Referencing

Handbook
OSCOLA
 Referencing Handbook: OSCOLA

OSCOLA referencing at a glance

Primary Sources Secondary Sources
When referring to cases, the party names should be in italics When listing secondary sources with a personal author in
in the footnote only. your bibliography, you need to reverse the author(s) name
so that the surname appears first followed by their initial(s),
Cases e.g. Stone R.
Party names (in italics) followed by the neutral citation (if
applicable) a comma, the Law Report citation and a full stop. Books
Richard Stone, The Modern Law of Contract Law (10th edn,
Corr v IBC Vehicles Ltd [2008] UKHL 13, [2008] 1 AC 884. Routledge 2013).

When referring to a particular paragraph, put it in square Chapter in an edited book

brackets at the end of the citation. If the judgment does not Francis Rose, The Evolution of the Species in Andrew
have paragraph numbers, give the page number. Burrows and Alan Rodger (eds), Mapping the Law: Essays in
Memory of Peter Birks (OUP 2006).
Bunt v Tilley [2006] EWHC 407 (QB), [2006] 3 All ER 336
[15]. Command paper
Department for International Development, Eliminating World
R v Leeds County Court, ex p Morris [1990] QB 523 (QB) Poverty: Building our Common Future (White Paper, Cm
530-31. 7656, 2009).

Statutes and Statutory Instruments Encyclopaedias

Children and Families Act 2014. Halsburys Laws (5th edn, 2010) vol 57.

When referring to a particular section, put s followed by the When referring to a particular paragraph, put para(s) at the
section/subsection/paragraph: end of the reference, followed by the relevant number(s):

Human Rights Act, s 15(1)(b). Halsburys Laws (5th edn, 2013) vol 23, para 859.

Penalties for Disorderly Behaviour (Amendment of Minimum Journal articles

Age) Order 2004, SI 2004/3166. JAG Griffith, The Common Law and the Political
Constitution (2001) 117 LQR 42.
EU legislation and cases
Consolidated version of the Treaty on European Union When referring to a particular page, put a comma between
[2012] OJ C326/13. the first page of the article and the page that you are
referring to:
Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 on Quality Schemes for
Agricultural Products and Foodstuffs [2012] OJ L343/1. Julia Powles, Replacement of Parts and Patent
Infringement (2013) 72(3) CLJ 518, 520.
Case 85/13 European Commission v Italian Republic [2014]
OJ C175/11. Law Commission reports
When referring to a particular paragraph, put para(s) at the
When referring to a particular paragraph, put para(s) at the end of the reference, followed by the relevant number(s):
end of the reference, followed by the relevant number(s):
Law Commission, Data Sharing Between Public Bodies: A
Case 176/03 Commission v Council [2005] ECR I-7879, Scoping Report (Law Com No 351, 2014) paras 1.81-1.85.
paras 47-48.
Newspaper articles
European Court of Human Rights Richard Norton-Taylor, MOD Breached Rights Laws with
Johnston v Ireland (1986) Series A 122. Detention of Afghans The Guardian (London, 3 May 2014)
12.
Shindler v United Kingdom [2013] ECHR 19840/09.
Websites
McShane v United Kingdom (2002) 35 EHRR 23. Gary Slapper, Weird Cases: Sexual Services in the Library
(The Times: Law, 30 June 2014) <http://www.thetimes.
co.uk/tto/law/weirdcases/article4128971.ece> accessed 19
July 2014.

ISBN 978-1-86050-251-4 / Revised and Updated

 OSCOLA referencing

Dear all,

Referencing and creating a bibliography are key skills in academic writing. They provide the
principal means by which we prove where we have obtained our sources, to identify what primary
and secondary materials our work builds upon and how we have developed our own argument by
reflecting on, and referring to, the ideas and words of others. Clear referencing is essential to the
persuasive communication of legal ideas and arguments.

Lincoln Law School has worked with our colleagues in the University Library to develop this
handbook to guide law students on the approach to referencing, which we adopt - the so-called
OSCOLA Referencing Handbook.

You may be tempted to think of referencing as a secondary or after-thought after the essay itself
has been written. Please dont! Referencing and creating a bibliography are fundamental features
of any essay, and though mastering the style contained in this handbook may take practice, the
effort I can assure you is worth it.

Best wishes

Professor Duncan French

Head of Lincoln Law School

OSCOLA referencing

3
 Referencing Handbook: OSCOLA

Contents
OSCOLA referencing at a glance 2

Introduction 6

OSCOLA referencing 6

Footnotes 6

Repeating references in your footnotes 8

Table of Cases, Table of Legislation and Bibliography 9

Secondary referencing 11

Quoting, paraphrasing and summarising 11

Plagiarism 12

Help with referencing 12

OSCOLA referencing

4
 Contents

Information Sources
1 Cases 12 7 Correspondence 45
7.1 Email
2 UK primary and secondary 15
legislation 7.2 Letter

2.1 Statutes 8 Conference papers 47

2.2 Bills
9 Interviews 48
2.3 Statutory Instruments
9.1 Broadcast
3 European Union 19 9.2 Personal
3.1 EU legislation
10 Journal articles 50
3.2 Judgments -
European Court of Justice 10.1 Print articles
and Court of First Instance 10.2 Online articles
3.3 Opinions 10.3 Case notes/comments
3.4 Unreported cases 10.4 Yearbooks
3.5 Official documents
11 Newspaper articles 55
3.5 Official documents
12 Official publications 56
4 European Court of Human Rights 25
12.1 Command papers
4.1 European Commission
on Human Rights 12.2 Hansard and Parliamentary reports
12.3 Law Commission reports
5 International legal sources 28
5.1 Treaties 13 Social media 61
5.2 Cases and decisions 13.1 Blogs
5.3 International Organisations 13.2 Facebook
5.3.1 United Nations 13.3 Video sharing websites
5.3.1.1 General Assembly Resolutions 13.4 Twitter
5.3.1.2 Security Council Resolutions 13.5 Podcasts, vidcasts, vodcasts
5.3.2 Council of Europe
14 Theses, dissertations 66
5.3.3 World Trade Organization
5.4 Non-governmental reports 15 Verbal communications 67
15.1 Lecture, seminar
Secondary Sources 15.2 Speech

6 Books 38 16 Websites 69
6.1 Book with a single author 16.1 Personal author
6.2 Book with two authors 16.2 Corporate author
6.3 Book with three authors
6.4 Book with more than three authors
6.5 Edited book
6.6 Chapter in an edited book
6.7 Loose-leaf publication
Contents

6.8 Encyclopaedia
6.9 Ebook

5
 Referencing Handbook: OSCOLA

Introduction
You need to reference to:

demonstrate that you have undertaken research for your academic work

avoid accusations of plagiarism

acknowledge the work of other authors, which can be found in books, journal
articles,websites, etc.

