The University of South Wales Guide to

OSCOLA Referencing
The University of South Wales Guide to OSCOLA Referencing

Acknowledgements
This guide is based on the Oxford Standard for Citation of
Legal Authorities (OSCOLA), from the Faculty of Law at Oxford
University.
http://www.law.ox.ac.uk/published/OSCOLA_4th_edn.pdf
licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non
Commercial-Sharealike 2.0 UK: England and Wales License.

‘Citing the Law’ is an online tutorial using OSCOLA prepared

by Cardiff University’s Information Services staff and
available for general use:
https://ilrb.cf.ac.uk/citingreferences/oscola/tutorial

International materials: this guide contains examples of

popular sources of UK and EU law, for examples of other
materials please refer to the OSCOLA 2006: Citing
International Sources document.
https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/sites/files/oxlaw/oscola_2006_citin
g_international_law.pdf

This guide has also been inspired by guides created by

Bournemouth, Cardiff and Liverpool universities.

Compiled by Sue House, Information Librarian for Law,

Accounting and Finance and Lowri Newman and Donna
Waite of the Education Drop-In Centre, with input from
colleagues in the Centre for Excellence in Learning and
Teaching and students and academic staff in the School of
Law, Accounting and Finance.

July 2014

If you have feedback about the guide please email

[email protected].

1
Contents

Part 1 B: Citing EU Case Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Referencing Reported EU Cases
Unreported EU Cases
1. The Importance of Referencing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Opinions of Advocates General
Introduction
Decisions of the European Commission
What is referencing?
Judgments of the European Court of Human Rights
Why reference?
Unreported European Court of Human Rights Cases
Quality and relevance of sources
Solicitors Regulation Authority
C: Citing UK Primary Legislation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Plagiarism – academic integrity
Citing Statutes (Acts of Parliament)
Help
Explanatory Notes to Acts
Bills
2. How to Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Basic requirements
D: Citing Secondary Legislation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
What is a footnote marker?
Statutory Instruments
How do I insert a footnote marker?
What are tables of cases and statutes?
E: Citing EU Legislation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
What is a bibliography?
What are primary and secondary sources of law?
F: Official Publications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Punctuation
Law Commission reports
Pinpoints
Command papers
Latin terms
Parliamentary debates (Hansard)
Summarising
Paraphrasing
G: Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
Secondary Referencing
Book with a single author
Book with two or three authors
Presenting Quotations
Book with more than three authors
Short quotations
Book with editor(s)
Long quotations
Contribution to a book
Presenting Footnotes
Encyclopaedias
How do I refer to sources within footnotes?
First mention of a source
H: Journal Articles (Print and e-Journals) . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
Subsequent mention of a source
Online only journals
Case comments or case notes
Part 2
How to Cite Sources of UK I: Websites and Blogs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
and EU Law Websites
Blogs
A. Citing UK Case Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Law reports hierarchy
Brackets Part 3
Abbreviations Tables of Cases and Statutes
Citing cases: and Bibliography. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Traditional and neutral case citation How to compile tables of cases and statutes
Traditional case citation example How to compile a bibliography of secondary sources
Neutral case citation example Formatting
Unreported Cases
Cases before 1865

2
 OSCOLA Referencing

Part 1 - Referencing

1. The importance of referencing

Introduction Solicitors Regulation Authority
The aim of this guide is to explain the importance of In Law, there is a further imperative to learn how
referencing and how to format references based on the to reference correctly as the Solicitors Regulation
OSCOLA (Oxford Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities) Authority will assess the character and suitability
style. It highlights examples from some of the most popular of all students who apply for membership and will
sources of UK and EU law, illustrating the conventions refuse an application in the absence of exceptional
involved in legal academic writing. It is important to note circumstances if a deliberate assignment offence has
that coursework, such as essays or dissertations, submitted been committed, or has been adjudged to have been
by all Law students and all students studying Law modules committed, amounting to plagiarism and cheating
as part of another discipline for assessment in the School of to gain advantage for yourself or others.
Law, Accounting and Finance should follow the examples
provided in this guide.

