These pages will show you how to:
Part two will show you how to refer to ‘secondary’ sources such as books, journals and government reports in your work
Being able to accurately cite the source you have used in your work is an important academic skill.
Including citations in your work:
Whenever you paraphrase or quote a source or use the ideas of another person, you need to cite.
Number your footnotes continuously through your document, starting at 1. Here's how to use word to create footnotes.
Have a look at the example of a correctly referenced piece of text on the next page, then look at the tips at the foot of the page for more information.
Barlow and James23 describe the treatment of opposite-sex cohabitants by the law as'schizophrenic' , sometimes treating them as if they were married and sometimes treating it as an inferior form of relationship. They note, for example, that under the Administration of Estates Act 1925, s 46 only a spouse will automatically inherit all or some of their spouse's estate where their husband or wife dies without making a will. Although the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, has in recent years been amended24 to give cohabitants of at least two years the right to make a claim in a similar situation, this is limited to financial provision for maintenance only.25 Barlow and James therefore suggest that 'the law applicable in the event of the death of a cohabitant is confused and contradictory'.26
23 A Barlow and G James, 'Regulating Marriage and Cohabitation in 21st Century Britain' (2004) 67 MLR 143, 147.
24 S 1(1)(a) and (ba) as substituted by the Civil Partnership Act 2004, s 71 and Sch 4 Pt 2 para 15(1) and (2).
25 Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, s 2.
26 Barlow and James (n 23) 151.
Cite UK cases like this:
All judgments in the High Court and above are now assigned a unique neutral citation by the court which helps identify cases which have been published on the internet even when they have not been reported in a law report series. For example:
Add the neutral citation immediately after the names of the parties and before the law report citation (if there is one). There is no need to note the court as this is indicated in the neutral citation.
Tip: Use round brackets if the year is not needed to identify the correct volume, for example (2003) 167 JP 621. If in doubt which to use, hide the date with your finger and ask yourself whether you could still find the report in the library. If you can, then use round brackets; if not, use square brackets. |
Judgments may be reported by any number of law reports. Some series are regarded as more authoritative than others. The Law Reports series is seen as the most authoritative as the text is approved by the judge involved before publication. You only need to cite the most authoritative series in which the case was reported.
Which one of the following citations should you use when citing Sheldrake v DPP [2004] UKHL 43? The answer is at the foot of the page.
Hint: Always cite the most authoritative series which has reported the case. Here is the commonly recognised order of authority:
All journal and newspaper reports are summaries, so should only be cited if the decision is not available in a full text report.
The correct answer is [2005] 1 AC 264. The report in Appeal Cases, part of The Law Reports series, is the most authoritative as the report has been approved by the judge before publication. QB, Ch and Fam are also part of this most authoritative series.
Cite an EU case using the prefix ('Case C-' for the ECJ or 'Case T-' for the GC), case registration number then the name of the case in italics followed by the report citation. Example:
When citing an opinion of an Advocate General, add a comma and the words 'Opinion of AG [name]' after the case citation. Example:
Tips
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Where possible, refer to the official reports, the Reports of Judgments and Decisions (ECHR) or the European Human Rights Reports (EHRR).
Cite a case in your work by the party names, year published, volume, law report abbreviation and the page number.
Example: Omojudi v UK (2010) 51 EHRR 10
Tips
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Hints on how to reference the highlighted text are given in the bulleted list below.
The decision in Mullin v Richards 14 confirmed in English law the test of the standard of care required of child defendants, following the Australian case of McHale v Watson.15 The defendant in Mullin was a child aged 15 and Hutchison LJ said that in determining whether she had been negligent the question ... is not whether the actions of the defendant were such as an ordinarily prudent and reasonable adult in the defendant's situation would have realised gave rise to a risk of injury, it is whether an ordinarily prudent and reasonable 15-year-old schoolgirl in the defendant's situation would have realised as much.16
14 Mullin v Richards [1998] 1 WLR 1304 (CA).
15 McHale v Watson (1966) 115 CLR 199.
16 Mullin (n 14) 1308.
Cite an Act by its short title and date. To refer to a particular element of the Act use s or ss (section or sections), Pt (Part) or Sch and para (Schedule and paragraph within a schedule).
Cite a SI by its name, date and serial number. To pinpoint, or refer to a particular section of the document, use art or arts (for example within an Order), reg or regs (within Regulations) or r or rr within Rules.
Tip: When referring to an Act or SI, cite the name of the legislation (including the year) in the text. Do not create a footnote for legislation that has been cited in your text. |
Bills
Cite a Parliamentary Bill by its name, whether it is a House of Commons Bill (HC Bill) or from the House of Lords (HL Bill), the Parliamentary session and the running number assigned to the Bill. House of Commons Bills are numbered within square brackets. To pinpoint a clause in the Bill, use cl and cls.
Measures of the National Assembly for Wales, the primary legislation made by the Assembly between 2006-2011, are cited by short title followed by the year then the National Assembly for Wales (nawn) number in round brackets. If writing in Welsh, use the Welsh title of the measure and the abbreviation mccc.
Example: Red Meat Industry (Wales) Measure 2010 (nawm 3)
Statutory Instruments are cited by title, year then SI number followed by a Welsh SI number, prefixed by W (or Cy if writing in Welsh) in round brackets.
Example: The Tuberculosis (Wales) Order 2011, SI 2011/692 (W 104)
Acts of the Scottish Parliament are cited by short title followed by the year then 'asp' (Act of the Scottish Parliament) and the running number in round brackets.
Example: Crofting Reform etc Act 2007 (asp 7)
Bills before the Scottish Parliament are cited by Scottish Parliament Bill number and title, followed by the printing in square brackets, the session and then the year in round brackets. Amended versions of a Bill are identified by the use of an alphabetical suffix.
Example:
Statutory Instruments are cited by title, year followed by the Scottish Statutory Instrument year and number.
Example: The Food Additives (Scotland) Regulations 2009, SSI 2009/436
Acts of the Northern Ireland Assembly, which was established in 1998, are cited by the short title followed by 'Northern Ireland' in round brackets and then the year.
Example: Employment Act (Northern Ireland) 2010
Acts of the former Parliament of Northern Ireland (1921-1972) are cited by the short title followed by 'NI' in round brackets and then the year.
Example: Charities Act (NI) 1964
Orders in Council for Northern Ireland are cited by title followed by 'NI' in round brackets and then the year.
Example: Criminal Justice (NI) Order 2008
Statutory Rules are cited by title, year then the Statutory Rule year and number.
Example: The Flavourings in Food Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010, SR 2010/414
Primary legislation from the EU comes in the form of treaties. When citing EU treaties give the title of the treaty followed by the year of publication, the Official Journal series and the issue and page numbers.
Example:
Secondary legislation from the EU comes in a variety of forms including Regulations, Directives and Decisions. When citing EU legislation for the first time, note the Legislation type, its number and title, then publication details from the Official Journal (OJ) of the European Union. The OJ citation is given in the order: [year] OJ series Number/Page.
Example:
In subsequent footnotes a short form of the legislation title may be used, provided warning is given in brackets in the initial footnote.
Example:
This concludes our section on OSCOLA referencing for legislation and reports. Part two shows you how to cite other published and online material.
You can speed up the process by using the Word shortcut instead, pressing the Ctrl, Alt and F keys together.
To delete a footnote completely, delete its footnote marker in the text.
OSCOLA footnotes can also be created in Word using EndNote or other reference management software.