There are many systems of referencing available. This guide is based on the Oxford University
Standard for the Citation of Legal Authorities (OSCOLA) which, in line with the Creative Commons
Attribution-Non Commercial license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/uk/), has
been adapted and approved by the Law School at the University of Lincoln.

The quickest and easiest way to reference your academic work is to record the necessary
information at the time of using it. The key to good referencing is to be consistent.

OSCOLA referencing
OSCOLA follows the footnote style of referencing and consists of two parts:

1. Footnotes

2. Table of Cases, Table of Legislation and Bibliography

Each information source in this handbook has an example of a footnote, how the information
should be presented in either a table of cases/legislation or bibliography as well as a checklist
outlining what information to include in your reference.

1. Footnotes
All ideas taken from the work of another author (whether directly quoted or put into your own
words) need to be identified in a footnote located at the bottom of the relevant page of your
assignment. Place a superscript number either directly after the word or phrase to which it is
related or at the end of a sentence (after the relevant punctuation).

The information that you include in your footnote depends on the source.

The following is an extract from an assignment showing the use of footnotes when referring to
cases:

The general principle that acceptance of an offer must be communicated to the offeror
can be seen in the cases of Holwell Securities LTD v Hughes1 and Entores LTD v Miles
Far East Corporation.2

1 [1974] 1 WLR 155, [1974] 1 ALL ER 161, CA.

OSCOLA referencing

2 [1955] 2 QB 327.

6
 OSCOLA referencing

Guidelines on how to construct your footnotes:

Close all footnotes with a full stop
When citing more than one source, you can combine them in one footnote, separated by a
semi-colon e.g. 3Williams Howarth, The Meaning of Objectivity in Contract (1984) 100 LQR
20; Bruce McLintock, Objectivity in Contract (1998-91) 6 Auckland U L Rev 317.
Your footnote should not include information about how you accessed the source e.g.
Westlaw, LexisLibrary, etc.
Cases
Case names should be in italics
If you include the name of a case within your text you only need to give the case citation in
your footnote e.g. [1974] 1 WLR 155
Full stops are not required in the abbreviation of a law report; however, if you choose to
include them, be consistent and use them throughout your assignment
Acts
If you include the name of an Act and relevant section within the text of your assignment you
do not need to reference it in a footnote
Page/paragraph
Where relevant, include the page/paragraph number pinpointing the exact location of the
reference
Author/editor
In the footnote the standard form for the authors name is their first name followed by their
surname
List the authors in the order they are given in the source of information
The names of editors should be followed by (ed) for a single author or (eds) where there is
more than one
If the source has two authors put and between their names. If there are three or more
authors you should separate each author with a comma apart from the last name which
should be preceded by and e.g.
Geoffrey Woodroffe and Robert Lowe,
Mark Sutherland Williams, Michael Hopmeier and Rupert Jones
Title
Capitalise all major words in the title of all sources
Law reports and journal titles should be abbreviated. If you are unsure what the
abbreviation is, use the Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations: http://www.legalabbrevs.cardiff.
ac.uk
If it is not available in the Index, give the full title
OSCOLA referencing

Full stops are not required in the abbreviation of a journal title; however, if you choose to
include them, be consistent and use them throughout your assignment
Edition
Abbreviate edition to edn

7
 Referencing Handbook: OSCOLA

Repeating references in your footnotes

If you refer to the same source several times in your work, follow the guidelines below:
The first time you refer to it, provide the full citation of the source in a footnote

If you refer to the same source immediately after the footnote (with the full citation) you
should use ibid followed by the page/paragraph number (if relevant) e.g.

In the case of Entores LTD v Miles Far East Corporation,1 Lord Justice Denning discusses
how the rule about instantaneous communications between the parties is different from the
rule about the post.2
1
[1955] 2 QB 327.
2
ibid 333.

When referring to a particular paragraph (rather than page) you should provide this
information in square brackets, e.g. 3 ibid [34].
If you refer to the same source later on within your assignment, in the footnote:
1. Put a shortened form of the source (case, Act, book, website, etc.) name, e.g.
Entores - one party name for a case
HRA 1998 - abbreviation of an Act
Elliott - surname of the author

2. In round brackets put n followed by the number where the full reference was last
given, e.g. 5Entores (n 1).
This tells the reader that the full reference of the Entores case can be found in
footnote 1.
OSCOLA referencing

8
 OSCOLA referencing

2. Table of Cases, Table of Legislation and Bibliography

At the end of your academic work you should provide a list of all the references you have cited
in your footnotes. Primary sources (cases and legislation) should be listed first in a Table of
Cases and a Table of Legislation. Secondary sources (books, journals, etc.) should be listed in a
Bibliography immediately after the Tables.

The information you provide in your Table of Cases, Table of Legislation and Bibliography is
often the same, or similar to that in your footnotes. When compiling your Table of Cases, Table
of Legislation and Bibliography you will find that there are occasions when you will need to make
alterations to the information you have provided in your footnote (see individual sources for more
information).

Guidelines on how to construct your table of cases, table of legislation and bibliography:

Table of Cases

Cases should be listed by jurisdiction; unless there are very few cases. If you do separate your
cases by jurisdiction you should only have one Table of Cases but it should be divided into
separate sections.
Case names should not be italicised (which is the opposite to how they appear in
your footnote)
List all cases in alphabetical order of first significant party name

Re Boyes (Deceased) would be listed as Boyes (Deceased), Re

EU cases can be listed in either

Alphabetical order of party name (with the case reference in round brackets
after the name) e.g.

European Commission v Italian Republic (Case C-85/13) [2014] OJ C175/11.

Internationale Handelsgesellschaft mbH v Einfuhr-und Vorratsstelle fr Getreide

und Futtermittel (Case 11/70) ECR 1125.

Marshall v Southampton and South-West Hampshire Area Health Authority

(Teaching) (Case 152/84) [1985] ECR 723, Opinion of Advocate General Slynn.

OR
Chronological order by the year, starting with the oldest first, e.g.

Case 11/70 Internationale Handelsgesellschaft mbH v Einfuhr-und Vorratsstelle

fr Getreide und Futtermittel [1970] ECR 1125.

Case 152/84 Marshall v Southampton and South-West Hampshire Area Health

Authority (Teaching) [1985] ECR 723, Opinion of Advocate General Slynn.
OSCOLA referencing

Case C-85/13 European Commission v Italian Republic [2014] OJ C175/11.

