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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:
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 .
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:
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):
OSCOLA provides formats for a variety of source types. The most common ones are covered below.
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.
Format | [Year] Court Case number, [Year] or (Year) Volume number Name of report Page number or [Paragraph number] |
Example | [2012] UKSC 15, [2012] 14 WLR 1676. |
Format | [Year] or (Year) Volume number Name of report Page number or [Paragraph number] |
Example | (1988) 85 Cr App R [9]. |
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.
Format | Act title Year, s Section number(Subsection number)(Paragraph number). |
Example | Offensive Weapons Act 2019, s 11(5)(a). |
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.
Format | Title Year, SI Year/Number. |
Example | Communications (Isle of Man) Order 2020, SI 2020/149. |
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.
Format | Bill title HC Bill (Session) [Bill number]. |
Example | Transport HC Bill (1999–2000) [8]. |
Format | Bill title HL Bill (Session) Bill number. |
Example | Academies HL Bill (2010–11) 1. |
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.
Format | HC Deb or HL Deb Date, Volume number, Column number. |
Example | HC Deb 5 February 2020, vol 671, col 300. |
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.
Format | Author name, (Edition, Publisher Year). |
Example | Jonathan Herring, (8th edn, OUP 2018), 412. |
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.
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.
Format | Author, ‘Article Title’ [Year] or (Year) Volume number Journal name Page number. |
Example | Gunther Teubner, ‘Legal Irritants: Good Faith in British Law or How Unifying Law Ends up in New Divergences’ [1998] MLR 11. |
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.
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:
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.
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:
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 18 June 2024, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/referencing/oscola/
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OSCOLA Referencing
The following are examples of how to reference theses.
Template (Footnote):
Author name, | 'Thesis title' | (Award | thesis, | Awarding Institution | date).
Javan Herberg, ‘Injunctive Relief for Wrongful Termination of Employment’ (DPhil thesis, University of Oxford 1989).
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You’ve done it. You’ve extracted the key research, peppered your content with incisive observations, and you’ve just typed the last words of your Law essay conclusion.
And then… it happens. You remember that in all those pages of research, you forgot to reference the sources you used. If only you’d done it in the first place!
Knowing how to cite sources for assignments is a hugely important skill. Even if you’re still at school, learning how to reference now means you won’t get caught out at university.
If you study Law at university, you’ll use the OSCOLA referencing system. This is the Oxford University Standard for the Citation of Legal Authorities. We’ve created a comprehensive guide on exactly what OSCLA is, and how to use it.
OSCOLA is a footnote referencing style. That means that you add small, superscript numbers (for example, 1,2,3 ) to the sources in your text, which connect to footnotes at the bottom of your page.
You may also have to include a list of tables of cases, legislation and other primary sources at the start of your essay, and a bibliography of second sources at the end. See page 10-11 of the 4th edition of OCSCOLA.
Let’s look at the OSCOLA system in detail, and how you can cite a wide range of legal sources. Our comprehensive guide refers to the 4th edition of OSCOLA produced by the University of Oxford.
Case citations with neutral citations.
An example of a typical case citation with a neutral citation is:
Corr v IBC Vehicles Ltd [2008] UKHL 13, [2008] 1 AC 884
The example above shows that this is a case involving Corr and IBC Vehicles Ltd. It was the thirteenth judgement issued by the House of Lords (UKHL) in 2008. It also indicates that a report of the judgement can be found in volume 1 of the series of the Law Reports called the Appeal Cases , beginning at page 884.
An example of a typical case citation without a neutral citation is:
Page vs Smith [1996] AC 155 (HL).
When the year is used to identify the law report volume, you should always put it in square brackets. If the relevant law report series was also issued in more than one volume in that particular year, give it a volume number.
When you don’t need to use the year to identify the law report volume, give the year of judgement (not publication) in round brackets.
Where there are multiple parties in cases, you should name only the first claimant and the first defendant. Where cases concern only individuals, leave out forenames and initials. You should abbreviate common words and phrases, for example:
When you want to refer to something, use Re instead of, for example, In re or in the matter of. You should use Re the Domestic Abuse Act 2017 rather than In the matter of the Domestic Abuse act 2017.
(See our ‘abbreviations’ section below for further guidance).
Short forms of case names
You should give the name of the case in full when you first mention it in the text or footnotes. After that, you can shorten it.
For example, ‘in Glebe Motors plc v Dixon-Greene’ can be shortened to ‘in the Glebe Motors case’ or ‘in Glebe Motors’. If you do shorten names this way, you should always choose the name which comes first in the full name of the case – in this case Glebe Motors, rather than Dixon-Greene.
A law report is a published report on a judgement. A law report includes features such as a headnote summarising the facts of a case and judgement, and lists of cases considered.
In England and Wales, there are no official law reports of any kind, but the Law Report series by the Incorporated Council of Law Reporting are considered the most authoritative.
If a case is reported in the Law Reports you should cite it in preference to any other report. If you can’t find a judgement in the Law Reports , you should cite the Weekly Law Reports or the All England Law Reports.
If you can’t find a judgement in one of these general series you should refer to a specialist series of law reports such as the Family Law Reports.
When citing courts, indicate the court in brackets after the first page of the report, and before the pinpoint if there is one. A pinpoint is a reference to a particular paragraph of a judgement or page of a report.
Use HL for the House of Lords, CA for the Court of Appeal, QB, CH and F for the division of the High Court, and Com Ct for the Commercial Court within the Queen’s Bench Division.
If you’re citing a case before 1865, it doesn’t require the court. Neither do citations of cases with a neutral citation.
When you make a reference to a judge in a case, use the judge’s surname followed by the conventional abbreviation identifying their judicial office. You do not need to use ‘the Honourable’.
A High Court judge should be called, for example, ‘Mr Justice Brown’, or, if a woman (and regardless of whether she is married) ‘Mrs Justice Smith). You should abbreviate both as ‘Smith J’.
A House of Lords judge (or ‘Law Lord’) is called ‘Lord Brown’ or ‘Lady Brown’, depending on gender.
The President of the Supreme Court should be abbreviated as, for example, ‘Lord Brown P’; the Deputy President as ‘Lord Brown DP’.
The Lord Chancellor (now no longer a judge) should be abbreviated as ‘Lord Brown LC’, the Lord Chief Justice as ‘Lord Brown CJ’, and the Master of the Rolls as 20 ‘Lord Brown MR’.
The Chancellor of the High Court should be abbreviated as ‘Sir John Brown C’, and Presidents of the Queen’s Bench Division and Family Division as ‘Sir Brown P’.
Names of Statutes
You should cite an Act by its short title and year in roman, using capitals for the major words. Don’t put a comma before the year. For example:
Act of Supremacy 1558
Shipping and Trading Interests (Protection) Act 1995.
Don’t use popular titles of Acts, for example, ‘Lord Campbell’s Act’. If you are referring to a particular Act a number of times in the same place, you can provide an abbreviated form of the title in the footnotes, as long as you let your reader know in advance. So, the Children Act 1989 becomes CA 1989 (not just CA).
Parts of statues
Statues are divided into parts, sections, subsections, paragraphs and subparagraphs. The relevant abbrevations are:
part / parts to pt/ pts
section / sections to s / ss
subsection / subsections to sub-s/ sub-ss
paragraph/paragraphs to para/paras
subparagraph / subparagraphs to subpara/subparas
schedule / schedules to sch/schs
Older Statutes
For older statutes, you can give the regnal year and chapter number. For example:
Crown Debts Act 1801 (41 Geo 3 c 90)
You can see from this example that the information in brackets shows that this Act was given royal assent in the forty-first year of the reign of George III.
Explanatory notes to statutes
When citing explanatory notes to statutes, precede the name of the statue with ‘Explanatory notes to the…’. For example,
Explanatory Notes to the Charities Act 2006, para 15.
An example of how to cite a Bill is:
Consolidated Fund HC Bill (2008-09).
You can see that the Bill is cited by its title, the House in which it originated (here, House of Commons), and with the parliamentary session in brackets (here, 2008-09).
Statutory Instruments
Statutory instruments (orders, regulations or rules) are numbered consecutively throughout the year. The year combines with the serial number to make an SI number that follows the abbreviations ‘SI’, which we use to identify the legislation.
When you cite a statutory instrument, give the name, year and (after a comma) the SI number. For example:
Penalties for Disorderly Behaviour (Amendment of Minimum Age) Order 2004, SI 2004/3166
Parts of statutory instruments
The rules for referring to parts of statutory instruments are the same as those referring to parts of statues. Use the following abbreviations:
European Union legal sources
Official notices of the EU are in the Official Journal of the European Communities ( which is abbreviated to OJ). The OJ citation should be: year, OJ series, number / page. The letter ‘L’ refers to the legislation series.
EU legislation
When you cite EU treaties and protocols, give the title of the legislation, followed by the year of publication, the OK series and the issue and page numbers. For example:
Protocol to the Agreement on the Member States that do not fully apply to the Schengen acquis – Join Declarations [2007] OJ Li129/35.
You should cite Regulations, Directives, Decisions, Recommendations and Opinions by giving the legislation type, number and title, followed by publication details in the OJ. For example:
Council Directive 2002/60/EC of 27 June 2002 laying down specific provisions for the control of African swine fever and amending Directive 92/119/EEC as regards Teschen disease and African swine fever [2002] OJ L192/27
For judgements of the European Court of Human Rights, you should cite either the offical reports, the Reports of Judgements and Decisions (ECHR) or the European Human Rights Reports (EHRR). Be aware of the difference before and after 1996. Before 1996, the offocial reports were known and Series A and numbered consecutively. From 2001, case numbers were used instead of page numbers. For example,
Johnston v Ireland (1986) Series A no 122
Osman v UK ECHR 1998 – VIII 3124
Balogh v Hungary App no 47940/99 (ECtHR, 20 July 2004).
Omojudi v UK (2009) EHRR 10
You should cite all publications with an ISBN as if they were books, whether you read them online or in hard copy. Older books do not have ISBNs, but you should cite them as books even if you read them online.
You should cite the author’s name first, followed by a comma, and then the title of the book in italics. You should then follow the title with publication information in brackets. You don’t need to give the place of publication. For example:
Tom Bingham, The Rule of Law (Alan Lane 2010).
If the book has more than one volume, you should follow the volume number with the publication details. For example:
Christian von Bar, The Common European Law of Torts, vol 2 (CH Beck 2000), para 76.
If there is no author, cite the editor or translator as an author, adding in brackets after their name. For example ‘(ed)’ or ‘(tr)’. If there is more than one editor or translator, put ‘(eds)’ or (trs)
Hard copy journals
When you cite hard copy journal articles, give the author’s name first, followed by a comma. Then give the title of the article within single quotation marks, and the publication information as follows:
year of publication (in square brackets if it identifies the volume, in round brackets if there is a separate volume number).
