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General guidelines
Under the OSCOLA guidelines, each authority should be cited in a consistent, uniform manner. The different categories of sources are
cited in different formats. Before examples are given, some general rules should be mentioned:
The footnote should appear after the relevant punctuation in the text, unless for clarity it is necessary to put it directly following
the word or phrase
If the cited phrase/idea is inside brackets, the footnote should be before the closing bracket
Punctuation in citations are minimal, for example, UKHL rather than U.K.H.L.
Footnotes should be closed with a full stop
Titles of books and case names are to be italicised
Semi-colons may be used to separate a reference to two different sources in a footnote
Quotations longer than three lines should be presented within an indented paragraph with no quotation marks
Initial citation: John Roberts, Understanding the Law. (Oxford University Press 1990)
If the subsequent citation is directly following the previous citation, you may use ibid.
Initial citation: John Roberts, Understanding the Law. (Oxford University Press 1990)
You can insert a page number following the cross-reference or ibid to cite a different page of the same authority.
Footnotes example
In the text:
'Criminalising a broad range of marginally acceptable business conduct trivialises the criminal sanction and breeds contempt for it,
at least among rational actors, which most white collar offenders are.23
In the footnote:
23 Michael E Tigar, 'It Does the Crime But Not the Time: Corporate Criminal Liability in Federal Law' (1990) Am. J. Crim. L. 17,211
Table of legislation
Table of cases
Bibliography of secondary sources
Table of legislation
The table of legislation should include all treaties, conventions, legislation and statutory instruments cited. These should be ordered in
alphabetical order by the first significant word of the title. You may choose to separate the legislation by jurisdiction.
Table of cases
The table of cases should include any cases cited in the work. These should be listed in alphabetical order of the first significant word.
You may choose to separate the cases by jurisdiction.
Bibliography
The bibliography should include all secondary sources cited in the work in alphabetical order.
The referencing in the bibliography for all sources will be identical to the referencing in the footnotes, aside from one minor difference
in the formatting of the authors name.
Primary sources
UK Cases
When referencing a case as authority, you must give the full name of the case along with its neutral citation. Case name should always
be in italics both in-text and in the footnotes, but not in the bibliography
If you have actually said the full name of the case in the text, only the subsequent information is required in the footnote. For the above
examples, the footnote would only read
[1971] 2 QB 691
If you are referencing an exact paragraph/passage of the judgement, a pinpoint reference to the relevant part in the judgment should
follow the citation.
UK Legislation
Legislation should be cited using its short title and year.
To reference a specific section of the legislation, insert a comma with the section following.
UK Statutory Instruments
Statutory instruments require the name, year and the SI number.
EU Cases
Case number | case name |[year]| report abbreviation | first page
Case 26/62 Van Gen den Loos v Nederlandse Administratie Der Belastingen [1963] ECR 1
EU Legislation
Treaties and protocols
<Legislation Title> | [year] | <OJ series> | <issue/first page
Council Directive 2000/78/EC of 27 November 2000 establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and
occupation
Secondary sources
Books with one author
Author, | title | (edition, | publisher, | year)
Robert Stewart, Land Law, (3rd edition, Oxford University Press, 2013)
Roger Sexton and Barbara Bogusz, Land Law, (Oxford University Press, 2010)
Stephen Mayson, Derek French and Christopher Ryan, Mayson, French & Ryan on Company Law (18th edition, Blackstone 2001)
Harry Root and others, Management and Ethics (5th edition, Blackwells, 2002)
Articles
Author, | 'title' | [year] | volume | journal name or abbreviation | first page of article
Matthew Gibson, 'Getting their "act" together? Implementing statutory reform of offences against the person' [2016] 9 Crim LR 597
Ian Dawson, 'Corporate rescue by the upright rescuer – a trap for the unwary' [2016] 29(6) Insolvency Intelligence 81
Marilyn Stowe, 'Divorce petitions: then and now' (Marilyn Stowe, August 1 2016)
http://www.marilynstowe.co.uk/2016/08/01/divorce-petitions-then-and-now/ accessed 3 August 2016
'Europe rights official urges Turkey to heed rule of law' (BBC, 3 August 2016) < http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-
36964857> accessed 3 August 2016
- Robert Simmons, 'Protests held in Australia over the abuse of animals in Zoos' The Guardian (London, 4 November 2011) 22
- Sarah Boseley, 'PrEP HIV drugs: fight for limited NHS funds takes unedifying turn' The Guardian (London, 3 August 2016)
<https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/aug/03/prep-hiv-drugs-fight-for-limited-nhs-funds-takes-unedifying-turn>
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