Cases identifying parties by initial only should be listed under the initial
Re P (A Child) would be listed as P (A Child), Re

9
 Referencing Handbook: OSCOLA

Table of Legislation

The Table of Legislation is located after your Table of Cases and should be divided by
jurisdiction; with sub headings identifying the different jurisdiction and type of document, e.g.
International Treaties and Conventions, UN Documents, etc.
List all statutes in alphabetical order of first significant word of the title
Do not include section/subsection/para, etc. information in your Table of Legislation

Statutory Instruments should be listed separately, under a Statutory Instrument heading

and in alphabetical order, directly after the list of statutes

Bibliography
The Bibliography is placed at the end of your work (after the Table of Cases and Table of
Legislation) and contains all your secondary sources of information (books, journals, etc.).
Your bibliography should be divided into the following categories:
Books, Journal articles, Newspaper articles, Websites, etc.
Capitalise all major words in the title and subtitle of all sources
List all sources in alphabetical order of the authors surname, or corporate author

If you list more than one source by the same author, you should list the sources in date
order (starting with the oldest) and in alphabetical order of first major word of the title
within a single year. e.g.
Stone R, The Modern Law of Contract (10th edn, Routledge 2013).
Stone R, Text Cases and Materials on Contract Law (3rd edn, Routledge 2014).
Stone R, Textbook on Civil Liberties and Human Rights (10th edn, Oxford University
Press 2014).

Double-barrelled surnames should be listed under the initial of the first part of the
surname, e.g. Twigg-Fisher C would be located under T.
Names with prefixes, e.g. Grinne De Brca should be listed by the prefix, e.g.
De Brca G,

If no author is provided, list by the title of the publication

The following is an extract from a bibliography showing you how to lay out the different sources:

Books
Elliott C and Quinn F, English Legal System 2013/14 (14th edn, Pearson Education 2013).
Partington M, Introduction to the English Legal System (Oxford University Press 2013).
Slapper G, How the Law Works (2nd edn, Routledge 2011).

Journal articles
Allott A, Politics and the Judiciary - the Impact of the Human Rights Act on the English
OSCOLA referencing

Legal System (2000) 13(3) Com Jud J 43.

Malkani B, Human Rights Treaties in the English Legal System [2011] PL 554.
Slapper G, The Importance of Legislation in the English Legal System (2013) 68(Spr) SL
Rev 16.

Visit http://lncn.eu/fin9 for a full example.

10
 OSCOLA referencing

Secondary referencing (citing a source within another source)

If the information source that you are reading has summarised another authors work which you
would like to discuss or quote, it is best practice to try and locate and read the original work.
However, if this is not possible you need to treat it as a secondary reference. To do this, in your
footnote provide information about the original source followed by the words cited in and the
details of the source where you read it. In your bibliography, only list the source that you have
read, e.g.
Footnote
Takis Tridimas, The General Principles of EU Law (2nd edn, Oxford University Press 2007)
cited in Paul Craig and Grinne De Brca, EU Law: Text, Cases and Materials (5th edn,
Oxford University Press 2011).

Bibliography
Craig P and Brca De G, EU Law: Text, Cases and Materials (5th edn, Oxford University
Press 2011).

Quoting, paraphrasing and summarising

Quoting
Quoting is copying a short section of text, word for word, directly from an information source into
your work. Short quotations should be kept within the text and shown by using single quotation
marks at the beginning and end of the text, e.g.

The Chief Justice explained that this power is not limited to defence against aggression
from a foreign nation.15

The quotation is followed immediately with the superscript number for the footnote. Quotations
should be kept short; however, if you need to include a longer quotation in your work (usually
longer than three lines) it should be placed in a separate paragraph and indented. Introduce an
indented quotation with a colon; there is no need to include quotation marks for longer quotations
but leave a line space either side of the indented quotation, e.g.

Lord Hoffman reasoned as follows:

It seems to me logical to found liability for damages upon the intention of the parties
(objectively ascertained) because all contractual liability is voluntarily undertaken. It must
be in principle wrong to hold someone liable for risks for which people entering into
such a contract in their particular market, would not reasonably be considered to have
undertaken.17

It could be argued that Hoffman is ...

Paraphrasing
Paraphrasing is putting a section of text from an information source into your own words.
OSCOLA referencing

Although you are changing the words or phrasing from the original text, you are retaining and
fully communicating the original meaning. You should acknowledge the source even when
paraphrasing by providing a footnote.

11
 OSCOLA referencing

Summarising
Summarising is describing the main ideas/findings of an information source but without directly
quoting from it. You should acknowledge where you sourced the information by providing a
footnote.

Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the use of another authors ideas and words, either intentionally or unintentionally,
without acknowledging the source of the information. It is an academic offence and will be treated
seriously by the University (see University General Regulations).

You avoid plagiarism by referencing correctly.

Turnitin is text-matching software used by the University of Lincoln for students to submit their
work electronically via Blackboard. It identifies any part of your work which matches similar content
on the internet or in other students work. It helps students to improve their writing by ensuring that
all external sources are correctly cited, and it helps staff in the identification of potential plagiarism.
See http://submit.ac.uk for more details.

Help with referencing

subscribes to
The Library subscribes to referencing
referencing management
managementsoftware
softwarewhich
whichcan
canhelp
helpyou
youtotogather
gatherand
and
organise your
your references;
references;go gototohttp://library.lincoln.ac.uk forfor
http://library.lincoln.ac.uk more information.
more There
information. are also
There a a
are also
number of websites
websites offering
offering this
this service
service e.g.
e.g. Mendeley,
Mendeley, Zotero.
Zotero.

If you need help with

If with referencing,
referencing,ororhave
haveany
anyquestions,
questions,contact
contactyour
yourAcademic
AcademicSubject
Subject
Librarian: http://guides.library.lincoln.ac.uk/law
Librarian: http://guides.library.lincoln.ac.uk/law
OSCOLA referencing

OSCOLA referencing

12 11
 1 Information Sources
Information Sources 1
Cases
Cases
When referring to a case you should provide the case name, the neutral citation (if applicable) and
the law report citation.

A neutral citation consists of: A law report citation consists of:

Year in [square brackets] Year in (round) or [square brackets]*
Abbreviation of the court Volume number
Case number Abbreviation of law report series
Division (if applicable) First page

[2008] UKHL 13 [2008] 1 AC 884

*The year is in square brackets if this is the information you would have to use to find the case
in the Law Library: you would look for the Appeal Cases, then the year; followed by the volume
and then page number. If a law report citation has the year in round brackets it means that you
do not need to look for the year: you can find the report by the volume number and then the
page number.

Separate the neutral citation from the law report citation with a comma, e.g.

[2008] UKHL 13, [2008] 1 AC 884

If you include the case name within the main text of your work, you do not need to include it in
your footnote. Case names should be in italics in the main text of your work and the footnote
only, not the Table of Cases.

Your footnote and Table of Cases should not include information about how you accessed the
case, e.g. via Westlaw, LexisLibrary, etc.

Checklist:
Case name (in italics for the footnote only)
Neutral citation (if applicable) followed by a comma
Law report citation, followed by a full stop.
1 Cases
1 Cases

12 13
 1 1

Footnote
When referring to the case as a whole:

1. Case name (in italics for the footnote only) 2. Neutral citation (if applicable) followed by a comma

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp v Harris [2013] EWHC 159 (Ch),
[2014] Ch 41.

