaties

The referencing rules for international law materials are covered in a separate OSCOLA: Citing International Law   guide.

Where possible, cite from the official international treaty series in preference to others i.e. UNTS (United National Treaty Series) CTS (Consolidated Treaty Series) or LNTS (League of Nations Treaty Series). Otherwise cite from national official treaty series e.g. UKTS (United Kingdom Treaty Series) or other international treaty series. 

Multilateral treaties

Treaty Title | (adopted Date | entered into force Date) | Volume | Treaty Series | First-Page (Abbreviation)

• Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (adopted 19 December 1979, entered into force 3 September 1981) 1249 UNTS 13 (CEDAW).
• Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (adopted 19 December 1979, entered into force 3 September 1981) 1249 UNTS 13 (CEDAW) art 15.
• Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (adopted 19 December 1979, entered into force 3 September 1981) 1249 UNTS 13 (CEDAW)

For multi-lateral treaties, state the adopted (signature) date, and the entered into force date. This information is commonly available from the UNTC Online website, and the FLARE Index to Treaties .

Bilateral treaties

Treaty Title | (Parties-To-Treaty) (adopted Date, entered into force Date) | Volume | Treaty Series | First-Page (Abbreviation)

• Security Treaty Between Australia and New Zealand and the United States (adopted 1 September 1951, entered into force 29 April 1952) 1952 ATS 2 (ANZUS).
• Free Trade Agreement Between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Australia (16-17 December 2021) CP 689.

If the parties to bilateral treaties are not given in the treaty title, then state them in (round brackets) after the title. Adopted and in-force dates should be given where available. Bilateral treaties may be published in national treaty series, in the above examples in the Australian Treaty Series (ATS) and as a Command Paper (CP) for the UK treaty.

The referencing rules for international law materials are covered in a separate  OSCOLA: Citing International Law  guide.

Cite International Court of Justice cases from the official International Court of Justice Reports (ICJ Rep) series. For other international courts, cite from an authoritative law reports series such as the International Law Reports (ILR).

International Court of Justice

Case Name  | ICJ Law Report Citation

Case Name  | [Year] ICJ Rep First-Page

• Whaling in the Antarctic (Australia v Japan, New Zealand intervening) [2014) ICJ Rep 226.

Footnote with page number:

• Whaling in the Antarctic (Australia v Japan, New Zealand intervening) [2014) ICJ Rep 226, 236.

Footnote if full case name stated in main body of text:

• [2014) ICJ Rep 226.
• Whaling in the Antarctic (Australia v Japan, New Zealand intervening) [2014) ICJ Rep 226

Other International Courts

Case Name  | [(Year)] | Volume | Law-Report-Abbreviation | First-Page

• Law Society of South Africa and Others v President of the Republic of South Africa and Others (2020) 185 ILR 313.

OSCOLA - Secondary Sources

Encyclopaedias.

• Conferences

Author,  Title of Book  (Edition edn, Publisher Year)  

• Lisa Webley,  Legal Writing  (4th edn, Routledge 2016). 
• Anthony Bradney and others,  How to Study Law  (9th edn, Sweet & Maxwell 2021). 

The edition statement is only required for second or later editions. For first editions, or books without an edition statement, do not include '1st edn' in the reference.

The place of publication is not required. It is also permissible to abbreviate the publisher e.g. Oxford University Press = OUP.

For ebooks, follow the general rules for referencing print books. It is not necessary to include the ebook platform or web address. 

Book chapters

Author, ‘Title of Chapter’, in Editor ed,  Title of Book  (Edition edn, Publisher Year)  

• Fiona Cownie and Anthony Bradney, ‘Socio-Legal Studies: A Challenge to the Doctrinal Approach’, in Dawn Watkins and Mandy Burton (eds),  Research Methods in Law  (2nd edn, Routledge 2017). 

Title of Encyclopaedia  (Edition edn, Year) vol Volume, para Paragraph

• Halsbury's Laws of England  (5th edn, 2014) vol 20, para 32.

Author, 'Title of Article',  Title of Encyclopaedia  (Date) <web address> accessed Accessed-Date

• Tom Brett Young, 'British Citizenship',  Westlaw Edge UK Overview  (7 March 2018) <https://uk.westlaw.com/> accessed 1 September 2022.

Encyclopaedias are commonly referenced by title, volume and paragraph number. If the author and article title are known, you can include them at the start of the reference, and it will more closely follow the referencing rules for book chapters. 

If the encyclopaedia is published online only, and the article does not have volume and paragraph numbers, then include the web address and accessed date at the end of the reference.

Journal articles

Author, ‘Article Title’ Citation

The  journal article citation  is expressed as:  ([Year]) Volume Journal-Abbreviation First-Page 

• Sue Carr, ‘Women in Commercial Law’ [2020] JBL 91. 
• Christopher McCrudden, ‘Legal Research and the Social Sciences’ (2006) 122 LQR 632. 

Legal abbreviations are normally stated in the journal, but if unknown, please refer to the  Cardiff Index of Legal Abbreviations .

If the journal does not have a legal abbreviation, use the full title of the journal instead.

The year is normally in (round brackets), but where journals do not have volume numbers, the year should be in [square brackets].

Online journal articles

For most ejournals, follow the general rules for referencing print journal articles. Some journals are published online only, and articles do not have page numbers. For online only journals, include the web address and accessed date at the end of the reference.

Author, ‘Title of Article’ Citation <web-address> accessed Accessed-Date 

• India Thusi, 'Blue Lives and the Permanence of Racism' (2020) 105 Cornell L Rev <https://www.cornelllawreview.org/2020/03/03/blue-lives-the-permanence-of-racism/> accessed 1 September 2022.

Newspaper articles

Author, ‘Title of Article’,  Title of Newspaper  (Place, Publication-Date) First-Page 

• Matt Datham, 'Human Rights Overhaul Set to Limit Power of European Judges',  The Times  (London, 22 June 2022) 1.

Online newspaper articles

Author, ‘Title of Article’,  Title of Newspaper  (Place, Publication-Date) <web-address> accessed Accessed-Date 

• Haroon Siddique, 'What Would a British Bill of Rights Look Like?',  The Guardian  (London, 21 June 2022) <https://www.theguardian.com/law/2022/jun/21/what-would-a-british-bill-of-rights-look-like> accessed 1 September 2022.

Author,  Title of Website  (Publication-Date) <web-address> accessed Accessed-Date 

• Equality and Human Rights Commission,  University Periodic Review of Great Britain  (27 April 2022) <https://equalityhumanrights.com/en/publication-download/universal-periodic-review-great-britain> accessed 1 September 2022.

The referencing rules for websites can be adapted for other types of media including government publications, official reports and statistics, and audio-visual materials like films, documentaries, and YouTube videos.

There are specific referencing rules for parliamentary papers including Bills, Command Papers and Hansard Debates. Please refer to the full OSCOLA referencing guide for further information.

Blogs posts

Author, ‘Title of Blog Post’ ( Title of Blog , Publication-Date) <web-address> accessed Accessed-Date 

• David Allen Green, 'A First Glance at the Bill of Rights Bill' ( The Law and Policy Blog , 22 June 2022) <https://davidallengreen.com/2022/06/a-first-glance-at-the-bill-of-rights-bill/> accessed 1 September 2022.

The referencing rules for blog posts can be adapted for other types of serialised media including episodes of television and radio programmes, and  podcasts .

Author, 'Title of Thesis' (Award, Awarding Body Year)

• Martha Gayoye, 'The Role of the Judiciary in Constitution Making: The Two-Thirds Gender Principle in Kenya' (DPhil thesis, University of Warwick 2020).

Conference papers

Author, 'Title of Paper' (Title of Conference, Place, Date)

• Stephanie Hare, 'Digital Ethics' (British and Irish Association of Law Librarians, Wyboston Lakes, 7 July 2022).

Lecture materials

The referencing rules for conference papers can be adapted for other types of public lecture. They can also be adapted for lectures delivered as part of taught modules, although you should generally avoid citing your lecturers or teaching materials.