For example:
Paul Craig, “Theory, “Pure Theory” and Values in Public Law” [2005] PL 440.
Refence case notes with titles as if they were journal articles.
If there is no title, use the name of the case in italics instead, and put ‘note’ at the end of the citation.
Online journals
With online journals that have been published electronically, give publication details the same way you would for hard copy journal articles.
If online journals lack some of the publication elements for OSCOLA, follow the citation advice of the online journal. Remove full stops to comply with OSCOLA.
Working papers
You should cite working papers the same way as electronic journal articles. Seeing as the content of working papers are subject to change, make sure you put the date of access. For example:
Graham Greenleaf, ‘The Global Development of Free Access to Legal Information’ (2010) 1(1) EJLT accessed 27 July 2010
Other Secondary Sources
Please see the 4th edition of OSCOLA for comprehensive details on how to cite other secondary sources such as:
We hope you’ve found our complete guide to OSCOLA referencing useful. You can also use the OSCOLA Quick Reference Guide for ease when referencing.
Oscola referencing style.
Used by: the York Law School
The Oxford Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (OSCOLA) was developed at Oxford University, and is widely used by law schools and publishers to acknowledge source information.
OSCOLA uses a footnote citation system.
In the text, a number in superscript 1 is added at the end of a sentence and after the punctuation.
The reference is then given in the footnote at the bottom of the page.
Where you cite an author of a secondary source their name should appear as it does on the publication with first name/ initials before surname.
For more detailed information, see OSCOLA 1.1 and 1.2
The bibliography at the end of the document includes the full details of each source so the reader can find them themselves. The list is organised by type of source, and then alphabetically. See below for more details on organising the bibliography.
The information to include depends on the types of source - see the examples.
Citing a source multiple times in the same document.
For a case, cite in full the first time. For further references to the case, use a short form of the case name and a cross-citation in brackets to the original footnote. If the case name is included in the text, omit it in the footnote.
If the subsequent citation is directly after the full citation, simply use the term ‘ibid’. If pinpointing specific paragraphs, place these in square brackets.
When referring to a previous citation a number of footnotes back, use the short version of the case and add n as an abbreviation signposting the number of the footnote
For subsequent citation of legislation, abbreviations are acceptable. For subsequent citation of secondary sources, you only need the author’s surname.
For more detailed information see OSCOLA 1.2
For multiple references within one footnote use semi-colons to distinguish between them and put them in chronological order with the oldest first. For example, this footnote refers to two cases:
If one or more references are more relevant than the others put these first and then ‘see also’. For example:
Also, order the sources with legislation before cases, and primary sources before secondary.
A pinpoint is a precise reference to the part of a judgment or report through numbered paragraphs or page numbers. There are a number of ways you can pinpoint specific details within publications, depending on what the publication is. When citing more than one paragraph, place the numbers in square brackets. In this first example the pinpoints are at the end to paragraphs 42 and 45 of the case:
In this example for a secondary source the page number 131 is given at the end:
For more detailed information, see OSCOLA 2.1.6 and OSCOLA 4.2.5
Cross citation is when you are referring to discussion in another part of your writing, for example on an earlier page or in a previous chapter. It is good practice to use cross citation as little as possible.
Try to be specific and use a specific footnote number (For example See n 52 for the footnote. OR: See text to n 22 .)
For more detailed information see OSCOLA 1.2.2
You need to be very precise when using quotations.
Use single quotation marks and include within the text. For example:
Use an indented paragraph, no quotation marks and a line space above and below.
For more detailed information, see OSCOLA 1.5
This means referring to a source you have not read that you have found within another source that you are using. Try to avoid secondary referencing as it is always preferable to use the original source and you should always try to locate this.
If you find you have to use secondary referencing, in the footnote cite the source you have read, followed by ‘citing’… For example:
In the bibliography insert only the source you have read. There is no specific guidance on this within OSCOLA.
When referring to a judge within a case, use the judge’s surname followed by the correct abbreviation. (Mr or Mrs Justice Smith should be called Smith J in your text).
The exception to this rule is when the judge holds a title. A Court of Appeal Judge who is Lord or Lady Smith should be referred to as Smith LJ .
For more detailed information see OSCOLA 2.1.7
You do not need to include any information about Westlaw or Lexis Library in your citations, as this is just the portal through which you accessed the report, legislation or article. Simply reference the relevant source as you would a paper copy.
The only Latin term that is acceptable to use within the OSCOLA style is ‘ibid’, for the instances when you are referring to the same source in consecutive footnotes. Do not use other terms such as supra, op cit, loc cit.
For more information see OSCOLA 1.2.3 u
OSCOLA abbreviates a wide range of legal sources and institutions.
Do not use punctuation when using an abbreviation. Eg, the Director of Public Prosecutions should appear as DPP not D.P.P.
For a comprehensive list of legal abbreviations, use the Cardiff index . You can search by abbreviation to find the title, or by title to find the abbreviation.
For more detailed information, see OSCOLA Appendix 4.2
Contact your Faculty Librarians if you have any questions about referencing.
Examples of in-text citations and reference list entries for key source types.
Use these examples alongside the information given in the 'Guidance for all source types' box.
You should refer to the year the Act was passed rather than the year it came into force.
Use the short title and refer to specific sections of the Act eg
OR use s for Section in the middle of a sentence. For example:
Footnote:
You do not need to footnote an Act if you make it identifiable in the text.
Bibliography: List Legislation and Cases separately in alphabetical order in the bibliography.
See the OSCOLA guides and our Referencing with Confidence OSCOLA Guide for more details.
Case citations including neutral citations: List cases in the bibliography in alphabetic order of case names. Use the following format to cite cases.
Case name in italics [year] court number, [year] OR (year) volume report abbreviation first page
If you have included the case name in the text, you do not have to include the case names in the footnote: In text: refer to the text giving case names in italics eg: In Phipps v Boardman 31 …..
Bibliography:
For most sources in OSCOLA, the bibliographic format is the same as the footnote. List legislation, cases and secondary sources in separate sections of your bibliography in alphabetical order.
Treat case notes with titles as if they are journal articles. Where there is no title, use the name of the case in italics instead, and add (note) at the end of the citation:
See 3.3.2 OSCOLA 4th ed. for more details.
Capitalise the first letter of each major word of the title. Page numbers stand-alone without p or pp. use the following format for the footnote:
Information to include: Author, Title in Italics (edition, publisher date) page.
If the book has up to three authors, include ‘and’ in between each author. Use Initials or forename unpunctuated and with no spaces followed by surname.
Information to include: Author, Title in Italics Capitalising Major Words (Edition, Publisher Year) page.
Bibliography:
See 3.2 OSCOLA 4th edn for more details.
If a book has more than three authors, include ‘ and others’ after the name of the first author.
Chapter in an edited book.
Information to include: author, ‘Title of chapter' in editor (ed), title in italics (additional information, publisher year)
See 3.2.3 OSCOLA 4th edn for more details.
See 3.2.2 OSCOLA 4th edn for more details.
Journal article / paper (print copy).
Footnotes: author, | ‘title’ | [year] | journal name or abbreviation | first page of article / paper,| specific page referred to
author, | ‘title’ | (year) | volume | journal name or abbreviation | first page of article / paper
Put a comma after the first page of the article / paper if you want to refer to a particular page or set of pages:
If the year serves as the volume identifier, put the year in square brackets [ ]. If there is a separate volume number, put the year in round brackets ().
In the Young example, 72 is the volume number. Bibliography:
Omit reference to specific page numbers (other than the first page of the article / paper) in your bibliographic entry.
If you source a publication online which is also available in hard copy, cite the hard copy version. There is no need to cite an electronic source for such a publication.
author, | ‘title’ | [year] OR (year) | volume/issue | journal name or abbreviation | <web address> | date accessed
If the information is only available online, give the URL before the accessed date information.
See 3.3.4 OSCOLA 4th edn for more details.
Examples of in-text citations and reference list entries for other source types.
Cite a Bill by its title, the House in which it originated, the Parliamentary session in brackets, and the running number assigned to it. Running numbers for House of Commons Bills are put in square brackets; those for House of Lords Bills are not. When a Bill is reprinted at any stage it is given a new running number.
Title | HC Bill | (session) | [number] OR title | HL Bill | (session) | number
Footnote and bibliography:
In the bibliography, list bills in alphabetical order under the heading Secondary Sources.
Copied from 2.4.5 OSCOLA 4th edn.
Where there is no relevant advice elsewhere in OSCOLA, follow the general principles for secondary sources when citing websites and blogs. If there is no author identified, and it is appropriate to cite an anonymous source, begin the citation with the title in the usual way. If there is no date of publication on the website, give only the date of access.
Author, 'Web page title' ( Website in Italics , Full Date) <URL> accessed Date
See OSCOLA 4th edn 3.4.8 for more details.
If you read a book that was translated from another language (eg, you read an English translation of a book orginally written in German), cite the translation:
If there is an author and translator, reference as follows:
See 3.2.2 OSCOLA 4th ed. for more details.
If you read a book in a language other than English (eg, you read a book written in German), cite the primary source in the original language:
Footnote:
Bibliography:
See 1.4 OSCOLA 4th edn for more details.
Cite a book review in the same way as a journal article, but without the quote marks. For example,
Copied from OSCOLA FAQs
The abbreviation preceding a command paper number depends on the year of publication:
1833–69 (C (1stseries)) 1870–99 (C (2nd series)) 1900–18 (Cd) 1919–56 (Cmd) 1957–86 (Cmnd) 1986– (Cm)
Footnotes and bibliography:
In the bibliography, list Command Papers alphabetically by author in Secondary Sources.
For more details see 3.4.3 OSCOLA 4th ed.
See 3.4.6 OSCOLA 4th ed. for more details.
Dictionary (online).
Also consider elements of the style advice for websites and blogs (section 3.4.8).
For the OED online, open the full entry for the word, and click on the Cite button (top right above the definition). Follow that example, tidying it up to make it consistent with OSCOLA styles (eg, change double quotes to single and full stops to commas, removing those that are unnecessary; change OED Online to italics; change Oxford University Press to OUP and put it before the date; and remove http:// from the web address and delete any text after the Entry number, then put angle brackets around the url):
For other online dictionaries, follow the general advice above. You need a date of publication or at least a date of access (ie when you looked at it), as they are generally updated regularly.
Copied from OSCOLA FAQs.
When citing personal communications, such as emails and letters, give the author and recipient of the communication, and the date. If you are yourself the author or recipient of the communication, say ‘from author’ or ‘to author’ as appropriate.
See 3.4.11 OSCOLA 4th edn for more details
Cite as a book but exclude author or editor and publisher. Include the edition and year. Pinpoints such as volumes and page numbers come after the publication information.