What is referencing?
Referencing (‘citing’) is indicating in assignments when you Plagiarism – academic integrity
have used material that has not originated with you. This This section is based on University guidance on Referencing,
might include factual information, data, images, opinion, Plagiarism, and Good Academic Practice, available on UniLife
direct quotation, or when you summarise or paraphrase the
A key element of academic integrity is understanding good
work of other people.
academic practice in written work and creative practice.
Why reference? Understanding how to use the work of other scholars,
The majority of academic assignments measure your ability including your peers, to develop your own insights into a
to understand, analyse and evaluate the work of others. It is subject is an important professional skill.
important to remember that as a matter of policy referencing
You will be expected to follow professional academic
in the School of Law, Accounting and Finance carries a
conventions. Within the international academic community it
percentage (currently 5%) of the overall marks for an
is never acceptable to use the words of others or their
assignment and if undertaken appropriately will contribute
creative output (whether published or unpublished,
to your grade and therefore your academic success.
including material from the internet) without explicit
Consequently, referencing is crucial as it informs the reader acknowledgement. To do so would not be seen as a mark of
of the texts you have consulted during your research; you respect but rather as plagiarism.
will also be assessed on the quality and relevance of these
When you take notes from sources, make sure you do so in
sources. When writing assignments it is important to refer to
ways which identify where you are recording your own
every source cited in a clear and consistent way, this shows
observations based on the document you are reading, where
consideration for the reader as it enables them to easily
you are paraphrasing and where you are recording direct
check the legal authorities you have referred to and to follow
quotations. This will be particularly important if you are
the arguments or propositions you put forward.
taking notes over a longer period and then reviewing them
Quality and relevance of sources later. For more information on how to give credit to others’
It is particularly important in law to refer to the primary work that influences your own.
sources of law (typically legislation and case law) as this
Help
allows your reader to understand which rule of law you are
Please seek advice from your lecturer, the Student
referring to when you state, ‘the law is x’. Citing primary
Development and Study Skills Service or your Information
sources provides proof of authority and allows your reader to
Librarian if you need further guidance.
make an assessment about the strength of that authority.
Secondary sources (typically books and journal articles)
provide explanations, comment upon and critique the
primary sources of law and are persuasive but are not the
law itself.

3
 OSCOLA Referencing

EXAMPLE 1 – condensed, illustrated version of an assignment

Table of Cases
Edwards v Skyways [1964] 1 All ER 494
Tweddle v Atkinson [1861] 1 B & S 393; 121 ER 762 (QB)

Table of Statutes
Contract (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999
Landlord and Tenant Act 1995

The case of Edwards v Skyways1 demonstrates that even when an attempt is made to claim that
the commercial agreement was not intended to be legally binding, that generally the agreement
will be held to be so. Sir John Smith argues that:

“In ordinary business matters … such an intention is presumed. The ordinary

shopper in the high street does not have a conscious intention to create legal
relations as he makes his various purchases, but he is undoubtedly entering
into a series of contracts for the sale of goods.”2

Therefore, a claim can be made for work that has legally been done.3 However, the burden of
proof would likely be to prove this point, as Treitel argues, “The family circle differs from the
market place in that it is not the setting for bargaining but for an exchange of gifts or gratuitous
services.”4 Ultimately, it is unlikely that a family member could claim on these grounds, but
possibly if proven the work was done via a commercial relationship and that it is not a
responsibility to maintain the property as a tenant.5 It is further held that consideration must move
from the promise. This point of law is established in the case of Tweddle v Atkinson6 whereby it
was held that somebody outside the contract could not rely on the contract, even though it sought
to benefit that person. Although the Contract (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 has now sought
to resolve this problem for the purpose of equity, the principle still stands, since the agreement
has not been made for the defendant’s benefit.7

Tables a
t the
1 beginn
Edwards v Skyways Ltd [1964] 1 All ER 494. ing and
2
J Smith, The Law of Contract (4th rev edn, Sweet & Maxwell 2002) 117. Bibliog the
raphy a
3
ibid 120. end sho t the
uld beg
4
GH Treitel, Treitel on the Law of Contract (11th rev edn, Sweet & Maxwell 2003) 174. separate in on
5
As was stated in the Landlord and Tenant Act 1995 s 8. pages to
6
Tweddle v Atkinson [1861] 1 B&S 393; 121 ER 762 (QB). the ma
in body
7
Smith (n 2) 135. of
the work

Bibliography

Smith J, The Law of Contract (4th edn, Sweet & Maxwell 2002)

Treitel GH, The Law of Contract (11th edn, Sweet & Maxwell 2003)

4
 OSCOLA Referencing

2. How to reference Punctuation

OSCOLA uses very little punctuation in footnotes, but there is
Basic requirements always a full stop at the end of each footnote. Do not use full
There are three basic requirements for incorporating stops after abbreviations (QB not Q.B. for Queen’s Bench), nor
references into your work when using OSCOLA: (see example after the ‘v’ between two parties. Within a footnote, if there is
1 on page 4). more than one source cited, separate each with a semi-colon.
Insert commas to separate items that may otherwise run
• place a footnote marker in the text when referring to together and cause confusion, such as runs of numbers or
a source; authors and titles.