• Alex Sharpe, 'Flirting with Fascism: The Thin White Duke, Art and Ethical Limits' (University of Warwick, 4 February 2021) <https://youtu.be/dndz5K3-caQ> accessed 1 September 2022.
• Serena Natile, 'Gender, Sexuality and Human Rights' (LA346: Gender and the Law, University of Warwick 2021).

Referencing Tutorials

Online tutorials providing an introduction to the general principles of plagiarism and referencing , and to the OSCOLA legal referencing style. If you would like to complete a  How to do OSCOLA Referencing course, the online tutorials from Cardiff and IALS are recommended:

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• A Quick Guide to OSCOLA Referencing | Rules & Examples

A Quick Guide to OSCOLA Referencing | Rules & Examples

Published on 28 February 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on 5 May 2022.

The Oxford University Standard for the Citation of Legal Authorities (OSCOLA) is a referencing style used by students and academics in law.

OSCOLA referencing places citations in footnotes, which are marked in the text with footnote numbers:

The judge referred to the precedent established by Caulfield v Baldwin . 1

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Table of contents

Citing sources with oscola footnotes, oscola referencing examples, oscola tables and bibliography.

A citation footnote appears whenever you quote from, paraphrase or otherwise refer to the content of a source in your text.

A footnote is marked in the text with a footnote number, which appears at the end of the relevant sentence or clause. The number is displayed in superscript (i.e. 1) and appears after any punctuation like a comma or full stop:

These footnotes contain full information on the source cited. The format in which you present this information varies according to the type of source; examples are presented in the following section. A footnote always ends with a full stop:

Standard abbreviations

To save space in OSCOLA citations, abbreviations are used for the names of various publications and legal bodies.

For example, ‘UKSC’ is the United Kingdom Supreme Court, and ‘Cr App R’ refers to the Criminal Appeal Reports.

A full, searchable index of these abbreviations can be found here .

Pinpointing

In OSCOLA referencing, referring to a specific page number within a source is called pinpointing. To pinpoint, simply include a page number at the end of your reference, in addition to any page numbers already included.

For example, in the following citation, the first number refers to the page on which the report begins , while the second number pinpoints the passage you’re referring to :

Where available, paragraph numbers should be used instead of page numbers. Only do this if paragraph numbers are explicitly used in the text. Paragraph numbers appear in square brackets and can be used for pinpointing in the same way as page numbers:

Note that if you’re pinpointing a judge’s comments within a case report, you include the name of the judge, and some special terms and abbreviations are used in the citation and in the text.

If the judge is a peer, refer to them as ‘Lord’, e.g. Lord Williams. If they are a Lord/Lady Justice, use ‘LJ’, e.g. Williams LJ. If neither of these is the case, use ‘J’ for judge, e.g. Williams J:

Cross-referencing repeated citations of the same source

OSCOLA uses a system of cross-referencing to save space when you repeatedly cite the same source. This means that for subsequent references of a source, you don’t have to repeat the full citation.

When you refer to the same source you have just referred to (i.e. when the previous footnote was also about that source), you can simply use ‘ibid’ (Latin for ‘in the same place’):

In this example, the second footnote also refers to Davis v Dignam, but to page 522 instead of page 519.

When the previous reference to the source was in an earlier footnote (i.e. when other citations appear in between), use the author’s last name or the title (shortened if it’s a longer title), followed by the number of the previous citation (in brackets and preceded by ‘n’), then the page number you’re pinpointing (if different than the first citation):

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OSCOLA provides formats for a variety of source types. The most common ones are covered below.

Case reports

When citing a case, you’ll usually begin with a neutral citation – a way of referring to the case that does not relate to a particular report – and then give the details of the report afterwards. If no neutral citation exists, as with cases before 2002, you can just begin with the report.

Additionally, note that the year (for the report) is displayed differently depending on whether it is essential to the citation. For reports where each year is also identified with a volume number, the year appears in normal brackets. For those where multiple volumes appear in one year, the year appears in square brackets.

• Case report with neutral citation
• Case report with no neutral citation

Acts of Parliament

Use a short version of the title if the full title is longer than three words. If necessary, refer to specific parts of an Act of Parliament using section, subsection and paragraph numbers.

Statutory instruments

Statutory instruments (SIs) are numbered consecutively throughout the year; it’s this number that appears at the end of the citation – the example below is the 149th SI of 2020.

House of Commons bills are cited slightly differently from House of Lords bills. You write ‘HC Bill’ or ‘HL Bill’ depending upon which house it is, and bill numbers for Commons bills appear in square brackets.

• House of Commons bill
• House of Lords bill

Hansard is the official transcript of parliamentary debates in the UK. As with bills, write ‘HC’ for the House of Commons and ‘HL’ for the House of Lords. ‘Deb’ is short for ‘debate’, ‘vol’ for volume, and ‘col’ for column.

Use the full name of the author(s) as written in the source. List the edition (abbreviated to ‘edn’) when it is stated on the title page. Note that OSCOLA recommends abbreviating ‘Oxford University Press’ to ‘OUP’; this is not the case with other publishers.

Certain older books are listed by OSCOLA as ‘works of authority’ and given special abbreviated citations. For example, the following is a citation of volume 3, page 75 of Blackstone’s Commentaries on the Laws of England :

OSCOLA provides a list of these abbreviations in their full guide , section 4.2.3.

Journal articles

As with case reports, square brackets are used for years in a journal citation if the year also identifies the volume; normal brackets are used when there are multiple volumes in a year.

Note that standard abbreviations are also used for journal names; here ‘MLR’ refers to Modern Law Review.

In a longer work, such as a thesis or dissertation , OSCOLA requires you to include tables listing any cases and legislation you cited, as well as a bibliography listing any secondary sources . For shorter essays, this is usually not necessary, but do check your institution’s guidelines.

The tables and bibliography appear at the end of your text. The table of cases comes first, followed by the table of legislation, and then the bibliography.

Sources are listed in alphabetical order within each table and in the bibliography.

Table of cases

Cases are written in a similar format here and in the main text; the only difference is the names of the parties involved are not italicised in the table of cases:

Table of legislation

The table of legislation includes all legal sources used other than cases – for example, bills, Acts of Parliament and SIs. Items in the table of legislation are listed in identical form to how they are cited in the text.

Bibliography

A bibliography lists all your secondary sources – that is, everything other than cases and legislation. For example, here you would list Hansard , any books and journal articles cited, and other sources such as blogs, social media and newspapers.

Bibliography entries differ from citations in terms of their presentation of the author’s name. Author names in the bibliography are inverted, and initials are used in place of the first name:

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the ‘Cite this Scribbr article’ button to automatically add the citation to our free Reference Generator.

Caulfield, J. (2022, May 05). A Quick Guide to OSCOLA Referencing | Rules & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved 9 April 2024, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/referencing/oscola/

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Footnotes, endnotes, and citations

What citations should I use in my essay?

Regular essays and timed exams

Most instructors at the undergraduate level (including instructors on law conversion courses) do not require students to do more than indicate the names of cases or statutes in the text of their essays and examinations, particularly in timed examinations. While it's preferable to give the full case name (such as Jones v Smith), in a timed examination you can get by with one name or the other. Usually people pick the first party's name, unless it's a very common name or a criminal case. Sometimes, though, you will notice that your textbook or lecturer uses the second party's name regularly. If you know that the case is commonly short-cited to the second party's name, go ahead and use that.

If you can't remember the name of a particular case or statute, simply describe it. For example, 'the snail in the bottle case' sufficiently evokes Donoghue v. Stevenson . 'The first Occupiers' Liability Act' gets you past worries about the particular year it was enacted. Of course, if you are working on a weekly essay or a long-term research project you must take the trouble of finding and putting in the proper title or citation.

Once you have used the full name once, feel free to use a short citation, such as ' Donoghue' or 'the 1984 Act.' There's no need to keep repeating the full name.