If citing an online encyclopedia, give the URL and date of access:
See OSCOLA 4th edn 3.2.6 for more details.
List in the bibliography in alphabetical order under Secondary Sources.
European union regulation, hansard & parliamentary reports.
There are three series of Hansard, one reporting debates on the floor of the House of Commons, one debates in the House of Lords, and one debates in the Public Bill committees of the House of Commons, which replaced standing committees in 2007. When referring to the first two series, cite the House abbreviation (HL or HC), followed by ‘Deb’, then the full date, the volume and the column. Use ‘col’ or ‘cols’ for column(s). In the House of Commons, written answers are indicated by the suffix ‘W’ after the column number; in the House of Lords, they are indicated by the prefix ‘WA’ before the column number.
HL Deb OR HC Deb | date, | volume, | column
See 3.4.2 OSCOLA 4th ed. for more details.
When citing an interview you conducted yourself, give the name, position and institution (as relevant) of the interviewee, and the location and full date of the interview. If the interview was conducted by someone else, the interviewer’s name should appear at the beginning of the citation.
See 3.4.10 OSCOLA 4th ed. for more details.
Footnote and bibliography:
When citing newspaper articles, give the author, the title, the name of the newspaper in italics and then in brackets the city of publication and the date. Some newspapers have ‘The’ in the title and some do not. If known, give the number of the page on which the article was published, after the brackets. If the newspaper is divided into sections, and the page numbering begins afresh in each section, put the section name in roman before the page number, with a space but no comma between the two. If the reference is to an editorial, cite the author as ‘Editorial’. If the article is sourced from the web and there is no page number available, provide the web address and date of access.
List under Secondary Sources
Copied from OSCOLA 4th edn 3.4.9
The general principles for ‘other secondary sources’ (OSCOLA 4th ed. 3.4.1) suggest the following form for citing podcasts, YouTube videos and similar sources:
Author, ‘Title’ (publication date) <url> accessed xx month 2014
If there is no clear author, give the organisation providing the source as the author. The examples below include a suggestion for citing the comments of a particular person.
If referring to comments by someone in particular, add that information as you would a pinpoint, before the url. Include the person's position if relevant. For example:
Another alternative, particularly if the podcast is quite long, would be to provide the minutes and seconds of the excerpt:
Copied from OSCOLA FAQs
Author, 'Title' (additional information, publisher year)
Examples taken from OSCOLA FAQs
List by author in Secondary Sources
Footnote: Speaker (if a direct quote)/Presenter, 'Title of the programme' (Radio station, date of the programme)
Enter in alphabetical order in the Secondary Sources. If there is a direct quote/speaker, reverse the author's name as usual.
Use this format:
Author, 'Title' (Additonal information, edition if later than first, Publisher day Month year if available) page number if required.
Footnotes:
Bibliography :
List alphabetically in author order in secondary sources, giving the authors surname first.
Author, Title of book (First published publication year, Edition if late than first, publisher, publication year) page if required.
Footnote: Use the following format: Main contributor [Role of main contributor],'Title of programme' [Television series episode] in Title of series (Additional information if required, Publisher, Year )
If you wish to refer to someone speaking during the programme, follow this format: Cite the name of the speaker (if a direct quote), the title of the programme, the radio station and the date of the programme. If there is no obvious author/speaker, begin the citation with the title of the programme. If available online, include the URL and date of access. For example:
List under Secondary Sources in alphabetical order
When citing an unpublished thesis, give the author, the title and then in brackets the type of thesis, university and year of completion.
Copied from 3.4.7 OSCOLA 4th edn.
If the information is available in print, reference the print version. If only available on the web, reference as follows:
Footnote and Bibliography:
In the bibliography, list in Secondary Sources.
The Online Library is a part of the University of London
OSCOLA stands for the Oxford Standard for the Citation of Legal Authorities. It is the Law referencing system created by Oxford University. If you are a post-graduate law student, you are required to use this referencing system. In this system, citations are put in footnotes at the bottom of the page.
To create a footnote in Microsoft Word, click your mouse on the place you want it to refer to. Click on ‘References’ at the top and then on ‘Insert Footnote’. A number will appear in the text, and also at the bottom of the page, where you write your citation. This means that your readers can easily look down at the footnote to see the details of the source you are referring to.
In this guide, each type of source has an outline of the elements of the citation. Each of the elements is separated by a vertical line ‘|’. Pay attention to
You can generate OSCOLA citations using RefWorks . To do this, log into RefWorks , then find the item(s) in Summon and click the 'Save this item' icon next to the search result. This will save the item(s) in your RefWorks folder. In RefWorks, select the item(s) and click 'Create Bibliography'. You can then select 'OSCOLA 4th edition' as the reference style and it will generate the citation.
In HeinOnline , there is a Cite button to the left of an article's text which gives you the OSCOLA citation. You can find OSCOLA reference generators online, but none of them are perfect, so please check what they give you.
If you cannot find what you need, read the latest edition of OSCOLA or email the Online Library at [email protected]
For International Law, see the OSCOLA guide to citing international law
General principles
Uk secondary legislation (statutory instruments).
EU legal sources
Judgments of the ECJ and GC
Decisions of the European Commission
Judgments of the ECHR
Cases from other jurisdictions, legislation from other jurisdictions, encyclopedias, online articles, websites and blogs, newspaper articles.
Personal communications (letters and emails)
Authors' names
Electronic sources (this does not apply to cases and legislation)
Subsequent citations
Case citations including neutral citations
case name | [year] | court | number, | [year] OR (year) | volume | report abbreviation | first page
Corr v IBC Vehicles Ltd [2008] UKHL 13, [2008] 1 AC 884
Case citations without neutral citations
case name | [year] OR (year) | volume | report abbreviation | first page | (court)
Barrett v Enfield LBC [2001] 2 AC 550 (HL)
What are neutral citations?
Many courts now issue judgments with a neutral citation which identify the judgment independently of any law report. Neutral citations give the year of judgment, the court and the judgment number. The court is not included in brackets at the end of a neutral citation because the neutral citation itself identifies the court.
Where a judgment with a neutral citation has not been reported, give only the neutral citation.
Re Guardian News and Media Ltd [2010] UKSC 1
Where such a judgment has been reported, give the neutral citation followed by a citation of the most authoritative report, separated by a comma.
Cite an Act by its short title and year, using capitals at the beginning of major words, and without a comma before the year. Do not use popular titles of Acts, such as ‘Lord Campbell’s Act’
Shipping and Trading Interests (Protection) Act 1995
If several jurisdictions are discussed in a work, it may be necessary to add the
jurisdiction of the legislation in brackets at the end of the citation
Water Resources Act 1991 (UK)
Statutes are divided into parts, sections, subsections, paragraphs and subparagraphs. The relevant abbreviations are:
section/sections
subsection/subsections
sub-s/sub-ss
paragraph/paragraphs
subparagraph/subparagraphs
subpara/subparas
schedule/schedules
Clause/clauses
Consumer Protection Act 1987, s 2
If specifying a paragraph or subsection as part of a section, use only the abbreviation
for the section. For example, paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 15 of the
Human Rights Act 1998 is expressed as follows:
Human Rights Act 1998, s 15(1)(b)
title | HC Bill | (session) | [number]
title | HL Bill | (session) | number
Consolidated Fund HC Bill (2008–09) [5]
Academies HL Bill (2010-11) 1, cl 8(2)
Statutory instruments (orders, regulations or rules) are numbered consecutively throughout the year. The year combines with the serial number to provide an SI number that follows the abbreviation ‘SI’ and which is used to identify the legislation. When citing a statutory instrument, give the name, year and (after a comma) the SI number:
Penalties for Disorderly Behaviour (Amendment of Minimum Age) Order 2004, SI 2004/3166
Statutory instruments used to be called statutory rules and orders, and these are cited by their title and SR & O number.
The Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) and their predecessors, the Rules of the Supreme Court (RSC) and the County Court Rules (CCR), may be cited without reference to their SI number or year. Cite all other court rules in full as statutory instruments.
RSC Ord 24, r 14A
CPR Practice Directions (PD) are referred to simply by number, according to the part or rule they supplement.
Parts of statutory instruments
regulation/regulations
r/rr (not necessary for CPR)
article/articles
Official notices of the EU are carried in the Official Journal of the European
Communities (abbreviated to OJ). The letter ‘L’ denotes the legislation series, the ‘C’ series contains EU information and notices, and the ‘S’ series invitations to tender.
Legislation
legislation title | [year] | OJ series | issue/first page
Consolidated Version of the Treaty on European Union [2008] OJ C115/13
Regulations and Directives
legislation type | number | title | [year] | OJ L issue/first page
Council Regulation (EC) 1984/2003 of 8 April 2003 introducing a system
for the statistical monitoring of trade in bluefin tuna, swordfish and big
eye tuna within the Community [2003] OJ L295/1
Council Directive 2002/60/EC of 27 June 2002 laying down specific
provisions for the control of African swine fever and amending Directive
92/119/EEC as regards Teschen disease and African swine fever [2002]
Note that the year precedes the running number in citations to Directives, but follows it in citations to Regulations.
case number | case name | [year] | report abbreviation | first page
Case 240/83 Procureur de la République v ADBHU [1985] ECR 531
Case T–277/08 Bayer Healthcare v OHMI—Uriach Aquilea OTC (CFI, 11 November 2009)
Case C–176/03 Commission v Council [2005] ECR I–7879, paras 47–48
Case C–411/05 Palacios de la Villa v Cortefiel Servicios SA [2007] ECR I–8531, Opinion of AG Mazák, paras 79–100
case name | (case number) | Commission Decision number | [year] | OJ L issue/first page
Alcatel/Telettra (Case IV/M.042) Commission Decision 91/251/EEC [1991] OJ L122/48
Cite either the official reports, the Reports of Judgments and Decisions (cited as ECHR) or the European Human Rights Reports (EHRR), but be consistent in your practice. Before 1996, the official reports were known as Series A. References to unreported judgments should give the application number, and then the court and the date of the judgment in brackets.
Johnston v Ireland (1986) Series A no 122
Osman v UK ECHR 1998–VIII 3124
Balogh v Hungary App no 47940/99 (ECtHR, 20 July 2004)
Omojudi v UK (2009) 51 EHRR 10
For International Law, see the OSCOLA guide to citing international law .
Cite cases from other jurisdictions as they are cited in their own jurisdiction, but with minimal punctuation. If the name of the law report series cited does not itself indicate the court, and the identity of the court is not obvious from the context, you should also give this in either full or short form in brackets at the end of the citation.