• provide an accompanying numbered footnote at the Pinpoints

bottom of each page; and Pinpoint numbers can be used to direct the reader to
particular parts, chapters, pages and paragraphs within a
• compile a table of cases and statutes at the beginning
source. These come at the end of the footnote citation if
and a bibliography at the end of your work.
necessary. Use ‘pt’ for part, ‘ch’ for chapter, and ‘para’ for
What is a footnote marker? paragraph. Page numbers stand alone; you do not need to
As can be seen in Example 1, footnote markers are a use ‘p’ for page or ‘pp’ for pages, paragraph numbers should
continuous run of numbers placed in the main body of the be placed in square brackets.
text and refer the reader to a numerical sequence of
references positioned at the bottom of the same page (these Latin terms
are called footnotes). Avoid Latin terms such as op cit, supra and et al, but it is
acceptable to use ibid meaning ‘in the same place’ (see
How do I insert a footnote marker? section ‘Presenting footnotes: subsequent mention of a
Inserting both footnote marker and footnotes beginning source’ for details).
with a 1 can be done automatically in Word 2007. The in-text
footnote marker should be inserted after a full stop, or after Summarising
the word or phrase to which it relates. (See Example 1.) Use Summarising is briefly stating in your own words the main
the ‘References’ tab to look for the ‘Footnotes’ group, and points of a longer text, often to give an overview of a topic.
then click on ‘Insert Footnote’. At the end of your sentence put a footnote marker and
include details of the original source in the footnotes and in
What are tables of cases and statutes? your Tables (if it was a primary source) or Bibliography (if it
These are lists of the primary sources of law, that is the case was a secondary source).
law and legislation that you have referred to in researching
your assignment; these are the most authoritative sources Paraphrasing
of law and as such, they are placed at the beginning of the Paraphrasing is re-writing the statements of others in your
work, on a separate page to the main body of the work. own words often to clarify a point, rather than quoting their
Examples of this can also be seen in the leading legal words exactly. At the end of your sentence put a footnote
textbooks. (See Part 3 – Tables of Cases and Statutes for marker and include details of the original source in the
details.) footnotes and in your Tables or Bibliography.

What is a bibliography? Secondary referencing

Within this context a bibliography is a list of all the secondary A secondary reference is when you read a text in which the
sources you have referred to in researching your assignment, author refers to the work of another and you wish to refer to
it is placed on a separate page, at the end of the work that work in your assignment. This practice is discouraged as
following the main body of text and any appendices. (See you should always attempt to find the original source which
Part 3 – Bibliography for details.) you can analyse and evaluate on its own terms. If it is not
possible to locate the original text and the secondary text is
What are primary and secondary sources of law? reliable, in your footnote use the word ‘citing’ and refer to
Primary sources of law are the main body of law, the law both sources. The source you have read comes first, followed
itself: case law and legislation. Secondary sources are all by the original source. Include a reference to the original text
other materials that comment upon, analyse, summarise and in the Tables or Bibliography.
otherwise explain the primary sources. For example, books,
4
journals, encyclopaedias and dictionaries, indexes and R Munday, Agency Law and Principles (2nd edn, Oxford
digests, official publications etc. University Press 2013) 39 citing Bowstead & Reynolds on
Agency (17th edn, Sweet & Maxwell, 2001) [2-031].

5
 OSCOLA Referencing

Presenting Direct Quotations

How do I include quotations in my work?

This depends on whether you want to include a short quotation or a long quotation.

Short quotations
Incorporate quotations of up to three lines into the text, within double quotation marks.

EXAMPLE 2
However, the burden of proof would likely be to prove this point, as Trietel argues, “The
family circle differs from the market place in that it is not the setting for bargaining but for an
exchange of gifts or gratuitous services.”1

Long quotations
Present quotations longer than three lines in an indented paragraph, in double quotation marks, with no further indentation
of the first line. Leave a line space either side of the indented paragraph.

EXAMPLE 3
Sir John Smith argues that:

“In ordinary business matters … such an intention is presumed. The ordinary shopper
in the high street does not have a conscious intention to create legal relations as he
makes his various purchases, but he is undoubtedly entering into a series of contracts
for the sale of goods.”2

Therefore, a claim can be made for work that has legally been done.3

Presenting Footnotes

How do I refer to sources within footnotes?

Remember, footnotes are the list of numerical references located at the bottom of a page (see example 1 on page 5).

First mention of a source

The full details of each source must be included at first mention in the footnote (see examples later on in this guide for details
required for individual sources).
From example 1 on page 4:
2
J Smith, The Law of Contract (4th rev edn, Sweet & Maxwell 2002) 117.

Subsequent mention of a source

When referring to the same source in the next footnote, you may use ibid, meaning ‘in the same place’,
accompanied by the relevant page number.
From example 1 on page 4:
3
ibid 120.

If you use the same source again but later on in the assignment, identify it briefly and indicate the original footnote in which
the full details can be found, this time including the subsequent page number (or paragraph number in square brackets).
From example 1 on page 4:
7
Smith (n 2) 135.

6
 How to cite sources of UK and EU law

Part 2 – How to cite sources of UK and EU law

This section will illustrate how to cite the most widely and the court. There are no references to printed volumes or
accepted sources of UK and EU law in the footnotes. (For pages in neutral citation; it is format and publisher neutral,
bibliography examples see ‘Part 3 – Bibliography’ for and was introduced to enable easier location of unreported
formatting details). cases or transcripts from websites such as BAILLI
http://www.bailii.org/.