If you are writing your essay by hand, there is no need to use different coloured ink for a case or statutory citation. It often helps if you underline case names, but you won't lose points if you don't. If you are typing your essay, you can underline or italicise case names, but there's no need for elaborate type faces. Make your writing stand out rather than your design skills. Sometimes it seems that students spend more time formatting the essay than they do writing it. Don't be one of those students.

Typically, citations in a regular essay or timed examination are placed in the text next to the proposition they support. See the sample student essays in chapter 10 of the book for models.

These suggestions are only guidelines to use if you do not receive more specific instructions from your tutor or lecturer. If your university or instructors have particular rules that they wish you to follow, do so.

Long-term research essays and theses

If you are doing a long-term research project, you should use the full and proper citation, either in a footnote, an endnote or in the text. Again, once you have given the citation in full, you may use the appropriate short citation.

Very often, instructors will give formatting advice for long-term research essays. Certainly students doing masters theses will be given detailed information on the citation convention they are to use. If you have not been given any guidance, ask for it. Also, don't wait until the last minute to investigate your citation requirements. There's nothing worse than having to go back through all your research to add in specific page numbers or dates because you forgot to do it the first time. With a long-term project, you can and should plan ahead.

When should I quote and when should I paraphrase?

As mentioned in the book, quotes are good in the law. The words of Lord Justice Whozits are much more persuasive than a mere lawyer's. Use quotations freely, as long as you:

• use the exact words and punctuation found in the original source;
• use square brackets [ ] to indicate changes in capitalization, punctuation and language; and
• provide the source of the quotation.

Remember also that extensive quotations from statutes – particularly if you are permitted to use the statute book in an otherwise closed examination – are not particularly impressive. What is more important in those situations is your interpretation and use of the statute.

Never include the precise language of a source – or language that is virtually identical – without a proper attribution. Not only does that constitute plagiarism, it is counter to the use of source material in law. The law depends on published precedent for its authority. A legal principle is only as good as its source. Therefore, you want to demonstrate where your various propositions come from, since they will be more valuable if they come from an outside source.

However, there are times when you should paraphrase rather than provide a direct quotation. If the pertinent section is very long or discusses issues that are not relevant to the point you are making, then go ahead and paraphrase. Similarly, if the point you are making is only tangential to your larger argument, a paraphrase may be appropriate. Sometimes it's wise to save your ammunition for the big issues.

If you are paraphrasing someone, it is still helpful to identify the source so that your reader knows that you are not making the proposition up out of whole cloth. Again, lawyers and judges evaluate the strength of your argument based on the strength of your sources. Show your reader how well-read you are and earn every point you possibly can.

When should I use footnotes, when should I use endnotes and when should I put the citation in the text?

For the most part, undergraduates can put their citations in the text of their essays. The citation can be set off mid-sentence through parenthesis ( Hansel v Gretel ) or can follow the sentence. Hansel v Gretel . The one exception for undergraduates is on long-term research projects, where the instructors might ask for footnotes or endnotes.

There is no formal convention on when you should use footnotes rather than endnotes. For the most part, it's a matter of style and personal choice, although the choice may not be yours to make. If you are writing a postgraduate thesis or dissertation, your faculty or your supervisor may have very strict ideas on how the work is to be presented. Follow those rules to the letter. Similarly, if you are hoping to have your work published in a periodical or legal journal, ask to see the editorial guidelines. An editor is much more likely to accept your work if it conforms to the house style.

If the issue is left entirely up to you, then you simply need to decide which form of notes you find more helpful. Footnotes can be seen to break the flow of the text, but they also help the reader follow the argument, particularly if the text is comparing and contrasting different sources. Footnotes are also more useful than endnotes if the footnotes contain substantive information rather than simply providing source material. For the most part, British and European writers do not include anything in their foot- or endnotes other than the citations themselves, possibly with a “see also” reference to additional material. American authors, on the other hand, fill their footnotes with additional substantive information. Often the best information in an American law review article can be found in the footnotes.

American legal texts are also known for dropping a footnote at the end of almost every sentence, whereas texts from other countries do so much less, usually only following a direct quote. The reason why American journals use as many footnotes as they do is because most American law journals are edited by law students. British and European journals are peer-reviewed, meaning that an article is only accepted if it passes muster with other academics and/or practitioners. Therefore, the text of the article is verified before it is accepted for publication. American students are not experts in their fields, so they must – and do – check the substance of each and every footnote by hand to make sure that it supports the proposition stated. Therefore, American law journals contain excellent source material for researchers, since the footnotes point the reader to a wide variety of verified information and additional resources. Because American footnotes contain so much information, it makes sense to place them on the same page as the text they support rather than at the end of the article or book.

If you are writing for a non-American audience, you should strongly consider putting citations only into your notes. Once you have made that decision, it matters less whether you put the note on the page or at the end of the piece. If you have a multi-chaptered work (such as a book or doctoral dissertation), then you might consider putting the notes at the end of each chapter rather than at the end of the work as a whole. However, it is highly unlikely that the decision to use footnotes or endnotes will be left to your discretion if you are writing a book or dissertation. Again, conform your text to the guidelines of your institution.

Do remember your punctuation, however. Footnotes and endnotes should both end with a full stop.

What is 'proper' citation form?

If you are an undergraduate writing a weekly essay or timed examination, a case name or the short title of a statute should be sufficient, unless you are told otherwise. If you are writing a more elaborate work, you should follow proper citation guidelines.

There are entire books written on how to cite legal authorities. If you are writing a detailed research paper such as a thesis or dissertation, you should consult one of those books so that you cite your sources properly. Your law librarian can help you find those resources. Also, you should know that each jurisdiction has its own conventions on how to cite legal authorities, so the style of case citation, for example, may not appear consistent if you are citing materials from different countries, even if the individual citations are correct.

In the U.K., authors generally do not give parallel (i.e., multiple) citations except when citing both a neutral reporter and an official reporter, though they must follow strict rules regarding punctuation (or the lack thereof), the type of brackets, typeface, etc. Examples of common British case citations are as follows.

Walker v Sitter [2004] EWHC 1000 (Ch) [5]-[7] (neutral citation, pinpointing paragraphs 5 to 7)

Yin v Yang [2004] QB 123 (QB) at 125 (Schmidt, J) (pinpointing page, noting author)

Tweedledee v Tweedledum [2003] 2 All ER 456 (HL)

Re Luftborough Airport [2002] 1 WLR 89 (Com Ct)

Barking Mad Ltd v Crazy Horse Int'l Inc (2005) Times, 15 April (QB)

The neutral citation system was introduced in the U.K. in January 2001. All cases since then have a neutral citation as well as numbered paragraphs instead of page numbers. The abbreviations indicate which court heard the case. For example, the jurisdictions include:

UK United Kingdom (used only with House of Lords decisions)

EW England and Wales

Scot Scotland

NI Northern Ireland

The court abbreviations which follow the jurisdictional abbreviation in a neutral citation are:

HL House of Lords

CA Civ Court of Appeal (Civil Division)

CA Crim Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)

HC (Ch) High Court (Chancery Division)

HC (QB) High Court (Queen's Bench)

HC (Admin) High Court (Administrative Court Division)

HC (Fam) High Court (Family Division)

HC (Pat) Patents Court

HC (Comm) Commercial Court

HC (Admlty) Admiralty Court

HC (TCC) Technology & Construction Court

European jurisprudence follows its own conventions. You might see citations along the following lines:

Case 26/97 Commission v. Ireland [1999] ECR 321

Case 177/75 Belgium v. Spain [1976] ECR 722, para. 3

Case C-123/92P Y v Commission [1994] ECR I-4321

American legal citations follow a different format, using the style known as the 'Bluebook', which is a citation guide put out by the Harvard Law Review. You'll usually see citations similar to the following:

Darth Vader v Skywalker , 103 F.3d 1049 (2d Cir. 2005)

In re Ballyhoo , 998 F.Supp. 22 (D. D.C. 1999)

Grasshopper v The Ant , 37 App. 2d 24 (Ill. App. Div. 2003)

Cowboy v Cow , 42 S.W.3d 444 (Tex. 2004)

Many common words (railway, limited, public limited company) can be abbreviated in a case name. Those abbreviations can be found in citation guides such as OSCOLA, which is described below. Similarly, many reporting series are known by their abbreviations. Some of the more common British reporters follow, with their short titles. Be aware that some of these series may also have numbers appearing before the volume name (for example, 2 QB).