Henningsen v Bloomfield Motors Inc 161 A 2d 69 (NJ 1960)
Roe v Wade 410 US 113, 163–64 (1973)
Waltons Stores (Interstate) Ltd v Maher(1988) 164 CLR 387
BGH NJW 1992, 1659
Cass civ (1) 21 January 2003, D 2003, 693
CA Colmar 25 January 1963, Gaz Pal 1963.I.277
Cite legislation from other jurisdictions as it is cited in its own jurisdiction, but without any full stops in abbreviations. Give the jurisdiction if necessary.
Accident Compensation Act 1972 (NZ)
1976 Standard Terms Act ( Gesetz über Allgemeine Geschäftsbedingungen ) (FRG)
loi n° 75-1349 du 31 décembre 1975 relative à l’emploi de la langue française
author, | title | (additional information, | edition, | publisher | year)
Timothy Endicott, Administrative Law (OUP 2009)
Gareth Jones, Goff and Jones: The Law of Restitution (1st supp, 7th edn, Sweet & Maxwell 2009)
If there is more than one author insert an 'and' before the last author's name. The edition should be included where the book is in its second edition or beyond. If citing information from a specific page, add the page number directly after the reference. Example:
Gary Slapper and David Kelly, The English Legal System (Routledge 2016) 17
If a book consists of more than one volume, the volume number follows the publication details:
Andrew Burrows, Remedies for Torts and Breach of Contract (3rd edn, OUP 2004) 317
If the publication details of the volumes vary, the volume number precedes them, and is separated from the title by a comma:
Christian von Bar, The Common European Law of Torts , vol 2 (CH Beck 2000) para 76
Editors and translators
If there is no author, cite the editor or translator as you would an author, adding in brackets after their name ‘(ed)’ or ‘(tr)’, or ‘(eds)’ or ‘(trs)’ if there is more than one.
If the work has an author, but an editor or translator is also acknowledged on the front cover, cite the author in the usual way and attribute the editor or translator at the beginning of the publication information, within the brackets:
HLA Hart, Punishment and Responsibility: Essays in the Philosophy of Law (John Gardner ed, 2nd edn, OUP 2008)
Contributions to edited books
author, | ‘title’ | in editor (ed), | book title | (additional information,| publisher | year)
John Cartwright, ‘The Fiction of the “Reasonable Man”’ in AG Castermans and others (eds), Ex Libris Hans Nieuwenhuis (Kluwer 2009)
Cite an encyclopedia much as you would a book, but excluding the author or editor
and publisher and including the edition and year of issue or reissue. If citing an online encyclopedia, give the web address and date of access.
Halsbury’s Laws (5th edn, 2010) vol 57, para 53
Leslie Green, ‘Legal Positivism’, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall edn, 2009) <http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2009/entries/legal-positivism> accessed 20 November 2009
author, | ‘title’ | (year) | volume | journal name or abbreviation | first page of article
If only one volume was published that year, use square brackets:
author, | ‘title’ | [year] | journal name or abbreviation | first page of article
Put a comma after the first page of the article if there is a pinpoint (the specific page you are referencing).
JAG Griffith, ‘The Common Law and the Political Constitution’ (2001) 117 LQR 42, 64
When citing journal articles which have been published only electronically, give publication details as for articles in hard copy journals.
author, | ‘title’ | [year] OR (year) | volume/issue | journal name or abbreviation | <web address> | date accessed
Graham Greenleaf, ‘The Global Development of Free Access to Legal Information’ (2010) 1(1) EJLT <http://ejlt.org/article/view/17> accessed 27 July 2010
Treat case notes with titles as if they were journal articles. Where there is no title, use the name of the case in italics instead, and add (note) at the end of the citation.
Andrew Ashworth, ‘ R (Singh) v Chief Constable of the West Midlands Police ’ [2006] Crim LR 441 (note)
HL Deb OR HC Deb | date, | volume, | column
In the House of Commons, written answers are indicated by the suffix ‘W’ after the column number; in the House of Lords, they are indicated by the prefix ‘WA’ before the column number.
HC Deb 3 February 1977, vol 389, cols 973–76
HL Deb 21 July 2005, vol 673, col WA261
Command papers
Command papers include White and Green Papers, relevant treaties, government responses to select committee reports, and reports of committees of inquiry. When citing a command paper, begin the citation with the name of the department or other body that produced the paper, and then give the title of the paper in italics, followed by the command paper number and the year in brackets.
Home Office, Report of the Royal Commission on Capital Punishment (Cmd 8932, 1953) para 53
The abbreviation preceding a command paper number depends on the year of publication:
1833–69 (C (1st series))
1870–99 (C (2nd series))
1900–18 (Cd)
1919–56 (Cmd)
1957–86 (Cmnd)
Sarah Cole, ‘Virtual Friend Fires Employee’ (Naked Law, 1 May 2009) <www.nakedlaw.com/2009/05/index.html> accessed 19 November 2009
author, | ‘title’ | name of the newspaper | (city of publication, | date) | page if known
Jane Croft, ‘Supreme Court Warns on Quality’ Financial Times (London, 1 July 2010) 3
Ian Loader, ‘The Great Victim of this Get Tough Hyperactivity is Labour’ The Guardian (London, 19 June 2008) <www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/jun/19/justice.ukcrime> accessed 19 November 2009
interviewer(s) if not yourself, | Interview with name, position, institution of interviewee | (location, date of interview)
Interview with Irene Kull, Assistant Dean, Faculty of Law, Tartu University (Tartu, Estonia, 4 August 2003)
Timothy Endicott and John Gardner, Interview with Tony Honoré, Emeritus Regius Professor of Civil Law, University of Oxford (Oxford, 17 July 2007)
If the reference is to an editorial, cite the author as ‘Editorial’.
If you conducted an interview for the purposes of your dissertation, you do not need to cite it in your dissertation. If the transcripts of your interviews are in your appendix, you can refer to your appendix in brackets or a footnote, e.g.:
According to interviewee X (Appendix 1), the …
Or, you could cite it as a personal communication in a footnote.
When citing personal communications, such as emails and letters, give the author and recipient of the communication, and the date. If you are yourself the author or recipient of the communication, say ‘from author’ or ‘to author’ as appropriate.
Letter from Gordon Brown to Lady Ashton (20 November 2009)
Email from Amazon.co.uk to author (16 December 2008)
Footer links.
Items in bibliographies take the same form as all other citations in OSCOLA, with three exceptions: (1) the author’s surname should precede his or her initial(s), with no comma separating them, but a comma after the final initial; (2) only initials should be used, and not forenames; and (3) the titles of unattributed works should be preceded by a double em-dash. Works should be arranged in alphabetical order of author surname, with unattributed works being listed at the beginning of the bibliography in alphabetical order of first major word of the title.
A longer legal work, such as a book or a thesis, generally has a list of abbreviations and tables of all the cases, legislation and other primary legal sources cited in the work in the preliminary pages. The list of abbreviations should come before the tables, and the order of the tables should generally be: table of cases; table of legislation; other tables.
You should never need to include Lexis or Westlaw in a citation. The cases, statutes and journal articles on these databases are treated as authentic versions, and should be cited exactly the same as the hard copy.
Similarly, if you source a publication online which is also available in hard copy, cite the hard copy version. There is no need to cite an electronic source for such a publication.
Incorporate quotations of up to three lines into the text, within 'single' quotation marks. Punctuation follows the closing quotation mark, and the footnote marker comes last. NB - If you need to submit your work through Turnitin, use "double" quotation marks.
Longer quotations should be presented in an indented paragraph, with no further indentation of the first line. Leave a line space before and after the indented quotation, and do NOT use quotation marks.
Further detailed information about how to present quotations (including quotes in quotes, quotes which are fragments) can be found on page 8 of the OSCOLA guide.
- powered by chegg.
Avoid plagiarism — quickly check for missing citations and check for writing mistakes., is your source credible don’t forget to consider these factors., purpose : reason the source exists.
Currency : timeliness of the information.
Citing Sources of Information
Preventing Plagiarism
OSCOLA is an acronym which stands for the O xford University S tandard for C i tation o f L egal A uthorities. It is a guide to legal citation developed by the Oxford Law Faculty and is an authoritative way to prepare legal citation in the UK academic world. The latest edition is available from https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/oscola .
It gives rules for
OSCOLA is footnote style , all citations appear in footnotes. Footnotes are placed at the bottom of a page. Close footnotes with a full stop. See the examples below. Endnotes or in-text citations are not used.
Incorporate quotations of up to three lines into the text, within single inverted commas. Present quotations longer than three lines in an indented paragraph. Do not use quotation marks. Refer to the examples below.
Subsequent citations
When a source is cited subsequently, briefly identify the source and provide a cross-citation in brackets to the footnote in which the full citation can be found. Observe these principles for subsequent citations. Details are available from the OSCOLA manual , p. 5-7.
Subsequent citation of cases: use a short form of the case name
Subsequent citation of legislation: may use abbreviations or other short forms
Example
Subsequent citation of secondary sources: use only the author's or authors' surnames
Subsequent citation is in the footnote immediately following the full citation: use "ibid"
List of abbreviations, t ables and bibliography
When writing a longer work, such as a book or a thesis, you need to compile a list of abbreviations and tables of all the cases, legislation and other primary sources cited in the work in the preliminary pages. The list of abbreviations should come before the tables, and the order of the tables should be: table of cases, table of legislation and other tables. A bibliography listing secondary sources should also be provided after the main body of text and any appendices. Please also note the followings.
List of abbreviations
Do not define abbreviations that are part of everyday legal usage.
Table of cases
Table of legislation
Bibliography
However, if you are writing a shorter work such as journal articles or essays, list of abbreviations, tables and bibliography are not required. Only footnotes are sufficient.
Citing cases
A typical UK case citation is as follows.
Neutral citations are relatively recent development. Many cases without neutral citations are typically cited as follows.
Neutral citations
Neutral citations are available from these sources:
Law report citations
Citing statutes
Cite an act by its short title and year, without a comma before the year. Use capitals for the major words.
When referring to part of the statute in a footnote, use abbreviated form: s/ss, para/paras, pt/pts, sch/schs. If specifying a paragraph or subsection as part of section, use only the abbreviation for the section.
A citation in a footnote is not required when citing legislation if all the information the reader needs about the source is provided in the text. But when the text does not include the name of the act, this information should be provided in a footnote.
Secondary sources refer to commentaries on law, such as books, journal articles, legal encyclopedias and so on. Please note the following general practices in citing secondary sources. Individual material types will be covered next.
Capitalize the first letter in all major words in the title.
Citing books
author, | title | (additional information, | edition, | publisher | year).
N.B. Additional information refers to any other types of details about the book, such as series, translator, etc.
Citing articles
author, | ‘title’ | [year] | journal name or abbreviation | first page of article.
author, | ‘title’ | (year) | volume | journal name or abbreviation | first page of article.
Citing a chapter or essay in an edited book
author, |‘title of chapter' |in book editor (ed), |book title |(additional information, |publisher | year).