3. Law report citation, followed by a full stop

Table of Cases
When listing cases in your Table of Cases, the case name should not be in italics.

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp v Harris [2013] EWHC 159 (Ch), [2014] Ch 41.

Other footnote examples

When referring to a particular paragraph, place it in square brackets at the end of the footnote:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp v Harris [2013] EWHC 159 (Ch), [2014] Ch 41 [20].

When referring to more than one paragraph, separate the square brackets with a comma:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp v Harris [2013] EWHC 159 (Ch), [2014] Ch 41 [20], [23].

When referring to a range of paragraphs, separate the square brackets with a dash:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp v Harris [2013] EWHC 159 (Ch), [2014] Ch 41 [20]-[22].

When referring to a particular page, separate the page number with a comma:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp v Harris [2013] EWHC 159 (Ch), [2014] Ch 41, 47.

When referring to a specific judge, place the judges surname followed by the
conventional abbreviation (identifying their judicial office) in round brackets at the
end of the footnote:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp v Harris [2013] EWHC 159 (Ch). [2014] Ch 41 (Newey J).
1 Cases
1 Cases

14 13
 2 UK
UK primary and
primary and
Uk primary and secondary legislation
2
secondary legislation
secondary legislation
2.1 Statutes
When referring to Acts, give the short title and year, using capitals for the major words and without
a comma between the short title and year. If you include all the information (the name of an Act
and relevant section) within your text, you do not need to create a footnote.

If you are referring to a part/section/subsection/paragraph/subparagraph use the relevant

abbreviations:

part OR parts pt OR pts

section OR sections s OR ss
subsection OR sub-sections sub-s OR sub-ss
paragraph OR paragraphs para OR paras
subparagraph OR subparagraphs subpara OR subparas
schedule OR schedules sch OR schs
clause OR clauses cl OR cls

When referencing Acts you should always go to the original source (which can be accessed via the
Legislation tab on both LexisLibrary and Westlaw or at http://www.legislation.gov.uk) rather than a
statute book, e.g. Blackstones Statutes, Core Statutes, etc.

Your footnote and Table of Legislation should not include information about how you accessed the
Act, e.g. via Westlaw, LexisLibrary, etc.

Checklist:
Title of legislation including year
In the footnote only, if adding a section/subsection/part put a comma,
followed by the relevant abbreviation and number
2 UK primary and secondary legislation
2 UK primary and secondary legislation

Finish with a full stop.

14 15
 22 Referencing Handbook: OSCOLA UK primary and secondary legislation
2
Footnote
When referring to a paragraph or subsection within a section, use only the abbreviation for section:

1. Title of legislation including year, followed by a 2. Abbreviation for section, followed by a space, the section
comma ONLY if referring to a particular section number and subsection. Finish with a full stop

Children and Families Act 2014, s 37(1)(a).

Table of Legislation

Children and Families Act 2014.

Other footnote examples

When referring to the Act as a whole:

Children and Families Act 2014.

When referring to a particular section:

Children and Families Act 2014, s 37.

When referring to a paragraph from the explanatory notes of a statute:

Explanatory Notes to the Children and Families Act 2014, para 8.

2 UK primary and secondary legislation

2 UK primary and secondary legislation

16
15
 2 Referencing Handbook: OSCOLA Uk primary and secondary legislation
2
2.2 Bills
When referring to Bills from the House of Lords or the House of Commons you need to state
which House the Bill has come from. In addition to this, the running number for House of
Commons Bills should be put in square brackets.

If you refer to a part of a Bill, place a comma after the number, use the relevant abbreviation for the
part (from the table in 2.1 Statutes) followed by the number.

Your footnote and Table of Legislation should not include information about how you accessed the
Bill, e.g. via Westlaw, LexisLibrary, etc.

Checklist:
Title of Bill
The House in which it originated, e.g. HL or HC followed by Bill
In round brackets put the Parliamentary session, e.g. (2013-14)
Running number (in square brackets for the House of Commons Bills only)
Finish with a full stop.

Footnote for a House of Lords Bill

When referring to the Bill as a whole:

BBC (Trustee Election and Licence Fee) HL Bill (2013-14) 47.

When referring to part of a Bill:

BBC (Trustee Election and Licence Fee) HL Bill (2013-14) 47, pt 1(4).

Footnote for a House of Commons Bill

When referring to the Bill as a whole: 2 UK primary and secondary legislation

Immigration HC Bill (2013-14) [110].

2 UK primary and secondary legislation

When referring to part of a Bill:

Immigration HC Bill (2013-14) [110], cl 12(3).

Table of Legislation

BBC (Trustee Election and Licence Fee) HL Bill (2013-14) 47.

Immigration HC Bill (2013-14) [110].

16 17
 2 2

2.3 Statutory Instruments

When referring to a Statutory Instrument (SI) you should provide the SI title, year and SI number.
The SI number consists of the year, a forward slash and the SI serial number, e.g. 2014/1291.

Your footnote and Table of Legislation should not include information about how you accessed the
SI, e.g. via Westlaw, LexisLibrary, etc.

Checklist:
Name of SI including year, followed by a comma
Put SI followed by the SI number (year and serial number)
Finish with a full stop.

Footnote

1. Name of SI including year, followed by a comma

The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012

(Commencement No. 10) Order 2014, SI 2014/1291.

2. Put SI followed by the SI number (year

and serial number). Finish with a full stop
Table of Legislation

The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (Commencement No. 10)
Order 2014, SI 2014/1291.
2 UK primary and secondary legislation

2 UK primary and secondary legislation

18 17
 3
European Union
Official notices of the EU are carried in the Official Journal of the European Communities (OJ).
The OJ citation is given in the order: year, OJ series (either L for legislation series, C for EU
information and notices, and S for invitations to tender), number/page.

3.1 EU legislation
When referring to EU treaties, protocols and secondary legislation (Regulations, Directives,
Decisions, Recommendations and Opinions) you should provide the title of the legislation including
any amendments (if applicable) followed by the year of publication, the OJ series and the issues
and page numbers. Legislation is published in the L series but you will find that older treaties were
published in the C series.

From January 2015 EU legislation has a unique sequential number which should be cited in the
following way: (domain/body) Year/Number, e.g.

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/1097 of 6 July 2016 establishing the standard
import values for determining the entry price of certain fruit and vegetables [2016] OJ L182/37.

The numbering of documents published before 1 January 2015 remains unchanged. For more
information visit: http://publications.europa.eu/code/en/en-110202.htm

Your footnote, table of cases/legislation and bibliography should not include information about
how you accessed the source, e.g. Eur-Lex, Westlaw, LexisLibrary, etc.