Traditional case citation example

A: Citing UK Case Law For cases which have a traditional case citation, cite as
follows:
Law reports hierarchy
Reference order:
There are many series of law reports published, with The Law Case name | [year] OR (year) | volume | report abbreviation |
Reports from the Incorporated Council of Law Reporting first page | (court)
(ICLR) being considered the most authoritative. Lawyers in
court would cite a report from this series in preference to any First citation in footnote:
other, but in academia where several versions of the same 1
Giles v Thompson [1994] 1 AC 142 (HL).
report may be available, you should cite the report that you
have read. The next best reports are The Weekly Law Reports Subsequent citations in footnote:
and the All England Law Reports. These are known as general If you refer to a source more than once in your footnotes,
series of law reports, if a judgment is not available from any give the full citation at first mention (as above) and
of these sources, then cite a specialist series such as the thereafter briefly identify the source and the footnote in
Criminal Appeal Reports, Industrial Cases Reports etc. which the full details can be found.

The citation for the most authoritative report can be found 5

Giles (n 1).
directly following the case name (pre-2001) or the neutral
case citation (post-2001) in the citation lists in the legal Remember, it is also acceptable to use ‘ibid’, meaning ‘in the
databases and the printed volumes of the Current Law Case same place’. Use this to repeat information in the
Citator. immediately preceding footnote. Ibid alone means ‘in the
very same place’. Ibid should not be italicised.
Brackets
5
Giles (n 1).
In case citation there are either square or round brackets
around the year. [] indicates the year the case was reported 6
ibid.
and that you need to know the year in order to find the case
in print. () indicates the year is not necessary to find the Subsequent citations in footnotes with pinpoint:
correct volume and that you use the volume number to find If you refer to a source more than once in your footnotes and
the book within the series. wish to specify a particular page use a pinpoint as follows, for
example, ‘ibid 150’ means ‘in the same work, but this time at
Abbreviations page 150’.
A comprehensive guide to accepted case law report and
journal title abbreviations can be found online in the Cardiff 5
Giles (n 1) 145.
Index to Legal Abbreviations www.legalabbrevs.cardiff.ac.uk
6
ibid 150.
Citing Cases
When citing cases, give the name of the case, the neutral Citations containing pinpoints to page or paragraph
citation (if appropriate), and volume and first page of the numbers
relevant law report, and where necessary the court.
When pinpointing within a case, give paragraph numbers in
Traditional and Neutral Case Citation square brackets at the end of the citation. If the judgment
There are two types of case citation, ‘traditional’ which has no paragraph numbers, give the page number pinpoint
includes details of a printed volume number and page after the court.
number and ‘neutral’ which began in 2001 when the Court of
3
Appeal and later all divisions of the High Court adopted a Callery v Gray [2001] EWCA Civ 1117, [2001] 1 WLR 2112 [42],
form of citation which includes details of the case number [45].

7
 How to cite sources of UK and EU law

4
Bunt v Tilley [2006] EWHC 407 (QB), [2006] 3 All ER 336 [1]-[37]. B: Citing EU Case Law
5
R v Leeds County Court, ex p Morris [1990] QB 523 (QB) 530-31. Reported EU Cases
Since 1989, EU cases have been numbered according to
If citing a particular judge: whether they were registered at the European Court of
3
Justice (ECJ) or the Court of First Instance (CFI) and given the
Arscott v The Coal Authority [2004] EWCA Civ 892, [2005]
prefix C- (for ECJ cases or T- (for CFI cases). Cases prior to
Env LR 6 [27] (Laws LJ).
1989 have no prefix.
Neutral case citation example
Where possible, refer to the official reports, the European
For cases which have a neutral case citation, where you
Court Reports (ECR). ECJ cases are reported in volume one
have both the neutral citation and the traditional citation,
(ECR I-) and CFI cases are reported in volume two (ECR II-).
give the neutral citation first followed by a comma and
If an ECR report is not available, cite the Common Market Law
then the citation for the most authoritative report.
Reports (CMLR). Some cases are also reported in the Law
Reports, the Weekly Law Reports and/or the All England Law
Reference order:
Reports (European Cases).
Case name | [year] | court | case number, | [year] OR (year) |
volume | report abbreviation | first page Reference order:
Case number | case name | [year] | report abbreviation | first
10
R (Roberts) v Parole Board [2004] EWCA Civ 1031, [2005] QB 410.
page

Unreported cases 12
Case T-344/99 Arne Mathisen AS v Council [2002] ECR II-2905.
If a case is unreported i.e. not published in a printed law
report, cite the neutral citation if available. If this is not Unreported EU Cases
available, cite as follows: Cite the notice from the Official Journal (OJ) C series
(following the reference order as for reported cases above).
Reference order:
case name | (court, date of the judgment) 15
Case C-556/07 Commission v France [2009] OJ C102/8.

7
Calvert v Gardiner [2002] EWHC 1394 (QB). If the case is not yet reported in the OJ, cite the case number
and case name, followed by the court and the date of
9
Stubbs v Sayer (CA, 8 November 1990). judgment in brackets.