Citing other secondary sources
When citing other secondary materials, observe this general rule. If a source has an ISBN, cite it like a book. If the source does not have ISBN, cite it similarly, but put single quotation marks around the title.
Secondary sources with ISBN, cite this way: Author, | title | (additional information, | publisher | year).
Secondary sources without ISBN, cite this way: Author, | 'title' | (additional information, | publisher | year).
author, | 'title of the paper' | (title of the conference, | location, | date).
author, | 'title' | (type of thesis, | institution | year).
author, | 'title' | ( title of website, | date of publication) | <URL> | accessed date.
author, | 'title' | newspaper title | (city of publication, | date) | starting page.
The guides below also provide useful hints and tips about OSCOLA.
There are examples for different types of sources.
You can find there updates to OSCOLA and ways of citing sources that are not specifically referred to in the 4th edition.
An online tutorial. Lots of activities to help you understand OSCOLA.
Online tutorial plus step by step guide.
You may also want to consult these library books.
© City University of Hong Kong | Copyright | Disclaimer
Interactive oscola tutorial.
Based at: Law Library
After you have taken the tutorial, the Subject Librarian can help you if you need further guidance, including:
Tip for screen reader users. You may wish to adjust the verbosity settings in your screenreader to read all punctuation and text attributes when you reach the examples.
Welcome to this tutorial.
In Part 1 you will learn…
Why you should cite and reference
What is plagiarism and how to avoid it
How to use OSCOLA to cite and reference
Character 1: Let’s begin!
Character 1: Let’s first define what a citation is:
A citation tells the reader where to find a specific source that you mention in your writing.
Now let’s look at why you should cite and reference.
Reason 1: Academic convention (get marks!)
Reason 2: Consistent and persuasive argument
Example of citing and referencing:
“Legal writing is more persuasive when the author refers to legal materials in a clear, consistent and familiar way. When it is easy to identify and to find the author’s sources, it becomes easier for the reader to follow the argument.” ¹
Character 1: This is an example of OSCOLA, but more on that later!
Reason 3: Avoid Plagiarism
Chapter 1 of a Legal Book: Interesting text that will support my point, don’t just copy me!
Why should we cite and reference?
Correct answers include:
To avoid plagiarism .
To conform to academic convention .
To make a consistent and persuasive argument
Plagiarism is…
Copying and pasting (e.g. from a book)
Concealing sources (deliberately not referencing others work)
Collusion, e.g. innocently using work generated from a discussion
Misinterpreting common knowledge i.e. bending the facts to suit your argument
Self plagiarism - using a large proportion of work that you have previously submitted as an assignment
Character 2: How can you avoid plagiarism?
Example: The chief justice explained that this power ‘is not limited to defence against aggression from a foreign nation.’
2: Paraphrasing
Original- Her life spanned years of incredible change for women.
Paraphrase- Mary lived through an era of liberating reform for women.
3: Summarising
Putting the main points of a body of work into your own words
4: Plus, Correct citing and referencing!
Character 1: As we mentioned earlier a citation tells the reader where to find a specific source that you mention in your writing
At City Law School we use OSCOLA
OSCOLA is a way of citing and referencing legal materials in legal writing
OSCOLA stands for the Oxford University Standard for the Citation of Legal Authorities
Character 1: OSCOLA uses a footnote style, all citations are in footnotes
There are no ‘in text’ citations
OSCOLA is only used for citations, it is not a writing guide
Let’s look at an example of OSCOLA referencing
Example: Choo and Nash state that this new piece of legislation ‘led to the creation by the courts of a prima facie rule of exclusion of evidence obtained in breach of the Act’.¹ A recent case in the Supreme Court relates to this point of law.² It has been noted that after the new act came into force, the courts adopted a prima facie rule that evidence obtained in breach of the legislation was to be excluded, except in certain restricted circumstances.³ Hart asserts this is a significant change. 4
How do these numbers correspond to the footnotes?
¹ Andrew L-T Choo and Susan Nash, ‘Improperly Obtained Evidence in the Commonwealth: Lessons for England and Wales?’ (2007) 11 E&P 75.
² Lucasfilm Ltd v Ainsworth [2011] UKSC 39, [2012] 1 AC 208.
³ Choo and Nash (n 1) 100.
4 Chris Hart, Doing a Literature Review (Sage 1998).
You will also need a bibliography at the end of the assignment which we will look at later
Character 2: So you only add numbers in the body of the assignment?
Character 1: That’s right! All the information about the source goes in the footnote and the bibliography
Character 2: How do I add footnotes in Word?
Character 1: Let’s take a look…
Text: Click on the References tab
Click Insert Footnote
Footnotes will be added at the end of the document
Character 1: The number of footnotes can vary wildly, it all depends on what you are doing and how your argument goes
Character 2: So there’s no correct number of footnotes?
Character 1: That’s right!
Now let’s talk about the OSCOLA handbook
There are three main sections of the handbook
Section 1 General Principles: gives you an overview of OSCOLA
Section 2 Primary Sources: tells you how to cite cases and legislation
Section 3 Secondary Sources: tells you how to cite everything else, journals, websites etc…
If you can’t find the rule you need in sections 2 or 3, then use the general principles in section 1
Two golden rules when using OSCOLA:
Be consistent - if you can’t find the rule you need then use the general principles and use similar citations throughout
Consider your reader - can they follow your argument and find your sources easily?
If the source exists in print, cite as print
If the source has an ISBN, cite as a book
In the footnote the whole name is displayed followed by a comma, e.g. John Smith,
In the bibliography only surname followed by initials and a comma are used, e.g. Smith J,
You have completed part 1.
In Part 2, you will learn…
How to cite case law
How to cite statutes, i.e. acts
How to cite international and foreign legal materials
Character 1: Let’s go!
Character 1: When citing cases, you must use the law report citation as well as the neutral citation:
Law report: Gill v Woodall [2011] 3 W.L.R. 85
Neutral citation: Gill v Woodall [2010] EWCA Civ 1430
Character 1: The law report citation identifies what you have read, whereas the neutral citation is the same regardless of source. To correctly cite cases using OSCOLA you need both the law report and the neutral citation.
This is the format you should use, in this order: Party names (in italics), Neutral citation (followed by a comma), the name of the Law Report
Character 1: Notice the italics and comma
For example: Gill v Woodall [2010] EWCA Civ 1430, 3 WLR 85
Character 1: This is Rule 2.1 in the OSCOLA Handbook. Use this in both the footnote and bibliography. Notice that the full stops have been removed from ‘WLR’ for the law report citation.
Top tip: Prior to 2001, cases don’t have neutral citations so use the law report series.
Pinpoints: A pinpoint is where you need to refer to a particular page, paragraph or section of a source. They go in your footnotes.
In case law they look like this
For a page: Lucasfilm Ltd v Ainsworth [2011] UKSC 39, [2012] 1 AC 208, 210.
For a paragraph: Lucasfilm Ltd v Ainsworth [2011] UKSC 39, [2012] 1 AC 208, [9].
If the basic citation ends with a number you need a comma BEFORE the pinpoint as below
Top tip: If you give the full party names in the text, you don’t need to repeat the party names in the footnote. This will save on your word count
Character 2: What about EU case law?
Character 1: You can refer to sections 2.6 and 2.7 of the OSCOLA handbook. Ideally you should use the European Case Law Identifier (ECIL) which is newer than the current edition of OSCOLA. It’s good practice!
Character 2: Can you give me an example?
Character 1: Sure! The citation functions like a neutral citation. The case number, followed by the case name, followed by the ECLI, and finally the citation of the official source.
For example: Case C-176/03 Commission v Council EU:C:2005:542, [2005] ECR I-7879
Character 1: Let’s take a closer look at the ECLI! ‘EU’ indicates that it is a decision delivered by one of the courts of the EU. ‘C’ indicates that the decision was delivered by the Court of Justice. ‘2005’ is the year the decision as made. ‘542’ indicates that it is the 542 nd ECLI assigned in respect of the year in question.
Character 2: So how do statutes work?
Character 1: They’re pretty simple!
Character 2: Phew!
Character 1: Cite the short act title like this in both the footnote and bibliography. For example, Bacon Industry Act 1938. Pinpoint the section by adding the section after a comma, and ending with a full stop. For example, Bacon Industry Act 1938, s53.
Character 2: That IS pretty simple!
Character 1: Let’s move on then!
Character 2: Hmm…what’s the difference between international and foreign?
Character 1: ‘International’ means between nations, ‘foreign’ means belonging to one nation
Character 2: Right…I think I understand
Character 1: Well let’s see shall we, see if you can answer this question
Top tip: to cite international legal materials, refer to the 2006 edition of the OSCOLA handbook. These are not covered in the 2012 edition!
Foreign Legal Materials: When citing foreign materials, cite primary sources as in their home jurisdiction.
Top tip: Drop the full stops in any abbreviations when citing foreign materials. See the section 4.3 appendix of the OSCOLA Handbook for guides on other jurisdictions.
You have completed part 2!
Character 1: We’ve looked at avoiding plagiarism, the general principles of OSCOLA and how to cite primary sources and legislation.
Now let’s look at secondary sources.
Character 2: So that’s books, journal articles, websites etc?
Character 1: Yes!
Specifically, we will learn...
Character 1: Let’s begin
Character 1: To correctly cite books remember these three things...
Character 1: Let’s look at some examples...
In a footnote
Timothy Endicott, Administrative Law (3 rd edn, OUP 2015).
Footnote with a page number (pinpoint)
Timothy Endicott, Administrative Law (3 rd edn, OUP 2015) 317.
In a bibliography
Endicott T, Administrative Law (3 rd edn, OUP 2015)
Character 1: All of the book titles are italicised; ‘edition’ is abbreviated to ‘edn’. The author’s name is at it appears in the text, however... remember that the author’s surname goes first in the bibliography followed by any initials.
Character 2: Please help me, how do I cite a chapter if it’s been written by a different author to the book?
Character 1: Don’t worry, it’s not difficult. Let’s take a look.
Example: John Cartwright, ‘The Fiction of the “Reasonable Man”’ in AG Castermans and others (eds), Ex Libris Hans Nieuwenhuis (Kluwer 2009).
Character 1: This is the format you should use in the footnote. The author of the chapter and the chapter name followed by the author(s) of the book and the book name, and then the publisher and year of publication.
For the bibliography, remember the rule – surname followed by initial.
Cartwright J, ‘The Fiction of the “Reasonable Man”’ in AG Castermans and others (eds), Ex Libris Hans Nieuwenhuis (Kluwer 2009).
Which of these is the correct citation for pinpointing page 99 of Michael J. Allen’s Criminal Law book?
Michael J. Allen, Criminal Law (14 th edn, OUP 2017) 99
Michael J. Allen, Criminal Law (14 th edn, OUP 2017) page 99
Michael J. Allen, Criminal Law (14 th edn, OUP 2017) 99.