Official Law Reports AC, QB, Ch, Fam, P

Weekly Law Reports WLR

European Court Reports ECR

All England Law Reports All ER, All ER Com

Common Market Law Reports CMLR

Criminal Appeal Reports Cr App R

Family Law Reports FLR

Lloyd's Law Reports Lloyd's Rep

Official Journal of the EC OJ

Scots Law Times CLT

The Times The Times

Citation of statutes in the U.K. is a straightforward affair. Typically a student needs only cite the name of the legislation and the year, along with the appropriate section, chapter or paragraph number. For example:

Companies Act 1985, sch. 1, para. 3

Arbitration Act 1996, s. 69

European legislation is equally simple, though the titles are often longer and appear in lower case.

Council Regulation (EC) 2693/94 addressing the need to conform widget size in automobiles [1994] OJ L123

Directive 77/331 applying competition rules to the dairy industry [1977] OJ L78/41

When citing American federal legislation and rules, do not include the name of the enactment.

28 U.S.C. § 1391

Fed. R. Civ. P. 4

Students should be aware that two well-known U.S. treatise series – the Restatement (of Tort, of Contract, of Foreign Relations, etc.) and A.L.R. (American Law Reports) do not constitute binding authority in the U.S. Instead, these works simply generalise about the laws of the various U.S. states and should not be considered as authoritative in any particular jurisdiction. While some courts may adopt the Restatement position on a particular issue, the Restatement does not constitute the law in that jurisdiction until a court has so stated. In all instances, the authority comes from the court, not the Restatement.

Which reporting series should I use?

Since the introduction of the neutral citation system in 2001, it is always proper to cite to that series, using paragraph numbers instead of page numbers. If a case is reported in the official Law Reports (AC, QB, etc.), then you should use that report in addition to the neutral citation (at least for decisions after 2001). If the case is not reported in the official Law Reports, you should use to the Weekly Law Reports and All England Law Reports, in that order. After that, you may turn to any other published source, including specialist series such as Lloyd's or the Times.

What is OSCOLA and how does it relate to the Harvard citation style?

'OSCOLA' refers to the Oxford Standard Citation of Legal Authorities, which is available free of charge on the University of Oxford Faculty of Law website ( www.law.ox.ac.uk ). The faculty releases two publications: 'Big OSCOLA', which is over 300 pages in length, and 'Little OSCOLA', which is about 30 pages long. Both documents give you detailed instructions on how to cite cases, statutes, books, journals and other legal materials. Most people should start with Little OSCOLA unless they are doing a postgraduate degree at Oxford or are directed to use Big OSCOLA. The OSCOLA system reflects a common understanding of how British legal authorities should be cited and is a good place to learn how British and European cases should be referenced. Notably, the OSCOLA system proposes a citation methodology that conflicts with American usage, and those whose work includes a large number of American cases may prefer to consult the latest edition of the Bluebook, which is available in many university law libraries, for U.S. sources.

You may also hear about the Harvard style of citation, particularly if you conduct socio-legal or other multi-disciplinary research. The Harvard style is not the same as the Bluebook, even though that guide is also put out by Harvard. The Harvard style of citation focuses primarily on non-legal sources such as books and journal articles, and, as such, is not as useful for those taking a strict law course as OSCOLA is. Under the Harvard style of citation, cases are cited in the text, rather than in the footnotes.

Citation signals

Older sources make wide use of Latin phrases such as infra, supra, ante, id, op cit, loc cit and contra . American sources continue to use many of these phrases in addition to a number of signals ( see, see also, but see, cf., accord ) at the beginning of a cite and descriptors ( cert. denied , aff'd by, rev'd by, superseded by , etc.) following a cite. Current British usage avoids all Latin phrases except for ibid , which means 'in the place of' and refers to the preceding citation only. You may only use ibid if the subsequent citation is to the same page; otherwise, use ibid 345 (if, for example, the new citation is to page number 345) or ibid art. 3 (if, for example, the new citation is to article 3). You may also use cf (compare) as a signal, but avoid the American use of see, see also, but see , etc.

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How to write a first-class bibliography for a legal essay

• November 9, 2010

How to write a bibliography to conclude your first-class dissertation

There are three stages for completing an abundant and competent bibliography. First, go into the footnotes on your document, select all, copy and paste to the foot of your article, then separate into different categories. Then, second, go back through the materials which you have read and add them. Finally, third, sort alphabetically using Word or Excel.