Cases before 1865 48

Case T-227/08 Bayer Healthcare v OHMI-Uriach Aquilea OTC (CFI, 11
Cases heard prior to 1865 were published in a variety of November 2009).
report series named after the individual law reporter,
otherwise known as the ‘nominate reports’. These cases are Pinpoint:
available both in print in the library in CAT.5 and in Lexis and To pinpoint, follow the case citation with a comma, ‘para’ or
Westlaw in the reprinted form of the ‘English Reports’. Cite as ‘paras’ and the paragraph number(s) in square brackets.
follows:
44
Case C-176/03 Commission v Council [2005] ECR I-7879, paras [47-48].
Reference order:
case name | (year) | volume |nominate report abbreviation | Opinions of Advocates General
first page, |volume | English Report abbreviation | first page When citing an opinion of an Advocate General, add ‘opinion
of AG [name]’ after the case citation and a comma, and
1
Boulton v Jones (1857) 2 H&N 564, 157 ER 23. before any pinpoint.

42
If there is a pinpoint use a semi-colon after the page number Case C-411/05 Palacios de la Villa v Cortefiel Servicios SA [2007] ECR I-
to separate the citation for the nominate report and English 8531, Opinion of AG Mazak, paras 79-100.
Report.

4
Henly v Mayor of Lyme (1828) 5 Bing 91, 107; 130 ER 995, 1001.

8
 How to cite sources of UK and EU law

Decisions of the European Commission C: Citing UK Primary Legislation

Decisions in relation to competition law and mergers are to
be referenced as cases. Note: The full OSCOLA guide contains examples for citing
Parliamentary bills and for citing legislation from Wales, the
Reference order: EU and international jurisdictions.
Case name | (case number) | Commission Decision number |
[year] | OJ L issue/first page Citing Statutes (Acts of Parliament)
Cite an Act by short title and year, leave out ‘the’ at the
32
Alcatel/Teletra (Case IV/M.042) Commission Decision 91/241/EEC beginning of a title.
[1991] OJ L122/48.
21
Gambling Act 2005.
36
Georg Verkehrsorgani v Ferrovie dello Stato (Case COMP/37.685)
Commission Decision 2004/33/EC [2004] OJ L11/17. If you refer to the Act by short title and year in the text of
your work, you do not need to create a footnote because all
Judgments of the European Court the information the reader needs about the source is already
of Human Rights in the text. If however you do not include the full title of the
Cite judgments of the European Court of Human Rights Act or relevant section in your text then footnote it as below.
(ECtHR) consistently throughout an assignment from one of
the following series: In-text example with pinpoint:
The statutory definition of remote gambling is “any gambling
• European Court Reports (ECR) or in which persons participate by the use of remote
communication.” 1
• Reports of Judgments and Decisions (ECHR) or
1
Gambling Act 2005, s 4.
• European Human Rights Reports (EHRR)
Pinpoints:
27
Osman v UK ECHR 1998-VIII 3124. To refer to a specific part, section, subsection, paragraph,
subparagraph or schedule, or more than one of these
Unreported European Court elements, cite as follows:
of Human Rights Cases
Cite unreported judgments using the case name, application Term Abbreviation
number, then the court and date of judgment in brackets.
part/parts pt/pts
23
Balogh v Hungary App no 47940/99 (ECtHR, 20 July 2004).
section/sections s/ss
Pinpoint:
To pinpoint, follow the case citation with a comma, ‘para’ or subsection/subsections sub-s/sub-ss
‘para(s)’ and the paragraph number(s) in square brackets.
paragraph/paragraphs para/paras
25
Omojudi v UK (2010) 51 EHRR 10, paras [4-15].
subparagraph/subparagraphs subpara/subparas

schedule/schedules sch/schs

9
Consumer Protection Act 1978, s 2.

18
Human Rights Act 1998, sch 1 pt 1.

Explanatory Notes to Acts

When citing an explanatory note, precede the name of the
Act with the words ‘Explanatory Notes to the...’. If
pinpointing, cite the paragraph number(s), preceded by ‘para’
or ‘para(s)’ in square brackets.

7
Explanatory Notes to the Charities Act 2006, para [15].

9
 How to cite sources of UK and EU law

Bills Cite EU treaties and protocols as follows:

Cite a Bill as follows:
Reference order:
Reference order: Legislation title | [year] | OJ series | issue/first page

title | HC Bill | (session) | [number] OR title | HL Bill | (session) | 10

Consolidated Version of the Treaty on European Union [2008] OJ
number C115/13.

3
Consolidated Fund HC Bill (2008-09) [5]. Cite Regulations, Directives, Decisions, Recommendations
and Opinions as follows:
To cite part of a Bill, use ‘cl’ or ‘cls’ followed by the clause
number(s). Reference order:
Legislation type | number | title | [year] | OJ series | issue/first
6
Academies HL Bill (2010-11) 1, cl 8(2). page

Note: running numbers for House of Commons Bills are put 12

Council Regulation (EC) 1984/2003 of 8 April 2003 introducing a
in square brackets; House of Lords Bills are not. system for the statistical monitoring of trade in bluefin tuna, swordfish
and big eye tuna within the Community [2003] OJ L295/1.