Checklist:
Title of the legislation including amendments (if applicable)
Year of publication in square brackets
Put OJ followed by the series
Issue number, followed by a forward slash and the first page number
Finish with a full stop.
3 European Union

19
 3 Referencing Handbook: OSCOLA

Footnote
When referring to the Treaty as a whole
2. Year of publication
1. Title of the legislation including amendments (if applicable) in square brackets

Consolidated version of the Treaty on European Union [2012]

OJ C326/13.
4. Issue number, followed by a
3. Put OJ followed forward slash and the first page
by the series number. Finish with a full stop

Table of Legislation

Consolidated version of the Treaty on European Union [2012] OJ C326/13.

Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 on Quality Schemes for Agricultural Products and Food-
stuffs [2012] OJ L343/1.

Other footnote examples

When referring to a particular paragraph:

Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 on Quality Schemes for Agricultural Products and

Foodstuffs [2012] OJ L343/1, para 7.

When referring to a particular article:

Consolidated version of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union [2012] OJ
C326/47, art 16(1).
Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 on Quality Schemes for Agricultural Products and Foodstuffs
[2012] OJ L343/1, art 7(1b).

When referring to more than one article or paragraph, separate the number with a comma:

Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 on Quality Schemes for Agricultural Products

and Foodstuffs [2012] OJ L343/1, paras 8, 11, 15.

When referring to a range of articles or paragraphs, insert a dash between the numbers:
Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 on Quality Schemes for Agricultural Products and Foodstuffs
[2012] OJ L343/1, arts 1-2.
3 European Union

20
 European Union
3
3.2 Judgments - European Court of Justice and Court of First Instance
Where possible, refer to the official reports which are cited as the European Court Reports (ECR).
If the ECR reference is not available the next best report is the Common Market Law Reports
(CMLR). If you cannot find the ECR or the CMLR reference use the Official Journal citation or, if
available, the European Case Law Identifier (ECLI).

The ECLI, created by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), has been designed
so that all Member States and EU courts give the same recognizable format. It consists of the
country code, the code of the court that rendered the judgment, the year of the judgment and
the judgments number. Each component is separated by a colon, e.g. EU:C:2015:298. The
ECLI should be treated like a neutral citation, add it after the case name but before the law report
citation, e.g.

Case T-320/07 Jones v European Commission EU:T:2011:686, [2011] ECR II-417.

Case prefixes

From 1989 EU cases are numbered according to whether they were registered at the European
Court of Justice (ECJ) or the Court of First Instance (CFI). ECJ cases are given the prefix C- and
CFI cases use T-. Judgments from the Civil Service Tribunal (which was established in 2005) are
prefixed with F-. Do not add a C- to cases before 1989, e.g.

Case pre 1989

Case 158/87 ROE Scherrens v MG Maenhout and others [1988] ECR 3791.

Cases post 1989

ECJ cases are reported in volume one (ECR I-) and CFI cases are reported in volume two
(ECR II-). The volume number attaches to the page number with a dash, e.g.

Case C-154/89 Commission of the European Communities v French Republic [1991] ECR
I-00659.

Checklist:

Case number
Case name (in italics for the footnote only)
European Case Law Identifier (if applicable) followed by a comma
Law report citation (if applicable) followed by a full stop.
3 European Union

21
 3 Referencing Handbook: OSCOLA

Footnote
When referring to the case as a whole:
1. Case number 2. Case name (in italics for the footnote only)

Case 11/70 Internationale Handelsgesellschaft mbH v Einfuhr-und

Vorratsstelle fr Getreide und Futtermittel [1970] ECR 1125.

5. First page of report,

3. Year in square 4. Law report
followed by a full stop
brackets abbreviation

Table of Cases
When listing EU cases in your Table of Cases, the case name should not be in italics.
EU cases can be listed in chronological order by the year:

Case 11/70 Internationale Handelsgesellschaft mbH v Einfuhr-und Vorratsstelle fr Getreide

und Futtermittel [1970] ECR 1125.

Or in alphabetical order of party name, with the case number in round brackets after the case
name:

Internationale Handelsgesellschaft mbH v Einfuhr-und Vorratsstelle fr Getreide und

Futtermittel (Case 11/70) [1970] ECR 1125.

See page 9 for more information.

Other footnote examples

When referring to a particular paragraph, follow the case citation with a comma, para and the
paragraph number:

Case 11/70 Internationale Handelsgesellschaft mbH v Einfuhr-und Vorratsstelle fr Getreide und

Futtermittel [1970] ECR 1125, para 7.

When referring to more than one paragraph, separate the paragraph numbers with a comma:

Case 11/70 Internationale Handelsgesellschaft mbH v Einfuhr-und Vorratsstelle fr Getreide und

Futtermittel [1970] ECR 1125, paras 20, 25.

When referring to a range of paragraphs, follow the case citation with a comma, paras and the
paragraphs numbers separated by a dash:
3 European Union

Case 11/70 Internationale Handelsgesellschaft mbH v Einfuhr-und Vorratsstelle fr Getreide und

Futtermittel [1970] ECR 1125, paras 20-23.

22
 European Union
3
Unreported cases
For unreported cases, cite the European Case Law Identifier (ECLI) rather than the OJ notice or
the court and date, e.g.

Case T-560/15 LM v European Commission EU:T:2016:392.

3.3 Opinions
When referring to an opinion of an Advocate General, follow the guidelines of a judgment and
add the words Opinion of Advocate General, followed by their surname (after the case citation
but before any paragraph information).

Your footnote and Table of Cases should not include information about how you accessed the
Opinion, e.g. via Westlaw, LexisLibrary, Eur-Lex, etc.

Footnote
When referring to the opinion as a whole:

Case 152/84 Marshall v Southampton and South-West Hampshire Area Health Authority
(Teaching) [1985] ECR 723, Opinion of Advocate General Slynn.

When referring to a particular paragraph, place a comma after the Advocate Generals
surname and put para/paras followed by the paragraph number(s) and finish with a full stop:

Case 152/84 Marshall v Southampton and South-West Hampshire Area Health Authority
(Teaching) [1985] ECR 723, Opinion of Advocate General Slynn, para 2.

Table of Cases
When listing EU cases in your Table of Cases, the case name should not be in italics.
EU cases can be listed in chronological order by the year:

Case 152/84 Marshall v Southampton and South-West Hampshire Area Health Authority
(Teaching) [1985] ECR 723, Opinion of Advocate General Slynn.

Or in alphabetical order of party name, with the case number in round brackets after the case
name:

Marshall v Southampton and South-West Hampshire Area Health Authority (Teaching)

(Case 152/84) [1985] ECR 723, Opinion of Advocate General Slynn.

See page 9 for more information.

3 European Union

23
 3 Referencing Handbook: OSCOLA

3.5 Official documents

When referring to official documents from the European Union you should, where possible, provide
the following information:

Checklist:
Body that produced the document, followed by a comma
Title, followed by a comma
If the document has a unique number, abbreviate the type of paper (e.g. COM, PV,
SWD, etc.) followed by the number (if applicable) and a comma
Day, month and year
Finish with a full stop.