7. BIBLIOGRAPHY 7.1. TABLE OF CASES A and others v Denmark [1996] ECHR 2 AG of Zambia v Meer Care and Desai [2005] EWHC 2102 (Ch), appeals dismissed [2006] EWCA Civ 390 Airbus Industrie GIE v Patel [1999] 1 AC 119 Airey v Ireland [1979] ECHR 3 Al-Bassam v Al-Bassam [2004] EWCA Civ 857 Amuur v France (1996) 22 E.H.R.R. 533 Andreucci v Italy [1992] ECHR 8 Ashingdane v United Kingdom [1985] ECHR 8 Att. Gen. v Arthur Anderson & Co [1989] ECC 224 Axelsson v. Sweden, no.11960/86, 13 July 1990 Bensaid v United Kingdom (2001) 33 EHRR 10 Berghofer v. ASA SA Case 221/84 [1985] ECR 2699 Berisford Plc v New Hampshire Insurance [1990] 2 QB 631 Bock v. Germany [1989] ECHR 3 Boddaert v Belgium (1993) 16 EHRR 242 Bosphorus Hava Yollari Turizm Ve Ticaret Anonim Sirketi(“Bosphorus Airways“) v Ireland (2006) 42 EHRR 1 Bottazzi v. Italy [1999] ECHR 62 Brazilian Loans (PCIJ Publications, Series A, Nos. 20-21, p.122) Bristow Heliocopters v Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation [2004] 2 Ll Rep 150 British Airways v Laker Airways [1983] AC 58 British South Africa Co v Companhia de Moçambique [1893] AC 602 Buchholz v Germany [1981] ECHR 2 Carel Johannes Steven Bentinck v Lisa Bentinck [2007] EWCA Civ 175 Ceskoslovenska Obchodni Banka AS v Nomura International Plc [2003] IL Pr 20 Chellaram v Chellaram [1985] 1 Ch 409 Connelly v RTZ Corpn plc [1998] AC 854 Credit Agricole Indosuez v Unicof Ltd [2004] 1 Lloyd.s Rep 196 Cumming v Scottish Daily Record and Sunday Mail Ltd, The Times June 8, 1995 Darnell v United Kingdom (1993) 18 EHRR 205 Delcourt v Belgium (1979-80) 1 EHRR 355 Derbyshire CC v Times Newspapers Ltd [1992] QB 770 Deweer v Belgium (1979-80) 2 EHRR 439 Di Mauro v. Italy ECHR 1999-V Drozd and Janousek v France and Spain (1992) 14 EHRR 745 Eckle v Germany (1983) 5 EHRR 1 Elderslie Steamship Company v Burrell (1895) 22 R 389 Elefanten Schuh GmbH v Jacqmain (Case 150/80) [1981] ECR 1671 Erich Gasser GmbH v Misat Srl, C-116/02 [2005] QB 1 ERT v DEP C-260/89 [1991] ECR I-2925 F v Switzerland [1987] ECHR 32 Ferrari v Italy [1999] ECHR 64 Foti v Italy (1982) EHRR 313 Fritz and Nana v France, 75 DR 39 Golder v. United Kingdom [1975] ECHR 1 Gorbachev v Russia, No. 3354/02, Judgment of 15 February 2007. Government of the United States of America v Montgomery (No 2) [2004] UKHL 37 Guincho v Portugal (1984) 7 EHRR 223 H v France (1990) 12 EHRR 74 Hesperides Hotels Ltd v Aegan Turkish Holidays Ltd [1979] AC 508 Hewit’s Trs v Lawson (1891) 18 R 793. Huseyin Erturk v Turkey [2005] ECHR 630. Irish Shipping Ltd v Commercial Union [1991] 2 QB 206. Iveco Fiat v Van Hool Case 313/85 [1986] ECR 3337 Jones v Saudi Arabia [2004] EWCA Civ 1394 JP Morgan Europe Ltd v Primacom [2005] EWHC 508 Katte Klitsche de la Grange v Italy (1994) 19 EHRR 368 Klockner Holdings GmbH v Klockner Beteiligungs GmbH [2005] EWHC 1453 Konamaneni v Rolls-Royce Industrial Power (India) Ltd [2002] 1 WLR 1269 Konig v Federal Republic of Germany (1978) 2 EHRR 170 Krombach v Bamberski Case C-7/98 [2001] QB 709 Kudla v Poland [2000] ECHR 512 Lacey v Cessna Aircraft (1991) 932 F.2d 170 Ledra Fisheries Ltd v Turner [2003] EWHC 1049 Lubbe v Cape Industries Plc [2000] 2 Lloyd’s Rep. 383 Malone v United Kingdom (1985) 7 EHRR 1 Malstrom v Sweden (1983) 38 Decisions and Reports 18 Manieri v Italy [1992] ECHR 26 Margareta and Roger Andersson v Sweden (1992) 14 EHRR 615. Markovic v Italy [2006] ECHR 1141 Maronier v Larmer [2003] QB 620 Matthews v United Kingdom [1999] ECHR 12. Messier-Dowty v Sabena [2000] 1 WLR 2040 Netherlands 6202/73 1975 1 DR 66 OT Africa Line Ltd v Hijazy (The Kribi) [2001] Lloyd’s Rep 76 Owens Bank Ltd v Bracco [1992] 2 AC 433 Owners of the Atlantic Star v Owners of the Bona Spes (The Atlantic Star and The Bona Spes) [1974] AC 436 Owusu v Jackson and Others C-281/02 [2005] QB 801 Pafitis v Greece (1999) 27 EHRR 566 Pfeiffer and Plankl v Austria (1992) 14 EHRR 692 Philip Morris International Inc v Commission of the European Communities [2003] ECR II-1 Prince Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein v Germany ECHR 2001-VIII. R (Razgar) v Special Adjudicator [2004] 1 AC 368 R v Jones [2003] 1 AC 1 R. (Alconbury Developments Ltd) v Secretary of State for the Environment [2001] 2 WLR 1389 R. (on the application of Ullah) v Special Adjudicator [2004] UKHL 26 Riccardo Pizzati v Italy [2006] ECHR 275 Robins v United Kingdom (1998) 26 EHRR 527 Salesi v Italy [1993] ECHR 14 Salotti v RUWA Case 23/76 [1976] ECR 1831 Santambrogio v Italy [2004] ECHR 430 Scopelliti v Italy (1993) 17 EHRR 493 Sim v Robinow (1892) 19 R 665 Soc Divagsa v Spain (1993) 74 DR 274. Soering v United Kingdom (1989) 11 EHRR 439 Spiliada Maritime Corporation v Cansulex Lid [1987] 1 AC 460 Standard Steamship Owners Protection and Indemnity Association v Gann [1992] 2 Lloyd’s Rep 528 Stogmuller v Austria (1979) 2 EHRR 155 Stubbings v United Kingdom [1996] ECHR 44 Sunday Times v United Kingdom (1979-80) 2 EHRR 245 The Al Battani [1993] 2 Lloyd’s Rep 219 The Benarty [1984] 2 Lloyd’s Rep 244 The Fehmarn [1958] 1 WLR 159 The Jalakrishna [1983] 2 Lloyd’s Rep. 628 The Lakhta [1992] 2 Lloyd’s Rep 269 The Nile Rhapsody [1992] 2 Lloyd’s Rep 399 The Pioneer Container [1994] 2 AC 324 The Polessk [1996] 2 Lloyd’s Rep 40 The Vishva Ajay [1989] 2 Lloyd’s Rep 558 Toepfer International G.M.B.H. v. Molino Boschi Srl [1996] 1 Lloyd’s Rep. 510 Trendex v Credit Suisse [1982] AC 679 Turner v Grovit and Others [2005] 1 AC 101 Union Alimentaria SA v Spain (1990) 12 EHRR 24 Vocaturo v Italy [1991] ECHR 34. Wemhoff v Germany (1968) 1 EHRR 55 Winterwerp v The Netherlands [1979] ECHR 4 X v France [1992] ECHR 45 Xn Corporation Ltd v Point of Sale Ltd [2001] I.L.Pr. 35 Z and Others v. United Kingdom (2002) 34 EHRR 3 Zimmermann and Steiner v Switzerland [1983] ECHR 9 7.2. TABLE OF LEGISLATION European Union EC Treaty Art 6(2) Art 307 Council Regulation 44/2001 (Brussels Regulation) Art 2 Art 4 Art 27 Art 28 Art 30 Art 34(1) Art 34(2) Art 35(3) Art 71 Italy Law no.89 of 24 March 2001 (the “Pinto Act”). United Kingdom Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982 Civil Procedure Rules 1998 Part 11 r 3.1(2)(f) Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA 1998) s1(1)(a) s2(1)(a) s3(1) s6(3)(a) 7.3. TABLE OF CONVENTIONS Brussels Convention on Jurisdiction and Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters (Brussels Convention) Art 21 Art 22 Art 57 European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) Art 5 Art 6 Art 7 Art 13 7.4. TEXTBOOKS Anton, A.E., and Beaumont, P., 1995. Anton & Beaumont’s Civil Jurisdiction in Scotland: Brussels and Lugano Conventions. 2nd ed ., Edinburgh: Greens Bell, A., 2003. Forum Shopping and Venue in Transnational Litigation. Oxford: OUP Briggs, A., 2002. The Conflict of Laws, Oxford: OUP. Briggs, A., and Rees, P., 2002. Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments. 3rd ed., London: LLP Briggs, A., and Rees, P., 2005. Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments. 4rd ed., London: LLP Clarkson, C.M.V., and Hill, J., 2002. Jaffey on the Conflict of Laws. 2nd ed., Oxford: OUP Clarkson, C.M.V., and Hill, J., 2006. The Conflict of Laws. New York: OUP Clayton, R. and Tomlinson, H., 2000. The Law of Human Rights. Oxford: OUP Collier, J.C., 2001. Conflict of Laws. 3rd ed., Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Collins, L., et al (eds), 2006. Dicey Morris and Collins on the Conflict of Laws. 14th ed. London: Sweet and Maxwell Crawford, E.B., and Carruthers, J.M., 2006. International Private Law in Scotland. 2nd ed, Edinburgh: Greens Einhorn, T. and Siehr, K., 2004. Intercontinental Cooperation Through Private International Law – Essays in Memory of Peter E. Nygh. The Hague, The Netherlands: T.M.C. Asser Press. Fawcett, J.J., 1995. Declining jurisdiction in private international law: reports to the XIVth congress of the International Academy of Comparative Law, Athens, August 1994. Oxford: Clarendon Press Fawcett, J.J., Harris, J. and Bridge, M., 2005. International Sale of Goods in the Conflict of Laws. Oxford: OUP Grosz, S., Beatson, J. and Duffy, P., 2000. Human Rights: The 1998 Act and the European Convention,.London: Sweet and Maxwell Harris, D.J., O’Boyle, M., Warbrick, C., 1995. Law of the European Convention on Human Rights. London: Butterworth Hill, J., 2005. International Commercial Disputes in English Courts. 