LibGuides: Law: OSCOLA Referencing

OSCOLA

OSCOLA (Oxford Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities) is the preferred referencing style for legal writing in the UK. It provides a standardised format for citing various legal sources, ensuring clarity, consistency, and accuracy in academic and professional legal documents.

Key features of OSCOLA referencing include:

Footnotes: Citations are primarily placed in footnotes, indicated by superscript numbers in the text.
Full Citation in First Reference: The first time a source is cited, a full citation is provided in the footnote. Subsequent references can be abbreviated.
Specific Formatting: OSCOLA has specific rules for citing cases, legislation, books, journal articles, and other legal sources.
Minimal Punctuation: Unlike other referencing styles like Harvard, OSCOLA uses minimal punctation.

Why OSCOLA is Important for Law Students:

Academic Integrity: Proper citation ensures that you give credit to the original authors and avoid plagiarism.
Professionalism: Using OSCOLA demonstrates your understanding of legal conventions and enhances the credibility of your work.
Clarity and Consistency: OSCOLA's standardised format makes it easier for readers to locate and verify your sources.

Resources for Learning OSCOLA:

The Oxford Guide to Legal Citation (4th edition): This is the official guide to OSCOLA referencing and provides detailed instructions and examples for citing various sources. It is free to download here.
Cite Them Right: Cite Them Right contains guidance and support for OSCOLA referencing.
Reference Management Software: Consider using referencing software like Endnote, Zotero or Mendeley, which can help you format your citations correctly and manage your references. There is a library guide available on these tools here.

Footnotes:

In the first footnote where the case name, article or book appears, write the citation/reference out in full. In subsequent footnotes, you can work as follows:
Example (First reference to case in footnote):
- 1. Miller v Jackson [1977] QB 966 (CA).
Example (Where the next footnote refers to the same case as the preceding one):
- 2. ibid.
Example (Where a later footnote refers to a case cited in an earlier footnote):
- Miller v Jackson (n1).
The OSCOLA system avoids some of the Latin phrases which deal with locations of references within text, but it does still use ibid. which is short for ibidem and means 'in the same place'.

Quotes:

Long quotes: Introduce your quote, follow with a colon and then indent the quote, using quotation marks.
Example: In the case of Miller v Jackson¹ Lord Denning MR said:

'In summertime village cricket is the delight of everyone. Nearly every village has its own cricket field where the young men play and the old men watch. In the village of Lintz in County Durham they have their own ground, where they have played these last 70 years. They tend it well. The wicket areas well rolled and mown.'²

Short quotes (three lines or fewer): Incorporate these into the body of text which you are writing with single inverted commas (quotation marks).
Example: The Chief Justice explained that this power 'is not limited to defence against aggression from a foreign nation'³.

Starting a quote mid-sentence: Insert three dots ... before the quote. This is known as an ellipsis.
Example: When talking about cricket Lord Denning MR expressed the view that '...young men play and old men watch'.⁴

___________________________________________________

¹[1977] QB 966 (CA).

²ibid., 976.

³Brian Bix, ‘Jurisprudence: Theory and Context’ (5th edn, Sweet & Maxwell 2009) 269.

⁴Miller v Jackson (n2).

Cases:

Case Name: Italicise the case name with an unpunctuated 'v' (e.g., Corr v IBC Vehicles Ltd). This is the name of the case, and it is always italicised.
Neutral Citation (if available): Include the year, court, and judgement number (e.g., [2008] UKHL 13). This is a unique identifier assigned to the case by the court. Neutral citations are sometimes used in particular when a case is unreported.
Law Report Citation: Include the year (in square brackets if it identifies the volume, otherwise in round brackets), volume number (if applicable), report abbreviation, and first page (e.g., [2008] 1 AC 884). This indicates where the case can be found in a published law report.
Page Numbers:
Example (Footnote):
1. Corr v IBC Vehicles Ltd [2008] UKHL 13, [2008] 1 AC 884
Example (Table of Cases):
- Corr v IBC Vehicles Ltd [2008] UKHL 13, [2008] 1 AC 884

Judges' Names:

When writing the names of Judges, write the Judge's surname followed by the abbrevation of their office.

Example: Write Tuckey LJ rather than Lord Justice Tuckey or Blackburn J rather than Mr Justice Blackburn or (even worse) Justice Blackburn.

Judges of the House of Lords are called 'Lord' e.g. 'Lord Diplock'. Judges of the Supreme Court should be referred to as 'Lord Walker SCJ'.

Popular Names:

Some cases are known by a popular name which refers to the subject matter or to the parties. If so, you can put this in brackets after you have used the full title on the first occasion you mention it and then use the popular name thereafter:

Example: Panayiotou v Sony Music Entertainment (UK) Ltd [1994] All ER 755 (George Michael case)

Legislation:

Statutes: Give the short title and year, with major words capitalised (e.g., Human Rights Act 1998). This is the official name of the Act and the year it was enacted. Your footnote should make reference to the specific section you are referring to; the entry in your Table of Legislation can just reference the overall Act.
Example (Footnote):
1. Human Rights Act 1998, s 15(1)(b)
Example (Table of Legislation):
- Human Rights Act 1998