Footnote
When referring to a European Commission document:

European Commission, Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the
Council on Protective Measures against Pests of Plants, COM(2013)267, 6 May 2013.

When referring to a European Commission Communication, before the title put Communication on:

European Commission, Communication on Clearing and Settlement in the European

Union The Way Forward, COM(2004)312, 28 April 2004.

When referring to a European Parliament document:

European Parliament, Report on the Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament
and of the Council on Protective Measures Against Pests of Plants, A7-0147/2014, 27
February 2014.

Bibliography

European Commission, Communication on Clearing and Settlement in the European Union

The Way Forward, COM(2004)312, 28 April 2004.

European Commission, Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the
Council on Protective Measures against Pests of Plants, COM(2013)267, 6 May 2013.
3 European Union

European Parliament, Report on the Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament
and of the Council on Protective Measures Against Pests of Plants, A7-0147/2014,
27 February 2014.

24
 European Court of 4
Human Rights
For judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, if possible, refer to the official reports:
the Reports of Judgments and Decisions which are cited as ECHR, or the European Human
Rights Reports (EHRR). Before 1996, the official reports were known as Series A and numbered
consecutively.

When referring to judgments and decisions from the ECHR and EHRR series you should include
the following, where applicable, in the case citation:

Checklist:
Case name (in italics for the footnote only)
Year in round or square brackets*
Volume number (if applicable)
Abbreviation of the law report series
Page/case/application number**
Finish with a full stop.

* Use square brackets if there is no volume number, or round brackets if there is a separate
volume number.

** In LexisLibrary, the citation for a ECHR case includes the application number whereas, BAILLI
provides the case number. Either are acceptable.

Your footnote and Table of Cases should not include information about how you accessed the
source, e.g. via Westlaw, LexisLibrary, HUDOC, BAILII, etc.

Footnote
When referring to a ECHR report:

Shindler v United Kingdom [2013] ECHR 19840/09.

4 European Court of Human Rights

OR
1. Case name (in italics for the footnote only) 2. Year in round or square brackets*

Shindler v United Kingdom [2013] ECHR 423.

3. Abbreviation of the 4. Page/case/application number.

law report series Finish with a full stop

*Use square brackets if there is no volume number, or round brackets if there is a separate volume number.

25
 4

Other footnote examples

When referring to a pre-1996 report:

Johnston v Ireland (1986) Series A 122.

When referring to a EHRR report:

McShane v United Kingdom (2002) 35 EHRR 23.

References to unreported judgments should include the following:

Checklist:
Case name (in italics for the footnote only)
Put App no followed by the application number
In round brackets:
the court, followed by a comma
date of judgment
Finish with a full stop.

Footnote
When referring to an unreported judgment:

Jelic v Croatia App no 57856/11 (ECHR, 12 June 2014).

Table of Cases
When listing cases in your Table of Cases, the case name should not be in italics.

Jelic v Croatia App no 57856/11 (ECHR, 12 June 2014).

4 European Court of Human Rights

McShane v United Kingdom (2002) 35 EHRR 23.

Shindler v United Kingdom [2013] ECHR 19840/09.

26
 4

4.1 European Commission on Human Rights

When referring to decisions and reports of the European Commission on Human Rights you
should give the case name, year of the decision in brackets and then refer to the Decision and
Reports (DR) of the Commission, e.g.

Simpson v UK (1989) 64 DR 188.

For decisions prior to 1974, refer to the Collection of Decisions (CD) of the Commission, e.g.

X v Austria (1963) 12 CD 115.

If the decision has been reported in the European Human Rights Reports (EHRR) you can refer to
this, e.g.

Avis Enterprises v Greece (1998) 26 EHRR 21 (Commission Decision).

If the decision has a European Case Law Identifier (ECLI) include this information directly after the
case name, e.g.

X v Austria CE:ECHR:1963:1218DEC000191863, (1963) 12 CD 115.

4 European Court of Human Rights

27
 55 International
International
legal sources
legal sources
5.1 Treaties
Where possible, refer to the primary international treaty series, e.g. United Nations Treaty Series
(UNTS), Consolidated Treaty Series (CTS) or League of Nations Treaty Series (LNTS).

It is not necessary to list the parties to a multilateral treaty but parties to a bilateral treaty should be
included in round brackets immediately after the title, with the names of the parties separated by a
dash, e.g. (Australia-Nauru).

Rehabilitation and Development Co-Operation Agreement (Australia-Nauru) (entered into force

5 May 1994) ATS 1994 15.

The date the treaty entered into force is not always available; if this is the case, just give the date
the treaty was signed or adopted.

If appropriate, an informal/shortened title may be given in round brackets at the end of the
reference but before any page/paragraph/article number. This informal/shortened title can be used
in subsequent references, e.g.

Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (adopted 28 July 1951, entered into force 22
April 1954) 189 UNTS 137 (Refugee Convention) art 33.

Information on how to reference a Council of Europe treaty can be found in section 5.3.2; for
guidelines on how to reference a World Trade Organization treaty see section 5.3.3.

Checklist:
Title of Treaty
In round brackets:
put adopted (if date available)
the day, month and year, followed by a comma
put entered into force
the day, month and year
Volume number
55International

Abbreviation of Treaty series

International legal

Page number
If appropriate, in round brackets shorten the title of the treaty for use in future
references
Finish with a full stop.
legal sources
sources

28
26
 International
Referencing legalOSCOLA
Handbook: sources
5
Footnote
When referring to the Treaty as a whole:

2. In round brackets:
put adopted (if date available) put entered into force
the day, month and year, the day, month and year
1. Title of Treaty followed by a comma

Protocol Relating to Military Obligations in Certain Cases of

Double Nationality (adopted 12 April 1930, entered into force 25
May 1937) 178 LNTS 227.

5. Page number. Finish with a full stop

3. Volume number 4. Abbreviation of Treaty series

Table of International Treaties and Conventions

List Treaties and Conventions in alphabetical order of the first significant word of the title.

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (adopted 16 December 1966, entered into
force 23 March 1976) 999 UNTS 171.

Protocol Relating to Military Obligations in Certain Cases of Double Nationality (adopted 12

April 1930, entered into force 25 May 1937) 178 LNTS 227.

Other footnote examples

When referring to a particular article, put art followed by the relevant number:

Protocol Relating to Military Obligations in Certain Cases of Double Nationality (adopted 12

April 1930, entered into force 25 May 1937) 178 LNTS 227 art 7.

When referring to a Treaty for the first time, if appropriate, you could put a shortened title in
round brackets for use in future references (as below):

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (adopted 16 December 1966, entered into
force 23 March 1976) 999 UNTS 171 (ICCPR).
55International
International legal sources

In your subsequent footnotes you can use the shortened title:

ICCPR art 4.