3rd ed Portland: Hart Publishing McClean, D. and Beevers, K., 2005. Morris on the Conflict of Laws. 6th ed., London: Sweet and Maxwell North, P.M. and Fawcett, J.J., 2004. Cheshire and North’s Private International Law. 13th ed. Oxford: OUP Ovey, C. and White, R., 2002. The European Convention on Human Rights. New York: OUP Raitio, J., 2003. The Principle of Legal Certainty in EC Law. The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers Reed, R. and Murdoch, J., 2001. A Guide to Human Rights Law in Scotland. Edinburgh: Butterworths Scotland Starmer, K., 1999. European Human Rights Law. London: Legal Action Group 7.5. ARTICLES Baldwin, J., and Cunnington, R., 2004. “The Crisis in Enforcement of Civil Judgments in England and Wales.” 2004 PL (SUM) 305-328 Briggs, A., 2005a. “Foreign Judgments and Human Rights.” 121(APR) L.Q.R. 185-189 Briggs, A., 2005b. “The Death of Harrods: Forum non Conveniens and the European Court.” 121(OCT) L.Q.R. 535-540 Clarke, A., 2007. “The Differing Approach to Commercial Litigation in the European Court of Justice and the Courts of England and Wales” 18 E.B.L.Rev. 101-129 Collins, L., 1995. “The Brussels Convention Within the United Kingdom”, 111 LQR 541 Costa, J-P., 2002, Rivista internazionale dei diritti dell’uomo, 435, cited in Kinsch, P., 2004. “The Impact of Human Rights on the Application of Foreign Law and on the Recognition of Foreign Judgments – A Survey of the Cases Decided by the European Human Rights Institutions,” in Einhorn, T. and Siehr, K., 2004. Intercontinental Cooperation Through Private International Law – Essays in Memory of Peter E. Nygh, The Hague, The Netherlands: T.M.C. Asser Press, pp197-228, p228 n100 Crawford, E.B., 2005. “The Uses of Putativity and Negativity in the Conflict of Laws.” 54 ICLQ 829-854 Crifo, C., 2005. “First Steps Towards the Harmonisation of Civil procedure: The Regulation Creating a European Enforcement Order for Uncontested Claims.” C.J.Q. 2005, 24(APR), 200-223 Eardley, A., 2006. “Libel Tourism in England: Now the Welcome is Even Warmer.” 17(1) Ent. L.R. 35-38 Fabri, M., and Langbroek, P.M., 2003. “Preliminary draft report: Delay in Judicial Proceedings: A preliminary Inquiry into the Relation Between the Demands of the Reasonable Time Requirements of Article 6(1) ECHR and Their Consequences for Judges and Judicial Administration in the Civil, Criminal and Administrative Justice Chains”, CEPEJ (2003) 20 Rev Farran, S., 2007. “Conflicts of Laws in Human Rights: Consequences for Colonies”, (2007) 1 EdinLR 121 Fawcett, J.J., 2007. “The Impact of Article 6(1) of the ECHR on Private International Law.” 56 ICLQ 1-48 Fentiman, R., 2005. “English Domicile and the Staying of Actions” [2005] 64 CLJ 303 Flannery, L., 2004. “The End of Anti-Suit Injunctions?” New Law Journal, 28 May 2004, 798 Franzosi, M., 2002. “Torpedoes are here to stay” [2002] 2 International Review of Industrial Property and Copyright Law 154 Franzosi, M., 1997. “Worldwide Patent Litigation and the Italian Torpedo” 19 (7) EIPR 382 Green, L., 1956. “Jury Trial and Mr. Justice Black,” 65 Yale LJ 482 Halkerston, G., 2005. “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.” 155 NLJ 436 Hare, C., “Forum non Conveniens in Europe: Game Over or Time for ‘Reflexion’” JBL 2006, Mar, 157-179 Harris, J., 2001. “The Brussels Regulation.” 20 Civil Justice Quarterly 218 Harris, J., 2005. “Stays of Proceedings and the Brussels Convention.,” 54 ICLQ 933 Hartley, T.C., 1994. “Brussels Jurisdiction and Judgments Convention: Agreement and Lis Alibi Pendens.” 19(5) E.L.Rev 549-552 Hartley, T.C., 2001. “International Law and the Law of the European Union – A Reassessment”, 72 BYBIL 1 Hartley, T.C., 2005a. “Choice-of-court agreements, lis pendens, human rights and the realities of international business: reflection on the Gasser case” in Le droit international privé: mélanges en l’honneur de Paul Lagarde, (Dalloz, Paris, 2005), pp383-391 Hartley, T.C., 2005b. “The European Union and the Systematic Dismantling of the Common Law Conflict of Laws”, 54 ICLQ 813 Higgins, R., 2006. “A Babel of Judicial Voices? Ruminations From the Bench.” 55 ICLQ 791-804. Hogan, G., 1995. “The Brussels Convention, Forum non Conveniens and the Connecting Factors Problem.” 20(5) E.L. Rev. 471-493 Hood, K.J., 2006. “Drawing Inspiration? Reconsidering the Procedural Treatment of Foreign Law.” 2(1) JPrIL 181-193. Hunt, M., 1998. “The “Horizontal Effect” of the Human Rights Act”. 1998 Public Law 423-443 Hunter-Henin, M., 2006. “Droit des personnes et droits de l’homme: combinaison ou confrontation? (Family Law and Human Rights: Can They Go Along or Do They Exclude Each Other?),” 95(4) Revue critique de droit international privé pp743-775. Kennett, W., 1998. “Service of Documents in Europe.” 17(JUL) C.J.Q. 284-307 Kennett, W., 2001. “The Brussels I Regulation.” 50 ICLQ 725 -737 Kennett, W., 2001. “The Enforcement Review: A Progress Report.” 20(Jan) CJQ 36-57 Kennett, W., and McEleavy, P., 2002. “(Current Development): Civil and Commercial Litigation” 51 ICLQ 463 Kinsch, P., 2004. “The Impact of Human Rights on the Application of Foreign Law and on the Recognition of Foreign Judgments – A Survey of the Cases Decided by the European Human Rights Institutions,” in Einhorn, T. and Siehr, K., 2004. Intercontinental Cooperation Through Private International Law – Essays in Memory of Peter E. Nygh, The Hague, The Netherlands: T.M.C. Asser Press, pp197-228. Lester, A., and Pannick, D., 2000. “The Impact of the Human Rights Act on Private Law: The Knight’s Move.” 116 LQR 380-385 Loucaides, L.G., 2003. “Questions of a Fair Trial Under the European Convention on Human Rights.” (2003) HRLR 3(1), pp27-51. Lowenfield, A.F., 2004. “Jurisdiction, Enforcement, Public Policy and Res Judicata: The Krombach Case,” in in Einhorn, T. and Siehr, K., 2004. Intercontinental Cooperation Through Private International Law – Essays in Memory of Peter E. Nygh, The Hague, The Netherlands: T.M.C. Asser Press, pp229-248 Mance, J., 2004a. “Civil Jurisdiction in Europe – Choice of Court Clauses, Competing Litigation and Anti-Suit Injunctions – Erich Gasser v. Misat and Turner v. Grovit: Address to Second Conference of European Commercial Judges, (“Problems of enforcement of european law”)” Paris – 14th October 2004; http://www.courdecassation.fr/formation_br_4/2004_2034/jonathan_mance_8239.html, (Accessed 10 March 2007) Mance, J., 2004b. “Exclusive Jurisdiction Agreements and European Ideals.” 120 LQR 357 Mance, J., 2005. “The Future of Private International Law.” 1(2) JPrIL 185-195 Mance, J., 2007. “Is Europe Aiming to Civilise the Common Law?” 18 EBLRev 77-99 McLachlan, C., 2004. “International Litigation and the Reworking of the Conflict of Laws” 120(OCT) LQR 580-616 Meidanis, H.P., 2005. “Public Policy and Ordre Public in the Private International Law of the EU: Traditional Positions and Moderns Trends.” 30(1), ELRev, 95-110 Merrett, L., 2006. “The Enforcement of Jurisdiction Agreements within the Brussels Regime,” 55 ICLQ 315 Muir Watt, H., 2001. “Evidence of an Emergent European Legal Culture: Public Policy Requirements of Procedural Fairness Under the Brussels and Lugano Conventions.” 36 Tex. ILJ, p. 539. North, P., 2001. “Private International Law: Change or Decay?” 50 ICLQ 477-508 Orakhelashvili, A., 2006. “The Idea of European International Law.” 17 Eur. J. Int’l L. 315 Peel, E., 2001. “Forum non Conveniens Revisited.” 117(APR) L.Q.R. 187-194 Robertson, D.W., 1987. “Forum Non Conveniens in America and England: ‘A rather fantastic fiction’.” 103 LQR 398 Robert-Tissot, S., and Smith, D., 2005. “The Battle for Forum”, New Law Journal, 7 October 2005, p1496 Robert-Tissot, S., 2005. “The Battle for Forum.” 155 NLJ 1496 Rodger, B.J., 2006. “Forum non Conveniens: Post Owusu.” 2(1) JPrIL 71 Schiavetta, S., 2004. “The Relationship Between e-ADR and Article 6 of the European Convention of Human Rights pursuant to the Case Law of the European Court of Human Rights.” 2004 (1) The Journal of Information, Law and Technology (JILT). http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/law/elj/jilt/2004_1/schiavetta/ (Accessed 28 February 2007) Sinopoli, L., 2000. Le droit au procès équitable dans les rapports privés internationaux (doctoral dissertation, University of Paris-I, 2000) Slater, A.G., 1988. “Forum Non Conveniens: A View From the Shop Floor.” 104 LQR 554 Svantesson, D.J.B., 2005. “In Defence of the Doctrine of Forum Non Conveniens.” (2005) HKLJ 395 Van Hoek: 2001. “Case note on Krombach v Bamberski” (2001) 38 CMLR 1011. Wade, H.W.R., 2000. “Horizons of Horizontality.” 116 LQR 217-224 Williams, J.M., 2001. “Forum non Conveniens, Lubbe v Cape and Group Josi v Universal General Insurance.” J.P.I. Law 2001, 1, 72-77 Zhenjie, H., 2001. “Forum Non Conveniens: An Unjustified Doctrine.” 48 NILR 143