Statutory Instruments: Use the name of the statutory instrument, the year, and the SI serial number. Use the full form of the statutory instrument on the first occasion that you use it in a footnote, but you can then abbreviate it in further footnotes. To refer to a particular section, use 'art' and the number.
Example (Footnote):
1. Penalties for Disorderly Behaviour (Amendment of Minimum Age) Order 2004, SI 2004/3166
Example (Subsequent Footnote):
1. Penalties for Disorderly Behaviour Order 2004, art 3.
Example (Table of Legislation):
- Penalties for Disorderly Behaviour (Amendment of Minimum Age) Order 2004, SI 2004/3166

Bills before Parliament: A Bill should be cited by its title, the House in which it started, the Parliamentary session in brackets and the running number given to it. Note that the running number of the Bill is in square brackets for the House of Commons, but without brackets for the House of Lords.
Example (House of Commons Bill):
- Holocaust (Return of Cultural Objects) HC Bill (2008-09) [35]
Example (House of Lords Bill):
- Live Music Bill HL Bill (2008-09) 66

Treaties:

Title: Give the full title of the treaty, including any amendments. This is the official name of the treaty.
Year: Include the year of publication. This is the year the treaty was published in the Official Journal.
OJ Reference (if applicable): For EU treaties, include the OJ series, issue, and page numbers (e.g., Consolidated Version of the Treaty on European Union [2008] OJ C115/13). This indicates where the treaty can be found in the Official Journal of the European Union.
Example (Footnote):
1. Consolidated Version of the Treaty on European Union [2008] OJ C115/13

EU Legislation:

Title: Give the full title of the legislation, including any amendments.
Year: Include the year of publication. This is the year the treaty was published in the Official Journal.
OJ Reference (if applicable): Include the OJ series, issue, and page numbers (e.g., Consolidated Version of the Treaty Establishing the European Community [2002] OJ C325/33). This indicates where the treaty can be found in the Official Journal of the European Union.
Example (Footnote):
1. Consolidated Version of the Treaty Establishing the European Community [2002] OJ C325/33

The general format for citing books is as follows:

Author: Last name followed by initial(s) (e.g., Endicott, T).
Title: Italicize the title (e.g., Administrative Law).
Publication Information: Include edition (if not the first), publisher, and year (e.g., (OUP 2009)). This information helps the reader locate the book.
Page Number/s: When referencing a specific page, add the page number at the end of the footnote reference, followed by a full stop.
Example (Footnote):
1. Timothy Endicott, Administrative Law (OUP 2009) 72.
Example (Bibliography):
- Endicott T, Administrative Law (OUP 2009)

Different Editions of Books:

If you are citing an edition other than the first, indicate this using the form '2nd edn' (or 'rev edn' for a revised edition).

Example: Gareth Jones, Goff and Jones: The Law of Restitution (1st supp, 7th edn, Sweet & Maxwell 2009)

Chapters in Books:

When citing a chapter or essay in an edited book, cite the author and the title of the contribution, followed by the editor's name, the title of the book in italics, and the publication information.

Example: Justine Pila, 'The Value of Authorship in the Digital Environment' in William H Dutton and Paul W Jeffreys (eds), World Wide Research: Reshaping the Sciences and Humanities in the Century of Information (MIT Press 2010)

Edited Books:

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.

Example: Jeremy Horder (ed), Oxford Essays in Jurisprudence: Fourth Series (OUP 2000)

The general format for citing journal articles is as follows:

Author: Last name followed by initial(s) (e.g., Craig, P).
Title: In single quotation marks (e.g., 'Theory, "Pure Theory" and Values in Public Law').
Publication Information: Include year (in square brackets if it identifies the volume, in round brackets if there is a separate volume number), volume number, journal name or abbreviation, and first page (e.g., [2005] PL 440).
Page Number/s: When referencing a specific page, add the page number at the end of the footnote reference, preceded by a comma.
Example (Footnote):
1. Paul Craig, 'Theory, "Pure Theory" and Values in Public Law' [2005] PL 440, 4
Example (Bibliography):
- Craig P, 'Theory, "Pure Theory" and Values in Public Law' [2005] PL 440

Journal abbreviations are not italicised. If you are unsure what the correct abbreviation is for a journal, consult the Cardiff Index of Legal Abbreviations.

Websites

Author (if available): Last name followed by initial(s). If no author is identified, begin the citation with the title.
Title of Page: In single quotation marks.
Website Name: In brackets, with date.
Date of Publication (if available):
URL: In angled brackets (e.g., <https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/oscola>).
Date Accessed: (e.g., accessed 1 June 2024). This is important as website content can change.
Example (Footnote):
1. Sarah Cole, 'Virtual Friend Fires Employee' (Naked Law, 1 May 2009) <www.nakedlaw.com/2009/05/index.html> accessed 19 November 2009.
Example (Bibliography):
1. Cole S, 'Virtual Friend Fires Employee' (Naked Law, 1 May 2009) <www.nakedlaw.com/2009/05/index.html> accessed 19 November 2009

If there is a organisation as author, instead of an invididual (e.g. Legal Aid Agency), the footnote and the bibliography will be identical, save the full stop at the end of the footnote.

Strictly, OSCOLA refers to a bibliography of secondary sources only. However, unless an exception is made by your tutor, your work should include a bibliography of all primary and secondary sources that you have used in your work, in the following order:

Cases (cases in your bibliography should not be italicised)
Legislation
Secondary sources

All parts of your bibliography within these categories should be in alphabetical order.

An example of an OSCOLA-formatted bibliography, with tables of cases and legislation, is available to download below.

OSCOLA bibliography example