Keith Mack
The legal profession has its own customary abbreviated way of writing citations, which can be confusing for those who are unfamiliar with them. In the UK, Oxford University uses OSCOLA (Oxford Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities) when citing cases, with a different format for cases before and after 2001/2002. The citation will include the case name, year, court, number, volume, report abbreviation and first page. There are also different ways of citing Acts of Parliament, Bills, EU legislation and foreign legislation.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Case citation format | case number | case name | [year] | report abbreviation | first page |
| Case name format | Italicised with an unpunctuated italic v to separate the names of adverse parties |
| Year format | Square brackets around the year when the year is necessary to identify the volume; round brackets when the volumes of the law report series are independently numbered |
| Report abbreviation format | No full stops in the abbreviations |
| Statute citation | Title of Act, year, chapter number |
| Bill citation | Title, the House in which it originated, the Parliamentary session in brackets, and the running number assigned to it |
| EU legislation citation | Full name on first citation; short version in subsequent citations if the full name has already been specified |
| Foreign words and phrases | Italicised |
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Case law citation
When citing cases in the UK, there is a distinction between cases before 2001/2002 and those from 2001/2002 onwards. Cases from 2001/2002 onwards typically have a neutral citation, which consists of the year, the court abbreviation (e.g. UKSC for the Supreme Court), and the case number. For example, a neutral citation might look like this: [2002] EWCA Civ 123. This indicates that the case was heard in 2002 in the Court of Appeal, Civil Division, and was the 123rd case heard that year.
Neutral citations make it easier to find cases online. If you only have a neutral citation, you will not be able to find the case in print law reports. Instead, you will need to look at electronic sources such as Westlaw, Lexis Library, or the free resource BAILII.
The full citation for a case will include the case name, the neutral citation, the law report citation, and the first page. The format for a case citation might look like this:
Case name | [year] | court abbreviation | case number, | [year] OR (year) | volume | report abbreviation | first page
For example:
R (on the application of Newby Foods Ltd) v Food Standards Agency [2017] EWCA Civ 431, (2017) Westlaw [Online].
Note that the use of square brackets and round brackets around the year depends on whether the year is necessary to identify the volume. If you cannot locate the volume without the year, use square brackets. If the volume is independently numbered, use round brackets.
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Legislation citation
Citing Statutes (Acts of Parliament)
A statute is another name for an Act of Parliament. To cite a statute, you need to include the Title of the Act, the year, and the chapter number. For example, "Food Standards Act 1999, c. 28". The short title of an Act provides a convenient name for referring to it, such as the "Jamaica Independence Act 1962". However, each Act also has a long title, which provides a more comprehensive and detailed description of the Act's provisions.
Citing Statutory Instruments
Statutory instruments are also known as secondary or delegated legislation. To cite a statutory instrument, include the name/title, the year, and the SI year and number. For example, "Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013, SI 2013/1234". If the statutory instrument was made by the Scottish Government, it is called a Scottish Statutory Instrument (SSI) and is cited with the year and number, such as "SSI 2011/147".
Citing Bills
A bill is a draft law that must be approved by the Houses of Parliament and receive Royal Assent to become an Act of Parliament. To cite a bill, include its title, the House it originated in (House of Commons or House of Lords), the parliamentary session in brackets, and the running number assigned to it. For example, "The Sugar in Food and Drinks (Targets, Labelling and Advertising) Bill (2016)".
Citing Legislation from Other Jurisdictions
When citing legislation from other jurisdictions, follow the citation style used in that jurisdiction, omitting any full stops in abbreviations. Provide the jurisdiction if necessary, and italicise any foreign words or phrases. For EU legislation, give the full name on the first citation, and then use a short version in subsequent citations.
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Abbreviations
When citing a case, the general format is: case number | case name | [year] | report abbreviation | first page. For example, "Case T–344/99 Arne Mathisen AS v Council [2002] ECR II–2905". The case name is written in italics, with an unpunctuated italic "v" separating the names of adverse parties. The year is written in square brackets when necessary to identify the volume; if the volume can be located without the year, round brackets are used instead.
When citing legislation, the title of the Act and the year are needed, followed by the chapter number. For example, "Food Standards Act 1999, c. 28". A statute is another name for an Act of Parliament. The relevant abbreviations for individual sections of legislation are: "s" for "section", "Sch" or "Sched" for "schedule", and "para" for "paragraph". For example, "Requirements of Writing (Scotland) Act 1995, Sch 2, para 4".
There are many standards for citing UK law, including OSCOLA (Oxford Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities). OSCOLA provides a full guide and a quick reference guide, as well as style information for EndNote, LaTeX, RefWorks, and Zotero.
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Referencing styles
The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (OSCOLA) is a widely used citation scheme for referencing legal materials in the UK. It is commonly used by law students and in law schools, as well as by journal and book publishers. OSCOLA uses a footnote citation system, where a superscript number is added at the end of a sentence after the punctuation. The reference is then provided in full at the bottom of the page.
When referencing a judge within a case, use the judge's surname followed by the correct abbreviation. For example, Mr or Mrs Justice Smith should be referred to as 'Smith J'. The exception to this rule is when the judge holds a title, such as Lord or Lady, which should be included in the abbreviation. OSCOLA also abbreviates a wide range of legal sources and institutions, and it is important to not use punctuation in these abbreviations. For example, the Director of Public Prosecutions should be abbreviated as 'DPP'.
Another commonly used referencing style is Harvard, which is often used by criminology students. Harvard style in-text citations can be in brackets within the text or as footnotes, and they include the author's surname, date of publication, and page number if relevant. The full details of the source are then listed in the bibliography or reference list.
Other referencing styles mentioned include Chicago, MHRA, and Vancouver, although specific details of these styles in relation to law citations are not provided in the sources.
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Common issues
When reading UK law citations, there are several common issues that may arise. Firstly, it is important to distinguish between official and unofficial law reports. In England and Wales, there are no official law reports, but the Law Reports published by the Incorporated Council of Law Reporting are considered the most authoritative. These reports include the arguments of counsel and are checked by both counsel and the judge. Therefore, if a case is reported in this series, it should be cited in preference to any other report.
Another common issue is the use of neutral citations. Neutral citations were introduced in 2001 and can be found on commercial databases or BAILII. They consist of the year, the court abbreviation, and the case number. If a case is only cited by its neutral citation, it will not be found in any of the law reports series, and electronic sources must be consulted instead.
Additionally, when citing cases, it is important to use the correct punctuation. For example, a comma separates the neutral citation and the law report citation, and there are no full stops in abbreviations. When citing a case name, the case registration number should be given in Roman numerals, followed by the case name in italics, with no punctuation between them.
Furthermore, when citing legislation, it is important to use the correct format. Acts should be cited by their short title and year in Roman numerals, with no comma before the year. When citing a statutory instrument, give the name, year, and SI number. Bills should be cited by their title, the House in which they originated, the Parliamentary session, and the running number.
Lastly, when citing older cases or legislation, additional complexities may arise. For example, the citation of older Acts may involve different conventions, such as using the 'asp' (Act of the Scottish Parliament) number for Acts of the Scottish Parliament.
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Frequently asked questions
The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (OSCOLA) is the standard format for citing cases in the UK. The format is as follows: case number | case name | [year] | court | number, | [year] OR (year) | volume | report abbreviation | first page.
Square brackets are used to indicate the year of publication, whereas round brackets indicate the year of judgment.
Cite an Act of Parliament by its title and year in roman, using capitals for major words, and without a comma before the year. For example, Shipping and Trading Interests (Protection) Act 1995.