29
27
 55 International
Referencing legal OSCOLA
Handbook: sources

5.2 Cases and decisions

Where possible, refer to the International Court of Justice Reports (ICJ) or the Permanent Court
of International Justice Reports (PCIJ). If an ICJ or PCIJ report is not available, refer to the website.
If referring to the website, you need to give the URL/web address in angled brackets (<>) followed
by the date of access.

Information on how to reference a World Trade Organization decision can be found in section 5.3.3.

Checklist:
Case name (in italics for the footnote only)
In round brackets provide information on the type of case, e.g. Advisory Opinion,
Application for Intervention etc.
If referring to the ICJ reports:
in square brackets put the year
put ICJ Rep
first page of the report
If referring to the PCIJ reports:
put PCIJ Rep Series, followed by the relevant letter
put No followed by the case number
If referring to a website:
provide details of the website
in angled brackets (<>) put the URL/web address
put accessed followed by the date you accessed the case
Finish with a full stop.

Footnote
When referring to a case reported in the ICJ:

1. Case name (in italics for the footnote only)

Case Concerning the Land, Island and Maritime Frontier Dispute

(El Salvador/Honduras) (Application for Intervention) [1990] ICJ Rep 3.
55International

2. In round brackets provide information 3. In square brackets put the year

International legal sources

on the type of case, e.g. Advisory

Opinion, Application for Intervention etc. 4. Put ICJ Rep
5. First page of the report.
Finish with a full stop

30
28
 International
Referencing legalOSCOLA
Handbook: sources
5
Table of International Cases
When listing cases in your Table of International Cases, the case name should not be in italics.

Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide
(Croatia v Serbia) (Pending) ICJ Press release 2014/15 <http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/
files/118/18258.pdf> accessed 24 June 2014.

Case Concerning the Factory at Chorzw (Germany v Poland) (Merits) PCIJ Rep Series
A No 17.

Case Concerning the Land, Island and Maritime Frontier Dispute (El Salvador/Honduras)
(Application for Intervention) [1990] ICJ Rep 3.

Other footnote examples

When referring to a case reported in the PCIJ:

Case Concerning the Factory at Chorzw (Germany v Poland) (Claim for Indemnity) PCIJ Rep
Series A No 17.

When referring to a case that is pending:

Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide
(Croatia v Serbia) (Pending) ICJ Press release 2014/15 <http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/
files/118/18258.pdf> accessed 24 June 2014.

When referring to other general sources of reports on international cases include, where possible,
the following:

Checklist:
Title of case (in italics for the footnote only)
Year in round brackets
Volume number
Abbreviation of law report series
First page of the report
Finish with a full stop.
55International

5.3 International Organisations

International legal sources

5.3.1 United Nations

When referring to documents from the major bodies of the United Nations, you should include the
unique document reference number that identifies both the body from which the document issues
and the nature of the document, e.g. A/RES/68/272.

After the first mention/footnote you can abbreviate United Nations to UN; UN Security Council to
UNSC; UN General Assembly to UNGA; and Resolution to Res.

For lesser known, or more specialised UN organisations or bodies, cite the full name.

31
29
 55 International
Referencing legalOSCOLA
Handbook: sources

5.3.1.1 General Assembly Resolutions

When referring to resolutions, you only need to include the title in the citation the first time you
footnote it and in your bibliography.

Checklist:
Provide the body in full the first time you mention it in a footnote but abbreviate
it to UNGA in subsequent footnotes
Title in single quotation marks
In round brackets put the date
Put UN Doc followed by the unique document reference number, e.g. S/Res/
or Press Release, followed by the relevant number
Finish with a full stop.

Footnote
When referring to a United Nations General Assembly Resolution for the first time:

1. Provide the body in full the first time you mention it in a footnote 2. Title in single quotation marks
but abreviate it to UNGA in subsequent footnotes

United Nations General Assembly Interaction Between the United

Nations, National Parliaments and the Inter-Parliamentary Union
(19 May 2014) UN Doc A/RES/68/272.
3. In round brackets put the date 4. Put UN Doc followed by the unique document reference
number. Finish with a full stop

When referring to the same UNGA Resolution in subsequent footnotes:

UNGA Res 272 (19 May 2014) UN Doc A/RES/68/272.

Bibliography
List Resolutions in alphabetical order of the first significant word of the title.

United Nations General Assembly Interaction Between the United Nations, National
Parliaments and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (19 May 2014) UN Doc A/RES/68/272.
55International
International legal

United Nations General Assembly Statement by Bureau of Committee on the Exercise of the
Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, on the Situation in Jerusalem (5 March 2014)
Press Release GA/PAL/1287.
legal sources
sources

32
30
 International
Referencing legalOSCOLA
Handbook: sources
5
Other footnote examples
When referring to a United Nations General Assembly press release:

United Nations General Assembly Statement by Bureau of Committee on the Exercise of the
Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, on the Situation in Jerusalem (5 March 2014)
Press Release GA/PAL/1287.

When referring to the same UNGA press release in subsequent footnotes:

UNGA Press Release (5 March 2014) GA/PAL/1287.

5.3.1.2 Security Council Resolutions

When referring to resolutions, you only need to include the title in the citation the first time you
footnote it and in your bibliography.

Checklist:
Provide the body in full the first time you mention it in a footnote but abbreviate
it to UNSC in subsequent footnotes
Title in single quotation marks
In round brackets put the date
Put UN Doc followed by the unique document reference number, e.g. S/Res/ or
Press Release followed by the relevant number
Finish with a full stop.

Footnote
When referring to a United Nations Security Council Resolution for the first time:

United Nations Security Council Threats to International Peace and Security Caused by
Terrorist Acts (17 June 2014) UN Doc S/RES/2160.

When referring to the same UNSC Resolution in subsequent footnotes:

UNSC Res 2160 (17 June 2014) UN Doc S/RES/2160.

55International

Bibliography
International legal

List Resolutions in alphabetical order of the first significant word of the title.

United Nations Security Council, Journalists killed in Ukraine (17 June 2014) Press Release
SC/11442.
legal sources

United Nations Security Council, Threats to International Peace and Security Caused by
Terrorist Acts (17 June 2014) UN Doc S/RES/2160.
sources

33
31
 5 International legal sources

Other footnote examples

When referring to a United Nations Security Council press release:

United Nations Security Council Journalists Killed in Ukraine (17 June 2014)
Press Release SC/11442.

When referring to the same UNSC press release in subsequent footnotes:

UNSC Press Release (17 June 2014) SC/11442.

5.3.2 Council of Europe

When referring to a Council of Europe treaty you should, where possible, include the following
information:
Checklist:
Title of Treaty
In round brackets:
put adopted (if date available) or opened for signature (if date available)
the day, month and year, followed by a comma
put entered into force
the day, month and year
Put CETS No. followed by the number of the treaty
If appropriate, in round brackets, shorten the title of the treaty for use in future
references
In the footnote only, if referring to a particular article put art followed by the
relevant number
Finish with a full stop.