Pinpoints:
D: Citing Secondary Legislation To refer to an article or articles in EU legislation, follow the OJ
citation with a comma, then ‘art’ or ‘arts’ and the article
Statutory Instruments
number(s):
Cite a Statutory Instrument (SI) by name, year and number;
leave out ‘the’ at the beginning of a title.
15
Consolidated Version of the Treaty on European Union [2008] OJ
Reference order: C115/13, art 8.

name | year, | SI number To refer to a paragraph or paragraphs in EU legislation follow

the same sequence above but use ‘para’ or ‘paras’ instead.
12
Gambling Act 2005 (Amendment of Schedule 6) Order 2012/1633.

In the text of your work if you refer to the SI by name and

date, you do not need to create a footnote because all the F: Official Publications
information the reader needs about the source is in the text.
An official publication is any document issued by an
Pinpoints: organisation that may be considered an official body, and
Mirroring the rules for statutes, and in addition to those then made available to the public. These may include House
abbreviations given above for parts of statutes, use the of Commons and House of Lords Papers and Bills, command
following for parts of statutory instruments: papers (including Green and White papers), Hansard (both
Commons and Lords), standing, select and Public Bill
Term Abbreviation committee debates, government responses to select
committee reports, Law Commission reports plus others. If a
regulation/regulations reg/regs source has an ISBN, cite it like a book, otherwise official
parliamentary publications may be cited as follows:
rule/rules r/rr
Law Commission Reports
article/articles art/arts Reference Order with pinpoint:
15
Law Commission | ‘Title’ | (Law Commission report number
Eggs and Chicks (England) Regulations 2009, SI 2009/2163, reg 7(2).
Command paper number where available, Year) [paragraph
number]

9
Law Commission, ‘Unfair Terms in Contracts’ (Law Com No 292 Cm
E: Citing EU Legislation
6464, 2005).
The most authoritative source for EU legislation is the Official
Journal of the European Communities (OJ).
Command Papers
It is important to note carefully the abbreviation for
‘Command’ given on the title page, as there has been several
series of Command papers, each with a different form of
abbreviation.

10
 How to cite sources of UK and EU law

Reference Order with pinpoint: which the full details can be found.
Author | ‘Title’ | (Command paper number, Year) | page
5
number Knowles (n 1) para 4.6.

8
Department for Education and Employment, ‘Learning to Succeed: a Book with two or three authors
New Framework for Post 16 Learning’ Cm 4392, 1999). If there is more than one author insert ‘and’ before the last
author’s name.
Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)
Cite Hansard as follows, use ‘cols’ for more than one column: Reference order:
author and author, |title |(additional information, |edition,|
Reference Order with pinpoint: publisher | year)

HC Deb OR HL Deb | date, | volume number | column number author, author and author |title |(additional information,
|edition,| publisher | year)
12
HC Deb 3 February 1977, vol 389, cols 973-76.
1
S Bailey and N Taylor, Bailey, Harris and Jones: Civil Liberties Cases,
Hansard HC (House of Commons) or Hansard HL (House of Materials, and Commentary (6th rev edn, OUP 2009).
Lords) | volume number | column number | (Date)
Book with more than three authors
12
Hansard HC vol 508 col 1258 (8 April 2010). If there are more than three authors, give the name of the
first author followed by ‘and others’.

Reference order:
G: Books author and others, |title |(additional information, |edition,|
publisher | year)
The publication details can usually be found on the title page
in hard copy (the page where the copyright information is on 1
S Gardiner and others, Sports Law (3rd edn, Cavendish 2006).
the reverse) or on the homepage of an e-book. The author’s
name should include initials and surname, the book title Book with editor(s)
should always appear in italics. Give relevant information If there is no author, cite the editor as you would an author,
about the edition before the publisher and year. The edition adding in brackets after their name ‘(ed)’ or ‘(eds)’ if there is
number should only be included where the book is in its more than one.
second edition or beyond.
8
M Woodley (ed), Osborn’s Concise Law Dictionary (11th edn, Sweet &
Pinpoint: Maxwell 2009).
If referring to information from a specific page or paragraph,
include the page or paragraph directly after the year. Use ‘pt’ Contribution to a book
for part, ‘ch’ for chapter, and ‘para’ for paragraph. Page When a book contains chapters written by a number of
numbers stand alone; you do not need to use ‘p’ or ‘pp’. different authors and collated by an editor, cite the author of
Paragraph numbers should be placed in square brackets. the chapter and the chapter’s title in single quotation marks,
then give the editor’s name, the book title in italics and the
Book with a single author publication information. In the Bibliography refer to the book
Reference order: as a whole, leaving out the individual chapter details.
author, | title | (edition, | publisher | year)
Reference order:
Example without pinpoint: chapter author, | ‘chapter title’ | in editor (ed), | book title |
1
J Knowles, Effective Legal Research (2nd edn, Sweet & Maxwell 2009). (additional information, | publisher | year)

In-text example with pinpoint: 5

T Weir ‘Tort’ in C Barnard, J O’Sullivan and G Virgo (eds), What about
Knowles suggests that the best place to start legal research is Law? Studying Law at University (2nd edn, Hart Publishing 2011).
with the books in the law library.1
Encyclopaedias
First citation in footnote: Cite an encyclopaedia as you would a book, but exclude the
1
J Knowles, Effective Legal Research (2nd edn, Sweet & Maxwell 2009) author / editor and publisher and include the edition and
para [1.3]. year of issue or reissue. Pinpoints to volumes and paragraphs
come after the publication information.
Subsequent citations in footnote:
If you refer to a source more than once in your footnotes, Footnote with pinpoint:
give the full citation at first mention (as above) and 7
Halsbury’s Laws of England (5th edn, 2010) vol 45, para 25.
thereafter briefly identify the source and the footnote in