The correct answer is Michael J. Allen, Criminal Law (14 th edn, OUP 2017) 99.
Character 1: I hope you’re happier now.
Character 2: Yes. Thanks!
Character 2: Although I will mostly be reading e-books. How do I cite these?
Character 1: If the pagination is the same as the print edition, then it’s simple, cite it as a print book!
If the e-book has no page numbers, follow the normal book (or edited book) citation form, including the e-book type/edition before the publisher.
For ‘pinpoints’ where there are no page numbers, provide chapter / section number / section name and subsection or paragraph number if provided.
Top tip: The OSCOLA rules for e-books are 3.1.4 and 3.2.
Character 1: Let’s look at how to cite journal articles.
To cute a journal article, the rules around the author’s name are the same, put the journal title in single quotation marks and remember to abbreviate the journal publication title.
Official abbreviation for journals and law reports can be found using the Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations: legalabbrevs.cardiff.ac.uk
Remember OSCOLA removes any full stops and punctuation.
Journal name – Entertainment Law Review
Official abbreviation – Ent. L.R.
For OSCOLA this becomes Ent LR
Let’s look at some journal article citations:
In footnote
Luxmi Rajanayagam, ‘Ukulele Bands Battle over IP Rights’ (2015) 26 Ent LR 299.
In footnote with pinpoint
Luxmi Rajanayagam, ‘Ukulele Bands Battle over IP Rights’ (2015) 26 Ent LR 299, 300.
In bibliography
Rajanayagam L, ‘Ukulele Bands Battle over IP Rights’ (2015) 26 Ent LR 299
Choose the correct statements and bibliographic citation from the following options.:
Option 1) OSCOLA journal citations use the author’s full name in a footnote.
Option 2) OSCOLA journal citations use the author’s initials in a footnote.
Option 1 is correct.
Option 3) In OSCOLA citations, a journal article is surrounded by single quotation marks.
Option 4) In OSCOLA citations, a journal article is surrounded by double quotation marks.
Option 3 is correct.
Option 5) Official abbreviations for journals can be found in the Oxford Index to Legal Abbreviations.
Option 6) Official abbreviations for journals can be found in the Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations.
Option 6 is correct
Option 7) Rajanayagam L, ‘Ukulele Bands Battle over IP Rights’ (2015) 26 Ent. L.R. 299.
Option 8) Rajanayagam L, ‘Ukulele Bands Battle over IP Rights’ (2015) 26 Ent LR 299
Option 8 is correct (it has removed the punctuation from the abbreviation, and ends in a full stop.)
Character 1: Let’s look at how to cite websites and blogs.
Sarah Cole, ‘Virtual Friend Fires Employee’ (Naked Law, 1 May 2009) < www.nakedlaw.com/2009/05/index.html > accessed 19 November 2009.
Cole S, ‘Virtual Friend Fires Employee’ (Naked Law, 1 May 2009) < www.nakedlaw.com/2009/05/index.html > accessed 19 November 2009
Character 1: Don’t forget to include the date accessed. Websites and blogs can be updated and changed at any time, so the date you read it is really important.
The OSCOLA rule for websites and blogs is 3.4.8.
You don’t need to include http:// or https:// when citing websites and blogs.
Character 2: One last thing! What if I want to cite something that I’ve only read in someone else’s book?
Character 1: If you haven’t read the original, this would be called a Secondary reference, here’s how to do it...
WL Clay, The Prison Chaplain: A Memoir of the Reverend John Clay (London 1861) 554 (as cited in M Wiener, Reconstructing the Criminal Culture, Law and Policy in England 1830-1914 (CUP 1990) 79).
Character 2: Hmm... so the full citation for the original book is provided in brackets, prefixed with ‘as cited in’.
Character 1: That’s right. Note the page number of both the secondary and the original source are included.
Character 1: Details of how to cite secondary references can be found on the FAQ page of the OSCOLA website.
Congratulations you have completed Part 3 and this tutorial! The end.
The Oxford Standard for the Citation of Legal Authorities (OSCOLA), created by the Oxford University, is a footnote referencing style mainly used to cite British legal information and publications. This style is often used to cite references when studying law in HKU.
This page includes some general principles and examples of citing commonly used legal materials with OSCOLA. For full details, visit OSCOLA Style Manual on the left.
Visit OSCOLA official website to understand more about this citation style and its details:
Using OSCOLA in EndNote
EndNote, a reference manager, helps you to generate references automatically in your selected citation style. The reference manager supports the Cite While You Write feature that works with Microsoft Word, enabling you to cite references while writing your paper at the same time. Visit the HKU Libraries' LibGuide on EndNote to get more how to tips of using it!
OSCOLA is not a default output style when installing EndNote to your computer. You may click on Help at the top bar menu and select EndNote Output Styles .
You will be directed to the official EndNote Output Styles webpage , where you can search for OSCOLA and have it downloaded to your EndNote software. Check out the Cite with EndNote tab under How to cite in OSCOLA style? on the right for more details.
Need help from us? Approach us via the following methods:
(A) Footnote
OSCOLA is a footnote referencing style, in which all citations are presented at the bottom of the paper. In-text citation is not applicable when using this style.
Full stop will be used in the footnote for closing of a citation. If more than one citation is listed in the same footnote, you may use semicolon (;) in between the citations for separation. When citing a specific chapter or paragraph, indicate the number at the end of citation.
(B) Use of Abbreviations
When addressing the courts, law reports and journal titles within the citations, abbreviations will be used. For instances, Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal – HKCFA; England and Wales Court of Appeal (Civil Division) – EWCA Civ; Weekly Law Reports – WLR; Butterworths Company Law Cases – BCLC…etc.
To look for abbreviated titles, you may make use of the Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations , which is available online and convenient to use. Also, the Index to Legal Citations and Abbreviations ( R K112 R15 ) available from the Law Library’s Reference Collection (2/F) is also an alternative tool.
(C) Bibliographies
Bibliography generally refer to listing of secondary sources, which will be displayed at the end of the paper (i.e. after the main texts and appendices). Please be reminded that author’s surname will be stated before his or her initial, and only initials will be used but not forenames.
Other than bibliography of secondary sources, table of cases and table of legislation would be presented individually. You may take references from other university libraries on Bibliographies, Table of Cases and Table of Legislations:
Not only can EndNote help to generate references, bibliography will also be produced automatically at the end of paper with the Cite While You Write feature. Visit H KU Libraries' LibGuide on EndNote for more details!
*For full details, please refer to OSCOLA Style Manual listed on the left.
(A) Pinpointing
When referring to specific parts, chapters, paragraphs and pages, pinpoints are to be added at the end of the citation at the footnote. You may use ‘pt’ for part, ‘ch’ for chapter, ‘para’ for paragraph. Full stop is not applicable. When addressing the pages, simply indicate the page number in roman, in which ‘p’ or ‘pp’ is not required.
(B) Punctuations
Full stop are generally not to be included in OSCOLA, except the closing of each citation in the footnote. Commas will be inserted to separate information, like authors and titles, to avoid confusion. En dash will be used to indicate ranges, such as range of numbers.
Using square brackets for indication of year reflect that the year is used to search for the publications (e.g. law reports and journal articles), while round brackets are applied when the year is not regarded as the sole source for looking for that material, in which volume number shall be stated and taken into consideration for searching of the item.
(C) Subsequent citations
When a subsequent, or repeated, citation is used, cite only author’s surname with a cross-citation (indicated as (n n )) to the footnote. Pinpoint would follow the cross-citation.
If a citation is repeated immediately in the next footnote, you may use ‘ibid’ (meaning “in the same place” in Latin) to present. Pinpoint the corresponding section to be mentioned after ‘ibid’
In general, citations of cases can generally divide into three main types as listed follows:
Cases with neutral citations
Case name | [year] | court | number| , | [year] OR (year) | volume | report abbreviation | first page
Cases without neutral citations
Case name | [year] OR (year) | volume | report abbreviation | first page | (court)
Unreported Cases
Citation for unreported cases are similar to presentation above. In general, provide the neutral citation if it is available. If not, you may give the court in abbreviated form with the date of judgment in brackets after the name of case. The term “unreported” is not require to be specified.
If pinpointing a particular section of the case, provide the paragraph number in square brackets if there is any, or give the page number at the end of the citation.
Cite the Act using its short title and year in roman, in which comma is not needed before the year.
When pinpointing a particular section, add the information after the year with a comma to separate. Use ‘s’ to indicate section.
Statutory instruments (e.g. orders, regulations or rules) are numbered throughout the year. Citation is followed by the name of instrument and year in roman, with the instrument number after a comma.
Citing an authored b ook, you may follow the following format:
Author , | title | (additional information, | edition, | publisher | year)
*Additional information should be of clarifying purpose, e.g. supplement 1 to the main volume or descriptive information about the publication.
If the book is an edited or translated book, other than follow the above format as citing an authored book, please indicate the editor(s) as ‘(ed)’ or ‘(eds)’, or translator(s) as ‘(tr)’ or ‘(trs)’.
If there are more than three authors , mention the first author and state all other authors using ‘and others’. If there are more than one volume , state the volume number after the publication title. Pinpoint paragraph or page if necessary.
If pinpointing a particular paragraph, chapter or page, include the corresponding indication and number.
When referring to a specific chapter in a book, you may indicate either by adding the chapter after the book citation, or use the following format:
Author , | ‘title’ | in editor (ed/ eds), | book title | (additional information, | publisher | year)
The citation format of articles are similar to that of citing cases.
Author , | ‘title’ | [year] | journal name or abbreviation | first page of article
Author , | ‘title’ | ( year ) | volume | journal name or abbreviation | first page of article
Pinpointing a particular page of the journal article works similarly as pinpointing a case but with a comma to separate the information.
Simply stating the title in italics would be good enough for loose-leaf publications. Although publications details are generally not required to be pinpointed, you may provide the volume number (if appropriate), pinpoint the concerned paragraphs, and include the release number and/or date of issue in brackets.
For citing encyclopaedia like Halsbury’s of Law, state title in italics and include the edition and year of issue/ reissue, with volume number and paragraphs used. The name of author/ editor is not required.
If the encyclopaedia acknowledged an author for a section, similar to citing a book chapter, state both author and the section title at the beginning of citation. Followed by title of book in italics and publication information. If the source is in electronic format, please be reminded to provide the web link in angled brackets and date of access.
Citations of electronic materials basically follow that of print version. If publication is also available in hard copies, citing of the hard copy is preferred. If publication is available in electronic version only, indicate the web address in angled brackets (< >), followed by the most recent access date. ‘http://’ should be included only if the web address does not begin with ‘www’. If it does begin with ‘www’, ‘http://’ is not needed to include.