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Getting started

The Australian Guide to Legal Citation (AGLC4) is the official citing and referencing style for legal citations in Australia. A free copy of AGLC4 is available to view and download from the publisher's website .

This guide is designed to help you:

Our interactive online tutorials can help you understand the basics of citing and referencing, and why it's important.

Elements of citing and referencing in AGLC4 style

There are two places you need to write references in your assignments.

1. Footnote citations

Use footnote citations to avoid plagiarism and show how your work is influenced by others. You write these citations by creating footnotes in your paper. The format changes depending on the source you are citing. 

Footnote citations: rules

2. Bibliography

At the end of your assignment you need to provide a record of all the sources you have cited in your assignment. It is placed on a new page at the end of your essay and has a specific format you will need to follow.  

Bibliography: rules and examples

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Referencing Guide: Bibliography

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Bibliography

OSCOLA is a Footnotes and Bibliography referencing system. This means all sources should appear in the Bibliography, as well as being cited in a footnote (see Footnotes page for more details).

The Bibliography should be located at the end of your work and will list all sources used. You do not need to list a source multiple times even if you have referred to it several times.

In OSCOLA the Bibliography is split into three sections:

Table of Cases

Table of Legislation

List of References

References in the Bibliography are formatted slightly differently to references in the footnotes. References in the Bibliography should not have full stops at the end, and should not include pinpoints (indications of a specific page or paragraph number).

List all cases here, in alphabetical order by party names. Despite the name, the Table of Cases does not need to be formatted as a table.

If you have cases from more than one jurisdiction (e.g., EU cases and UK cases), you may separate them by jurisdiction with subheadings. This is not required if you only have one case from another jurisdiction, but is recommend if a reasonable proportion are from another jurisdiction.

In the Table of Cases, do not italicise case names.

List all statutes, statutory instruments, international treaties and conventions, UN documents, official papers and policy documents in the Table of Legislation.

Legislation should be listed firstly alphabetically in order of the first significant word of the title, and then chronologically by date of enactment. Chronological order is only necessary if more than one piece of legislation shares the same title. List Statutory instruments (SI’s) separately at the end of the list of statutes.  

As with cases, if legislation from more than one jurisdiction is cited, it may be helpful to have separate lists for each jurisdiction, but this is not required.

List everything which is not a case or a piece of legislation here, in alphabetical order by author surname. Do not separate sources by type; books, articles, websites, etc. should all be mixed in one alphabetical list.

This previously was called the ‘List of Secondary Sources’. Use ‘List of References’ in preference to ‘List of Secondary Sources’. All sources, except cases and legislation should be listed in the List of References.

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Referencing - UK & EU Law: Bibliography

• Repeated references
• Bibliography
• Neutral citation
• Pre-1865 case
• Unreported case
• Judicial opinion
• EU unreported case
• Opinion of Advocate General
• Decision of the European Commission
• ECHR unreported case
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• European COM Docs
• Book with one author
• Book with two authors
• Book with three authors
• Book with more than three authors
• Edited book
• Contribution to an edited book
• Encyclopedia
• Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law
• Journal article
• Newspaper article
• Working paper
• Websites/Web documents
• Plagiarism & Copyright This link opens in a new window

How do I create a bibliography?

A bibliography contains full references to all the sources you have cited or relied on for your assignment or dissertation.

The bibliography should be divided into the following categories, as appropriate:

• UK statutes (Acts)
• UK statutory instruments
• EU legislation
• International legislation
• International cases
• Official materials (e.g. reports, Command Papers, Hansard)
• Journal articles
• Newspaper articles
• Websites / web documents
• Other materials.

List sources in alphabetical order within each category.

What if an author has written more than one source?

If citing several sources of the same type (e.g. books) by the same author, list the author's works in chronological order (starting with the oldest) within the relevant category.

If an author has written several sources of the same type (e.g. books) that were published in the same year, list them in alphabetical order of first major word of the title within the relevant category.

How do I reference an author's name in a bibliography?

An author's name is referenced differently in a footnote and a bibliography. This applies to ANY source with a named author.

In a footnote, cite the author's name exactly as it is given in the source used (see 'Footnotes' ):

In a bibliography, give the author's last name followed by his/her initial(s) with no punctuation between them:

What if a source doesn't have an author?

If a source doesn't have a named person or an organization as the author, treat it as an unattributed work in the biblography.

Begin the reference with a double dash - - in place of an author's name.

List the unattributed work at the beginning of the relevant section in the bibliography. The example above is a journal article, so it would be listed at the beginning of the 'Journal articles' section.

If there is more than one unattributed work in a section, list them in alphabetical order of first major word of the title.

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Q. How do I present the bibliography in my law essay in the OSCOLA referencing style?

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Answered By: Lisa Hawksworth Last Updated: Jan 08, 2021     Views: 2670

DISCOVER and the Library Catalogue have been replaced by Library Search . We're busy updating all of our links, but in the meantime, please use Library Search when searching for resources or managing your Library Account.

The rules for creating bibliographies in Oscola vary slightly from the OSCOLA rules for citing within the text . See the additional guide Creating a Bibliography in OSCOLA .

Please note you should always refer to any departmental/school guidelines you’ve been given.

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• Bibliographies
• A bibliography appears at the end of a document and lists all sources relied upon (not just those referred to in text and in footnotes)
• Do not include pinpoint references in a bibliography (Note that the starting page of some sources, such as journal articles and reported cases, forms part of the citation and is separate from the pinpoint)
• Do not place a full stop at the end of a citation
• In a bibliography, the author's surname comes before their first name, separated by a comma (if a source has more than one author, only the first author is listed as surname first)
• Case name or legislation title
• The first listed author's surname
• The name of the institution (excluding the word 'the')
• Where there is no author, the first word of the title (excluding the word 'the')
• A bibliography may be divided into the sections as shown below (you may change/remove/add other categories or subdivisions as relevant/needed):

A   Articles/Books/Reports

B  Cases

C  Legislation

D  Treaties

E  Other

Example bibliography

Bibliography.