11
 How to cite sources of UK and EU law

H: Journal Articles (Print & e-Journals) italics instead and add ‘note’ at the end of the citation. If no
author is given begin the citation with the title of the case
Give the publication year in round brackets where there is a comment if one is given or the name of the case.
separate volume number; this applies to the majority of
9
journals. Alternatively, give the publication year in square Andrew Ashworth, ‘R (singh) v Chief Constable of the West Midlands
brackets if the date is needed to identify the correct volume. Police’ [2006] Crim LR 441 (note)
Only include an issue number if pages begin at page 1 for
10
‘Interim relief denied to musicians dropped from play: Ashworth and ors
each issue within a volume, if so put the issue number in
v Royal National Theatre’ [2014] 1000 IDS Brief HR July (note)
brackets immediately after the volume number. If citing the
whole article, give only the first page number.

Reference order:
I: Websites and Blogs
author, | ‘article title’ | (year) | volume | journal name or To cite information from a website where the information is
abbreviation | first page of article in a format not otherwise covered in OSCOLA, proceed as
follows:
[OR]
Websites
author, | ‘title’ | [year] | journal name or abbreviation |
Reference Order:
first page of article
author | ‘Title’ (title of document, date of publication if
available) <url> accessed date
18
D Whitehead, ‘Messages on parenthood: the Human Fertilisation and
15
Liberty and the Civil Liberties Trust, (A Year in Review 2011)
Embryology Bill’ (2008) 42 Law Teach 242.
<http://www.liberty-human-rights.org.uk/newsletter/
libertyyearinreview2011/index.html>accessed 10 August 2012.
Footnote with pinpoint:
If citing information from a specific page, add a comma after Blogs
the first page of the article and then the page where the Reference Order:
information can be found. author | ‘Title of blog post’ (title of blog, date of publication if
available) <url> accessed date
20
R Owen, ‘The View at the Start of the Decade’ (2010) 44 Law Teach 75,
18
R English, ‘Defining “dignity” – nailing jelly to the wall’ (UK Human
82.
Rights Blog, 8 August 2012) <http://ukhumanrightsblog.com/>
Note: accessed 10 August 2012.
Use a standard abbreviation for the journal title, these can be
23
K Broadhurst, ‘Not another brick in the wall?’ (9 Park Place Chambers,
found in the Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations
4 June 2014) <http://www.9parkplace.co.uk/news-and-
http://www.legalabbrevs.cardiff.ac.uk/
events//2014/06/04/not-another-brick-in-the-wall/> accessed 15 July
Online Only Journals 2014.
If the journal title is published only online with no print
equivalent or if the version of the journal article you have Note: The quality of a web page with no author or date
read is online and lacks page numbers or other elements cite needs to be questioned i.e. is it suitable for academic work?
as in the following example. If no author is identifiable and it is appropriate to cite, begin
with the first significant word of the title and include the rest
Reference order: of the details in the usual way.
author, | ‘title’ | year | volume| journal name or abbreviation |
<web address> | date accessed Live Hyperlinks
To remove live links in MS Office Word 2007 right click on the
7
H Power and B Dowrick, ‘Issues in Corporate Crime: An Introduction’ link and select ‘Remove hyperlink’.
[1998] 2 Web J Current Legal Issues
<http://webjcli.ncl.ac.uk/1998/issue2/power2.html>accessed 6 January
2012.

Case Comments or Case Notes

Where these have titles treat them as journal articles (see
above), where there is no title, use the name of the case in

12
 Tables of Cases and Statutes and Bibliography

Part 3 – Tables of Cases and Statutes and Bibliography

EXAMPLE 4
Table of Cases
UK Cases
Boulton v Jones (1857) 2 H&N 564; 157 ER 232
Calvert v Gardiner [2002] EWHC 1394 (QB)
Edwards v Skyways [1964] 1 All ER 494
Giles v Thompson [1994] 1 AC 142 (HL)
Henly v Mayor of Lyme (1828) 5 Bing 91, 107; 130 ER 995, 1001
R (Roberts) v Parole Board [2004] EWCA Civ 1031, [2005] (QB)
Stubbs v Sayer (CA, 8 November 1990)
Tweddle v Atkinson [1961] 1 B & S 393; 121 ER 762 (QB)

EU Cases
Arne Mathisen AS v Council (T-344/99) [2002] ECR II-2095

Table of Statutes
Bills
Presumption of Death Bill HL Bill (2012-13) 65
Alan Turing (Statutory Pardon) Bill HC Bill (2013-14) [124]
Statutes
Contract (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999
Human Rights Act 1998
Landlord and Tenant Act 1995
Statutory Instruments
Eggs and Chicks (England) Regulations 2009, SI 2009/2163
EU Legislation
Consolidated Version of the Treaty on European Union [2008] OJ C115