You may go through the above video regarding these contents:
*Add-on: Changing EndNote Pre-Formatted Settings of Citation Style
There might be times when the pre-formatted settings in EndNote are differ from the standard requirements of a citation style. Still, you may revise the pre-formatted settings to have EndNote generate the correct display of citation in your paper, without doing it manually. Below is an example of altering the display of Author Name:
1. At the top-bar menu, select Output Styles under Tools > Open Style Manager > Edit OSCOLA . A dialog box will then show up with all formats pre-set for the citation style.
2. To edit the display of author names, say in the bibliographical list, you may select Author Name under Bibliography. The default format is Last Name and followed by the First Name (i.e. Smith Jane). If you would like to alter to the required format (i.e. First Name and followed by Last Name), simply click on the expand button on the right and select the required display option (i.e. Jane Smith).
3. After your amendment, remember to click Save to secure the changes.
Direct quotations, what is secondary referencing.
There are several ways of including sources in your work . You can summarise , paraphrase or directly quote the information. Whichever you use, you let your reader know by setting out the referencing details in a subtly different way as below.
Incorporate quotations of up to three lines into the text, within single quotation marks. Quotations within short quotations take double quotation marks:
Present quotations longer than three lines in an indented paragraph. Leave a line space either side of the indented paragraph. You do not need to use quotation marks.
A secondary reference is when you read a text in which the author refers to the work of another and you wish to refer to that work in your assignment. This practice is discouraged as you should always attempt to find the original source which you can analyse and evaluate on its own terms. If it is not possible to find the original source, reference the source that you have not personally read first by adding a "Quoted in" at the beginning; then in brackets put ‘as cited in’ and cite the secondary source that you have read including the page number.
The OSCOLA citation style is a footnote-based format, similar to the Chicago style. However, it is notable for its range of variation, like the Harvard style, and its use of the entire reference as a footnote with the page added at the end. As such, while the citations themselves are not hard, it is easy to make small and straightforward mistakes by using the wrong resources. As such, we have used our experience to compile an essential guide for you.
This guide is developed in line with Nolan D and Meredith S, OSCOLA: Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4th edn, Hart Publishing 2012).
Why citing and referencing is important.
The OSCOLA style can be considered a footnote-based alternative to the Harvard format, as it is also applied in universities throughout the world regardless of the discipline. In it, you assign each citation a footnote that duplicates the reference at the end of the paper almost precisely, with some exceptions such as using a specific page number. As such, the OSCOLA style is somewhat similar to the Chicago style, which formulates its footnotes slightly more briefly. It can also be considered close to the Vancouver and AMA styles, as it follows a similar idea but does not send the reader to the paper’s end and specifies the page.
You may be familiar with the need to cite information, but many places also require you to follow a strict guide and a specific style while doing so. Here are some reasons why both of these aspects are critical for your writing and overall career:
OSCOLA, as a rule, is used to cite legal sources; therefore, it is difficult to call it a full-fledged style since there are no special requirements regarding the design of a title page and other nuances. One of the most important points is the application of footnotes in order to quote legal documents and files.
Level 1 Is Centered, Bold and Capitalized
Level 2 Is Centered and Capitalized
Level 3 Is Flushed Left, Bold and Capitalized
Level 4 is flushed left, not capitalized and sentence-formatted.
1. Qun Zhang, ‘Lean Six Sigma: A Literature Review’ (2012) 3 (10) IJCRB 599.
2. Ibid 600.
Oscola cases referencing.
Cases with neutral citations
Case Name [year] Court number, [year] OR (year) | volume report abbreviation first page
1. Corr v IBC Vehicles Ltd [2008] UKHL 13, [2008] 1 AC 884.
2. Corr (n 14).
3. Bunt v Tilley [2006] EWHC 407 (QB), [2006] 3 All ER 336 [3]–[37].
Cases without neutral citations
Case Name [year] OR (year) volume Report Abbreviation first page (court)
4. Barrett v Enfield LBC [2001] AC 550 (HL).
5. Barrett (n 11).
Law reports
6. Taylor v Glass [1979] CLY 672 (CA)
7. Horton v Sadler [2007] 1 AC 307 (HL).
Cases from Scotland
In OSCOLA, citations of Scottish law reports have no punctuation other than commas separating page numbers.
8. Hislop v Durham (1842) 4 D 1168.
9. Adams v Advocate General 2003 SC 171 (OH).
Cases from Northern Ireland
10. Hylands v McClintock [1999] NI 28.
11. Criminal Attempts Act 1981, ss 1(1) and 4(3). 25 17.
12. Sexual Offences Act 2003, s 1(1)(c).
Title HC Bill (session) [number] OR Title HL Bill (session) number
13. Abortion HC Bill (2017-2019) [2].
UK acts of Parliament
Title year of adoption.
14. Parliament Act 1949.
Parts of UK acts
A short title year of adoption, session (subsection number)(paragraph).
15. Human Rights Act 1998, s 15(1)(b).
Statutory Instruments, or Sis
Title year/number.
16. Cremation (England and Wales) Regulations 2008, SI 2008/2841.
Scottish Parliament
Act title asp number (Act of the Scottish Parliament).
17. Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2016 (asp 1).
Scottish SSIs (statutory instruments)
Title with a particular year SSI number.
18. The Letting Agent Registration (Scotland) Regulations 2016, SSI 2016/432.
Northern Ireland Assembly Acts
Title mentioning Northern Ireland year.
19. Criminal Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 2013.
Northern Irish Statutory Rules
Title of the Rule, including Northern Ireland year, Statutory Rule number.
20. The Local Government (Specified Bodies) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2012, SR 2012/8.
Welsh legislation
As a rule, specific measures are cited, which may be passed by the Welsh government. In footnotes, they are abbreviated as nawm. Such a citation includes:
Title of the measure year (number).
21. Domestic Fire Safety (Wales) Measure 2011 (nawm 3).
Welsh Statutory Instruments
Order title and year Welsh Statutory Instrument year/Instrument’s number in brackets.
22. The Independent Health Care (Fees) (Wales) Regulations Order 2011 Welsh Statutory Instrument 2011/106 (W. 25).
This type of official documentation includes legislation, directives, regulations, and decisions.
European Union Legislation
Title of legislation [year] series mentioned in Official Journal (OJ) issue/first page.
23. Treaty of Lisbon amending the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty establishing the European Community [2007] OJ C 306/01.
Directives, Regulations, and Decisions
Type of legislation number title [year] L series in the Official Journal issue/first page.
24. Council Directive 2001/29/EC on the harmonisation of certain aspects of copyright and related rights in the information society [2001] OJ L 167/10.
25. Council Regulation (EU) 1984/2003 introducing a system for the statistical monitoring of trade in bluefin tuna, swordfish and big eye tuna within the Community [2003] OJ L 295/1.
26. Alcatel/Telettra (Case No IV/M.042) Commission Decision [1991] OJ L 122/48.
European Court of Justice (ECJ) and General Court (GC) Judgements
Prefix (“Case C-” for ECJ or “Case T-” for GC) number indicating the case registration Case Name [year] report citation.
27. Case C-557/12 Kone AG v OBB-Infrastruktur [2014] C.M.L.R. 5.
United Nations laws
Author Title (date) number:
28. UNGA Res 67/97 (26 August 2008) A/63/332.
Title (date of adoption) publication mentioning (Short name) number of the article:
29. Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (adopted 10 June 1958, entered into force 7 June 1959) 330 UNTS 4739 (Foreign Arbitral Awards Convention) art 3.
International Court of Justice (ICJ) documents
Case Title [year] Court’s Report Citation/<link> accessed DD Month YYYY
30. Alleged Violations of Sovereign Rights and Maritime Spaces in the Caribbean Sea (Nicaragua v. Colombia) [2013] ICJ Judgement <https://www.icj-cij.org/en/case/155> accessed 24 December 2018.
Oscola referencing books.
Author, Title (additional information, edition, publisher year)
Footnote citation:
1. Ruta Sepetys, Salt to the Sea (Philomel Books 2016).
Bibliography entry:
Sepetys R, Salt to the Sea (Philomel Books 2016).
Two or three authors
1. Andrew Bohm and Dean Chaudri, Securing Australia’s Future: An Analysis of the International Education Markets in India (IDP Education Australia 2000) 33–55.
Bohm A and Chaudri D, Securing Australia’s Future: An Analysis of the International Education Markets in India (IDP Education Australia 2000).
Four or more authors
1. Michael Bell and others, Universities Online: A Survey of Online Education and Services in Australia (Department of Education, Science and Training 2002) 45.
Bell M and others, Universities Online: A Survey of Online Education and Services in Australia (Department of Education, Science and Training 2002).
Books with editors or translators
1. Russell Baker (ed), The Norton Book of Light Verse (W. W. Norton 1986) 105.
Baker R (ed), The Norton Book of Light Verse (W. W. Norton 1986).
Authors plus editors or translators
1. Winston Churchill, The Literary Works of Winston Churchill (Samuel Jackson ed, The Limited Editions Club 1963) 12.
Churchill W, The Literary Works of Winston Churchill (Samuel Jackson ed, The Limited Editions Club 1963).
Multiple works by the same author
Using multiple works by the same author poses no challenge as all are to be cited in footnotes at the bottom of the page.
1. Erich Fromm, The Fear of Freedom (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1942) 33.
2. Erich Fromm, The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness (Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1987) 42.
Fromm E, The Fear of Freedom (Routledge & Kegan Paul 1942).
—. The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness (Penguin Books 1987).
Different editions
1. John Kremer and Aidan Moran, Pure Sport: Practical Sport Psychology (2nd edn, Routledge 2013) 104.
Kremer J and Moran A, Pure Sport: Practical Sport Psychology (2nd edn, Routledge 2013).
Encyclopedia or dictionary
1. ‘Christianity’, The New Encyclopedia Britannica (15th edn, 2018) <https://www.britannica.com/topic/Christianity/Church-tradition> accessed 24 December 2018.
‘Christianity’, The New Encyclopedia Britannica (15th edn, 2018) <https://www.britannica.com/topic/Christianity/Church-tradition> accessed 24 December 2018.
Chapter in an edited book
1. Malcolm Higgs, ‘Change and Its Leadership: The Role of Positive Emotions’ in P. Alex Linley, Susan Harrington, and Nicola Garcea (eds), The Oxford Handbook of Positive Psychology and Work (Oxford University Press 2013) 67–94.
Higgs M, ‘Change and Its Leadership: The Role of Positive Emotions’ in P. Alex Linley, Susan Harrington, and Nicola Garcea (eds), The Oxford Handbook of Positive Psychology and Work (Oxford University Press 2013) 67–94.
Journal article
Author, ‘Title’ [year] Journal Name or Abbreviation first page of article Author, ‘Title’ (year) volume(number) Journal Name or Abbreviation first page of article
1. Qun Zhang and others, ‘Lean Six Sigma: A Literature Review’ (2012) 3(10) Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Business 599.