A   Articles/Books/Reports

Bedford, Narelle and Monica Taylor, 'Model No More: Querulent Behaviour, Vexatious Litigants and the Vexatious Proceedings Act 2005 (Qld)' (2014) 24(1)  Journal of Judicial Administration  46

Boulle, Laurence and Rachael Field,  Mediation in Australia  (LexisNexis Buttersworths, 2018)

Haas, Ulrich and Deborah Healey (eds),  Doping in Sport and the Law  (Hart, 2016)

James, Nickolas et al,  Business and Company Law  (Wiley, 2 nd  ed, 2019)

Kenny, Paul, Michael Blissenden and Sylvia Villios, 'Wine Options of Australian Tax Reform' (2017) 15(1)  eJournal of Tax Research  22

Kirby, Michael, 'Judicial Independence and Accountability: An Asia-Pacific Perspective' [2009] (1)  LAWASIA Journal  1

OECD,  The Future of Education and Skills: Education 2030  (Report, 2018)

Ong,  Denis,  Trusts Law in Australia  (Federation Press, 5 th  ed, 2018)

Svantesson, Dan Jerker B and William Van Caenegem, 'Is it Time for an Offence of "Dishonest Algorithmic Manipulation for Electoral Gain"?' (2017) 42(3)  Alternative Law Journal  184

Vivian, Alison et al, 'Indigenous Self-Government in the Australian Federation' (2017) 20(1)  Australian Indigenous Law Review  215

B   Cases

AAT Case 7422  (1991) 22 ATR 3450

Blundell v Queensland Building and Construction Commission  [2018] QSC 58

Brown v Tasmania  (2017) 261 CLR 328

Moroccanoil Israel Ltd v Aldi Foods Pty Ltd  (2017) AIPC ¶92-533

Morris v Morris  [1982] 1 NSWLR 61

Palmer v Ayres  [2017] HCA 5

R  v Schelvis  (2016) 263 A Crim R 1

R v Visconti  [1982] 2 NSWLR 104

Re Nguyen and Migration Agents Registration Authority  [2012] AATA 925

Ross v Chambers  (Supreme Court of the Northern Territory, Kriewaldt J, 5 April 1956)

Waddy v Rabba  [1982] Qd R 20

C   Legislation

Australian Constitution

Constitution of Queensland 2001  (Qld)

Family Law Act 1975  (Cth)

High Court Rules 2004  (Cth)

Refugee Protection Bill 2018 (Cth)

Right to Information Act 2009  (Qld)

Right to Information Bill 2009 (Qld)

Right to Information Regulation 2009  (Qld)

Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999  (Qld)

D   Other

CCH Australia,  Australian Family Law and Practice Premium Commentary  (online at 28 February 2019)

Crowe, Jonathan and Zali Brookes, 'How Do We Think About Lolita? Difference, Alterity and Animal Liberation' (Speech, Australasian Society of Legal Philosophy Annual Conference, 6–8 July 2018)

Explanatory Memorandum, Freedom to Marry Bill 2016 (Cth)

Explanatory Notes, Right to Information Bill 2009 (Qld)

Jackson, Melanie and Daniel Walker, 'Boolean Guess Who? Using Gamification to Engage First Year Law Students with Advanced Legal Research Techniques', Centre for Professional Legal Education (Blog Post, 3 December 2022) <https://www.cple.blog/posts/boolean-guess-who-using-gamification-to-engage-first-year-law-students-with-advanced-legal-research-techniques>

LexisNexis,  Halsbury's Laws of Australia  (online at 27 February 2019) 10 Administrative Law

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OSCOLA referencing guide (Online): Bibliography

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Bibliography

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• Books of Authority
• Cases with Neutral Citation
• Cases without neutral citation
• Unreported Cases
• Cases before 1865
• Judges' Names
• Scot, NI & International
• Parts of Statutes
• Statutory Instruments
• Journal Articles
• Forthcoming Articles
• Working Papers
• Newspaper Articles
• Hansard & Select Committee reports
• Command Papers
• Law Commission Reports
• Official reports
• Official Publications
• Legislation
• ECJ & GC cases
• Decisions of the European Commission
• European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) cases
• Websites & Blogs
• Personal Communications
• Press Release
• Podcasts & Youtube videos
• Insight & LPC

You should create a bibliography at the end of your work that lists all of the sources used in your work. Each source only needs to be listed once, even if you have referred to it multiple times in your work. Do not include background reading in your bibliography. The bibliography should appear after the text and after appendices. The bibliography should list the sources in alphabetical order.

If your piece of work is long, you can divide the bibliography into three sections:  Cases, Legislation, and Bibliography

• Cases - Do not italicise case names. You should list the cases alphabetically in order of the first significant word. If the parties involved are only identified by initials the case should be listed under the initial. List trademark cases and shipping cases under the full case name, but insert an additional entry in the table under the trademark or the name of the ship with a cross-reference to the full name.
•   Legislation - This should include every statute listed in your piece of work (unless your lecturer has told you differently). Legislation should be listed in alphabetical order. Statutory Instruments should be listed separately after Statutes.
• Bibliography - Unlike in footnotes, the author's surname should be listed first, followed by the author's initials. Unlike in the footnotes, you do not list the author's first names, just initials. The secondary material should also be listed alphabetically. If citing more than one work by the same author, list the author’s works in chronological order (oldest first), and in alphabetical order of the first major word of the title within a single year. 

For further guidance see the full OSCOLA guide.

• OSCOLA full referencing guide
• OSCOLA Bibliography This document shows how to format a bibliography using the OSCOLA referencing style
• << Previous: Secondary Referencing
• Next: Referencing Tools >>
• Last Updated: Mar 18, 2024 11:42 AM
• URL: https://libguides.swansea.ac.uk/oscola

Home » Samples » Sample Law Bibliography

Sample Law Bibliography

Posted on February 9, 2016

Bibliography

Blick, A., “Codifying-or not codifying-the UK Constitution” <https://www.parliament.uk:80/pagefiles/56954/CPCS%20Literature%20Review%20(4).pdf> (Accessed 26 November 2015) Dicey, Albert Venn, Lectures Introductory to the Study of the Law of the Constitution (London: Macmillan, 1885) n. page

Melton, J., “Codification of the UK Constitution is not essential” <https://constitution-unit.com/2015/03/19/codification-of-the-uk-constitution-is-not-essential/> (Accessed 26 November 2015)

Ministry of Justice, “Review of the Executive Royal Prerogative Powers: Final Report” (2009) <https://www.peerage.org/genealogy/royal-prerogative.pdf> (Accessed 26 November 2015)

Walters, M. ‘Dicey On Writing The Law Of The Constitution’ Oxford Journal of Legal Studies Reports 32, issue 1 (2012): 21

This bibliography was created by writing service as a sample. If you need bibliography made specially for you as a sample order it! You also can order write my essay service and anything you need for college.

Table of Cases

Entick v Carrington [1765] 19 St Tr 1029, [1795] 95 ER 807

Burmah Oil v Lord Advocate [1965] AC 75

Table of Statute

1. 1689 Bill of Rights

2. 1937 Constitution of Ireland

Dicey, Albert Venn, Lectures Introductory to the Study of the Law of the Constitution (London: Macmillan, 1885) n. page

Journal Articles

Blick, A., “Codifying-or not codifying-the UK Constitution” <https://www.parliament.uk:80/pagefiles/56954/CPCS%20Literature%20Review%20(4).pdf> (Accessed 26 November 2015)

Type of paper: Bibliography Citation style: Other Pages: 1 Sources: 3 Level: Undergraduate

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Law Annotated Bibliographies Samples For Students

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Professional Publication Annotated Bibliographies Example

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Should Smoking In Public Places Be Allowed Annotated Bibliographies Examples

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