How to compile tables of cases and be separated into sub-sections for each category as
statutes illustrated in Example 4.
(See Example 4 above) Formatting the Table of Cases
Tables listing full citations for the primary sources of law, Case citations appear as in the footnote but note that case
typically case law reports and primary and secondary names are not italicised in a table of cases and should
legislation (Acts and Statutory Instruments) referred to in appear in alphabetical order of the first significant word,
your assignment should appear at the very beginning of e.g. 3Giles v Thompson [1994] 1 AC 142 (HL). in a footnote
the work, on a separate page, preceding the main body of would become Giles v Thompson [1994] 1 AC 142 (HL) in
the text. Depending on the sources included, the list could the Table of Cases.

13
 Tables of Cases and Statutes and Bibliography

Note: no full stops or pinpoints are included for any Secondary Sources: books and journal
source in a Table. articles
Some examples of various forms of case name follow: There are three rules for formatting books and journal
• articles in a bibliography:
Re Jones becomes Jones, Re
1. Reverse the name so that the surname is first.
• Re W (Illegitimate Child: Change of Surname) becomes W
(Illegitimate Child: Change of Surname) 2. Use a comma after the final initial and before the title.

• R v Smith becomes Smith (In a criminal law essay, but in 3. Pinpoints, leave these out but retain the starting page
an essay on another area list by full name under ‘R’, also number for journal articles.
do this for judicial review cases with the Crown as the
Books
first-named party.)
In a footnote:
• The Starsin becomes Starsin, The. See Homburg 12
J Smith, The Law of Contract (4th edn, Sweet & Maxwell 2002) 117.
Houtimount BV v Agrosin Provate Ltd. Trade-mark and
In a bibliography:
shipping cases should be listed under the full case
name, but also insert an additional entry in the table Smith J, The Law of Contract (4th edn, Sweet & Maxwell 2002)
under the trade-mark or the name of the ship, using
In a bibliography, you may find you need to list several
the first significant word with a cross reference to the
books by the same author. These should be placed in
full name.
chronological order (starting with the oldest). There is no
• Case T-344/99 Arne Mathisen AS v Council [2002] ECR II- need to repeat the author’s name. This can be replaced by
2905 becomes Arne Mathisen AS v Council (T-344/99) a double em-dash as follows:
[2002] ECR II-2095 (If not listed separately, EU cases
Hart HLA, Law, Liberty and Morality (OUP 1963)
should be arranged alphabetically by first party name in
—Punishment and Responsibility (OUP 1968)
the table of cases, with the case number following the
case name in brackets.) Arrange works in alphabetical order of author surname, with
any unattributed works listed at the beginning in
Formatting the Table of Statutes
alphabetical order of the first major word of the title.
Legislation should be listed in alphabetical order of the
first significant word of the title, not chronological by date
Journal articles
of enactment.
In a footnote with a pinpoint:
Consumer Protection Act 1978
20
R Owen, ‘The View at the Start of the Decade’ (2010) 44 Law Teach 75,
Gambling Act 2005 82.

Human Rights Act 1998

In a bibliography where no pinpoint is necessary:

Owen R, ‘The View at the Start of the Decade’ (2010) 44 Law

How to compile a bibliography of Teach 75
secondary sources
(See Example 5 on page 15) Journal titles should appear in their full form in the
A bibliography contains details of all the secondary sources bibliography. Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations
that have been referred to within the main body of the text http://www.legalabbrevs.cardiff.ac.uk/ can be used to check
as well at those that have informed understanding and the full journal title of any abbreviation.
analysis of the topic but which have not been directly cited
(i.e. background reading). The bibliography should appear at
the end of the main body of text and following any
appendices. Depending on the sources included, the list
could be separated into sub-sections for each category as
illustrated in Example 5:

Formatting
It is necessary to make slight changes to the way sources are
formatted for the bibliography.

Note: no full stops or pinpoints are included for any source.

14
 Tables of Cases and Statutes and Bibliography

EXAMPLE 5

Bibliography
Books
Bailey S and Taylor N, Bailey Harris and Jones: Civil Liberties Cases, Materials and
Commentary (6th rev edn, OUP 2009)
Gardiner S and others, Sports Law (3rd edn, Cavendish 2006)
Janis M W, Kay R S and Bradley A W, (3rd edn, Oxford University Press 2008)
Knowles J, Effective Legal Research (2nd edn, Sweet & Maxwell 2009)
Smith J, The Law of Contract (4th edn, Sweet & Maxwell 2002)
Treitel GH, The Law of Contract (11th edn, Sweet & Maxwell 2003)
Journal Articles
Whitehead D, ‘Messages on parenthood: the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill’
(2008) 42 Law Teach 242
Websites
English R, ‘Defining “dignity” – nailing jelly to the wall’ (UK Human Rights Blog, 8 August
2012) http://ukhumanrightsblog.com/ accessed 10 August 2012

End of Guide

15