Zhang Q and others, ‘Lean Six Sigma: A Literature Review’ (2012) 3(10) Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Business 599.
Online journals
The format is similar to that of journal articles, but in this case, <URL> or <doi> and access date are given.
1. Qun Zhang and others, ‘Lean Six Sigma: A Literature Review’ (2012) 3(10) Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Business 599 <https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/6303/744cf0edb78ac8512ecb660b19167b607ddb.pdf> accessed 24 December 2018.
Zhang Q and others, ‘Lean Six Sigma: A Literature Review’ (2012) 3(10) Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Business 599 <https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/6303/744cf0edb78ac8512ecb660b19167b607ddb.pdf> accessed 24 December 2018.
Newspaper articles
1. Barton Gellman and Ellen Nakashima, ‘US spy agencies mounted 231 offensive cyber-operations in 2011, documents show’ Washington Post (Washington, 13 August 2013) C3.
Gellman B and Nakashima E, ‘US spy agencies mounted 231 offensive cyber-operations in 2011, documents show’ Washington Post (Washington, 13 August 2013) C3.
Websites and blogs
1. Christie Daniels, ‘Pumpkin Pie’ ( Easy Recipes , 25 April 2016) <www.easyrecipes.com/04/25/2016/pumpkin-pie> accessed 24 December 2018
Daniels C, ‘Pumpkin Pie’ ( Easy Recipes , 25 April 2016) <www.easyrecipes.com/04/25/2016/pumpkin-pie> accessed 24 December 2018
Thesis or dissertation
1. Cynthia Lillian Rutz, ‘King Lear and Its Folktale Analogues’ (PhD diss., University of Chicago 2013) 99–100.
Rutz CL, ‘ King Lear and Its Folktale Analogues’ (PhD diss., University of Chicago 2013).
Author, Paper Title (number, year).
1. Prime Minister’s Office and Cabinet Office, Modernising government (Cm 4310, 1999) para 15.
Prime Minister’s Office and Cabinet Office, Modernising government (Cm 4310, 1999).
House abbreviation Deb date, volume, column.
HL Deb 25 November 1997, vol 583, col 835.
HC Deb 15 April 2013, vol 561, col 18WS.
HL Deb 21 May 2013, vol 745, col WA39.
HC Deb 29 January 2013, vol 557, cols 179-205WH.
HC Deb (4th series) 18 July 1900, vol 86, col 341.
SC Deb (D) 25 May 2004, col 40.
HC 10 July 2018, PQ 162501.
1. Law Commission, The 13th Programme of Law Reform (Law Com No 377, 2017).
2. Law Com No 377.
Law Commission, Report or Paper Title (number, year).
Law Commission, The 13th Programme of Law Reform (Law Com No 377, 2017).
Unpublished letters or emails
Communication Form from Author to Recipient (DD Month YYYY)
Letter from S Alexander to Gibson WR (1 November 1911).
Interviewee’s Name, Their Position, Educational Institution (if necessary), (Place of the interview date)
Interview with Marilyn Charlton, Professor of Social Science, Swansea University (Swansea 17 July 2017).
The OSCOLA style requires that you provide each table and figure in a separate file, preferably in a Word, Excel, or EPS format. With that said, they are intended to be put in the text by the time of publication, so putting them into appendices is not necessary. They should be self-sufficient and possible to understand without their accompanying text. They may feature notes and other textual information, but not the title. You should denote the position in the passage where the object should be with a title saying “Table (Figure) #: Titlefootnote number.” Correspondingly, your file names should incorporate the type of object and its number to make it clear which item is contained within.
Figure 1: Glass world .
Even though tables and figures are excluded from the main file when you conduct your submission, they are taken into account as part of the total word count. As such, you should be careful when dealing with works that have a strict upper limit. Also, the standard consideration of describing the relevant pages in your citation when you take a table or figure from a print paper still applies. Usually, electronic sources will not have distinct pages, so you do not have to be concerned in that regard.
Reference List
1. Environmental Science. 2018. Glass world. EnvironmentalScience.org. https://www.environmentalscience.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/NEPA-CEQA-640×425.jpeg (Accessed 2019-8-18).
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Consider your source's credibility. ask these questions:, contributor/author.
A working paper is a document, still in the process of preparation, which has been publicly circulated in order to encourage debate and discussion. Reseach papers are an example of working papers.
Working papers may be available online on institution websites and on sites such as the Social Science Research Network (www.ssrn.com).
They should be cited in a similar way to online journals.
Because the content of working papers is subject to change, the date of access is especially important.
If a working paper is later published in a journal, cite that instead of the working paper.
Example of a footnote of a working paper which has not yet been published in a journal:
John M Finnis, 'On Public Reason' (2006) Oxford Legal Studies Research Paper 1/2007, 8 <http://ssrn.com/abstract=955815> accessed 18 November 2009.
The bibliography is the same format as the footnote except that the author's surname comes first followed by their initials and there is no full stop at the end of the citation.
Example of the bibliography of a working paper which has not yet been published in a journal:
Finnis JM , 'On Public Reason' (2006) Oxford Legal Studies Research Paper 1/2007, 8 <http://ssrn.com/abstract=955815> accessed 18 November 2009
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Dissertation or Thesis. To create a reference to a dissertation or a thesis, you should include the Author and the title, followed by the type of thesis, University and year of completion in brackets. Format: Author, 'Title' (type of thesis/dissertation, University | year of completion) Example: Javan Herberg, 'Injunctive Relief for Wrongful ...
Citing sources with OSCOLA footnotes. A citation footnote appears whenever you quote from, paraphrase or otherwise refer to the content of a source in your text. ... 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 ...
OSCOLA Referencing. ... When citing an unpublished thesis, give the author, the title and then in brackets the type of thesis, university and year of completion. ... 'Thesis title' | (Award | thesis, | Awarding Institution | date). Example: Javan Herberg, 'Injunctive Relief for Wrongful Termination of Employment' (DPhil thesis, University ...
OSCOLA Citation Generator >. Cite a Thesis. Citation Machine® helps students and professionals properly credit the information that they use. Cite sources in APA, MLA, Chicago, Turabian, and Harvard for free.
OSCOLA is a footnote referencing style. That means that you add small, superscript numbers (for example, 1,2,3) to the sources in your text, which connect to footnotes at the bottom of your page. You may also have to include a list of tables of cases, legislation and other primary sources at the start of your essay, and a bibliography of second ...
the argument . The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (OSCOLA) is designed to help the author to achieve consistency and to make life easier for the reader . OSCOLA does not purport to be comprehensive, but gives rules and examples for the main UK legal primary sources, and for many types of secondary sources . As far
OSCOLA uses a footnote citation system. In the text, a number in superscript 1 is added at the end of a sentence and after the punctuation. Neville states that The Oxford University Commonwealth Law Journal was involved in developing the OSCOLA referencing system. 1. The reference is then given in the footnote at the bottom of the page.
Referencing Styles: OSCOLA. OSCOLA stands for the Oxford Standard for the Citation of Legal Authorities. It is the Law referencing system created by Oxford University. If you are a post-graduate law student, you are required to use this referencing system. In this system, citations are put in footnotes at the bottom of the page.
All OSCOLA citations to appear as footnotes on each page. ... A longer legal work, such as a book or a thesis, generally has a list of abbreviations and tables of all the cases, legislation and other primary legal sources cited in the work in the preliminary pages. ... There is no need to cite an electronic source for such a publication. Quotes ...
Welcome to this online guide on how to reference correctly using the OSCOLA (Oxford University Standard for Citation Of Legal Authorities) referencing style. If you are new to the OSCOLA style of referencing, start with the basics tabs for tips on getting started. Book a Librarian appointment.
The OSCOLA style is a footnote referencing system. This means it consists of three elements. Citation - When you acknowledge a source in the text, you place a footnote marker 1 at the end of the relevant sentence. If you have several references in close together, the number can be placed at the end of the relevant phrase or word.
OSCOLA Referencing Guide 2020. Learn how to reference using the Oxford Standard for Citing Legal Authorities (OSCOLA) Accurate and consistent referencing is essential in all academic work. Whenever you refer to either the work or ideas of someone, or are influenced by another's work, you must acknowledge this.
OSCOLA Citation Generator >. Cite a Dissertation. BibMe Free Bibliography & Citation Maker - MLA, APA, Chicago, Harvard.
When writing a longer work, such as a book or a thesis, you need to compile a list of abbreviations and tables of all the cases, legislation and other primary sources cited in the work in the preliminary pages. ... Lots of activities to help you understand OSCOLA. Citing and Referencing for Law (Library, City University of London) Online ...
Citing and Referencing using OSCOLA. Take the online OSCOLA tutorial before booking an appointment with the Subject Librarian for Law. After you have taken the tutorial, the Subject Librarian can help you if you need further guidance, including: An overview of how to use OSCOLA. Examples of how to cite particular sources.
OSCOLA Quick Reference Guide Primary Sources Do not use full stops in abbreviations. Separate citations with a semi-colon. Cases Give the party names, followed by the neutral citation, followed by the Law Reports citation (eg AC, Ch, QB). If there is no neutral citation, give the Law Reports citation followed by the court in brackets. If
Bibliography. 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 Oxford Standard for the Citation of Legal Authorities (OSCOLA), created by the Oxford University, is a footnote referencing style mainly used to cite British legal information and publications. This style is often used to cite references when studying law in HKU. This page includes some general principles and examples of citing commonly ...
If it is not possible to find the original source, reference the source that you have not personally read first by adding a "Quoted in" at the beginning; then in brackets put 'as cited in' and cite the secondary source that you have read including the page number. Example. 4 Quoted in WL Clay, The Prison Chaplain, A Memoir of the Reverend ...
OSCOLA Citation Style Guide (4th ed.) The OSCOLA citation style is a footnote-based format, similar to the Chicago style. However, it is notable for its range of variation, like the Harvard style, and its use of the entire reference as a footnote with the page added at the end. As such, while the citations themselves are not hard, it is easy to ...
OSCOLA Citation Generator >. Cite a Dissertation. Citation Machine® helps students and professionals properly credit the information that they use. Cite sources in APA, MLA, Chicago, Turabian, and Harvard for free.
The first time a source is mentioned, you must give the citation in full. In subsequent citations, briefly identify the source, and give the footnote number where the full citation can be found. See the example in the Subsequent citation of a case box below. See the boxes below for examples of subsequent citations for a case, a piece of ...
Working papers. A working paper is a document, still in the process of preparation, which has been publicly circulated in order to encourage debate and discussion. Reseach papers are an example of working papers. Working papers may be available online on institution websites and on sites such as the Social Science Research Network (www.ssrn.com).