If the date the treaty was adopted is not available, just put the date it was opened for signature
and the date it entered into force.

If you refer to general information about the organisation, follow the guidelines for a website
(section 16).

Footnote
When referring to the treaty as a whole:
5 International legal sources

Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms as Amended by
Protocols No.11 and No.14 (opened for signature 4 November 1950, entered into force 3
September 1953) CETS No. 005.

When referring to a particular article, put art followed by the relevant number:

Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms as Amended by
Protocols No.11 and No.14 (opened for signature 4 November 1950, entered into force 3
September 1953) CETS No. 005 art 2.

34
 Referencing Handbook: OSCOLA
5
Table of International Treaties and Conventions

Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms as Amended by
Protocols No.11 and No.14 (opened for signature 4 November 1950, entered into force 3
September 1953) CETS No. 005.

5.3.3 World Trade Organization

This section provides information on how to reference World Trade Organization (WTO) treaties
and decisions.

Documents dated before 1995 were created by The General Agreement on Tariff and Trade
(GATT); the WTO was formed in 1995 as a replacement to GATT. GATT/WTO treaties are
called agreements.

If you refer to general information about the organisation, follow the guidelines for a website
(section 16).

Agreements
When referring to GATT/WTO agreements you should, where possible, include the following
information:

Checklist:
Title of agreement
Date of the agreement in round brackets
The agreement reference number, e.g. LT/UR/A-1A/2
In the footnote only, if referring to a particular article, put art followed by the
relevant number
Finish with a full stop.

Footnote
When referring to a WTO agreement:

Agreement on Agriculture (15 April 1994) LT/UR/A-1A/2.

When referring to a GATT agreement:

5 International legal sources

Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft (11 March 1986) AIR/TSC/6.

When referring to a particular article, put art followed by the relevant number:

Agreement on Agriculture (15 April 1994) LT/UR/A-1A/2 art 2.

35
 5 International legal sources

Table of International Treaties and Conventions

List Treaties and Conventions in alphabetical order of the first significant word of the title.
Agreement on Agriculture (15 April 1994) LT/UR/A-1A/2.

Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft (11 March 1986) AIR/TSC/6.

Decisions
When referring to GATT/WTO decisions you should, where possible, include the
following information:

Checklist:
Title (in italics for the footnote only)
Date of decision in round brackets
WTO catalogue number
Finish with a full stop.

Footnote
When referring to the decision as a whole:

India - Measures Affecting the Automotive Sector: Report of the Appellate Body (19 March
2002) WT/DS146/AB/R and WT/DS175/AB/R.

Table of International Treaties and Conventions

When listing cases in your Table of Cases, the case name should not be in italics.

India - Measures Affecting the Automotive Sector: Report of the Appellate Body (19 March
2002) WT/DS146/AB/R and WT/DS175/AB/R.

Other footnote examples

When referring to a paragraph in a decision, put the paragraph number in square brackets:

India - Measures Affecting the Automotive Sector: Report of the Appellate Body (19 March
2002) WT/DS146/AB/R and WT/DS175/AB/R [5].

When referring to a range of paragraphs in a decision, separate the numbers with a dash:
5 International legal sources

India - Measures Affecting the Automotive Sector: Report of the Appellate Body (19 March
2002) WT/DS146/AB/R and WT/DS175/AB/R [5]-[8].

36
 Referencing Handbook: OSCOLA
A
5

5.4 Non-governmental reports

When referring to non-governmental reports you should, where possible, include the
following information:
Checklist:
In the footnote put the author/editor(s) first name followed by their surname and
a comma, or corporate author. If there is no named author, start the citation with
the title of the report
In the bibliography put the author/editor(s) surname followed by their initial and
a comma, or corporate author. If there is no named author, start the citation with
the title of the report
If the report is edited put ed or eds (for more than one editor) in round brackets,
followed by a comma
Title of report in single quotation marks
If accessed online, in round brackets put:
the title of the website, in italics, followed by a comma
the date of publication (if available)
For the footnote only, add the page number (if referring to a particular page)
If accessed online, in angled brackets (<>) put the URL/web address
Put accessed and the date you accessed the source
Finish with a full stop.

Footnote
When referring to the report as a whole:

Amnesty International, Amnesty International Report 2012: The State of the Worlds Human
Rights (Amnesty International, 2012) <http://files.amnesty.org/air12/air_2012_full_en.pdf>
accessed 22 July 2014.

When referring to a particular page of a report, put the page number after the date of
publication but before the URL:

Greenpeace, Lego is Keeping Bad Company (Greenpeace, 1 July 2014) 6 <http://www.

greenpeace.org.uk/sites/files/gpuk/Lego%20Is%20keeping%20Bad%20Company.pdf>
accessed 22 July 2014.
55International
International legal

Bibliography

Amnesty International, Amnesty International Report 2012: The State of the Worlds Human
Rights (Amnesty International, 2012) <http://files.amnesty.org/air12/air_2012_full_en.pdf>
accessed 22 July 2014.

Greenpeace, Lego is Keeping Bad Company (Greenpeace, 1 July 2014) <http://www.

Page

greenpeace.org.uk/sites/files/gpuk/Lego%20Is%20keeping%20Bad%20Company.pdf>
sources

accessed 22 July 2014.

Title

37
35
 66 Secondary Sources
Secondary Sources

Books
Books
When referencing a book you should list the author/editors(s) first name followed by their surname
in the footnote; however, in the bibliography you need to reverse this and list the author(s)
surname followed by their initial.

Checklist:
In the footnote put the author/editor(s) first name followed by their surname and
a comma. If there is no author put the title of the book
In the bibliography put the author/editor(s) surname followed by their initial and
a comma. If there is no author put the title of the book
If the book is edited put ed or eds (for more than one editor) in round brackets,
followed by a comma
Title of book in italics
In round brackets put:
the edition (if not the first) followed by edn (abbreviation for edition)
and a comma
publisher and year of publication
Finish with a full stop.

6.1 Book with a single author

Footnote
When referring to the book as a whole:

1. Authors first name followed by

their surname and a comma 2. Title of book in italics

Richard Stone, The Modern Law of Contract (10th edn,

Routledge 2013).

3. In round brackets put:

the edition (if not the first) followed by edn (abbreviation for edition) and a comma
the publisher and the year
Finish with a full stop

Bibliography
When listing a book in your bibliography, you should reverse the author(s) name so that the
surname appears first, followed by their initials then a comma.
6
6 Books

Stone R, The Modern Law of Contract (10th edn, Routledge 2013).

Books

38
36
 Books
Books
6
Other footnote examples
When referring to a particular page:

Richard Stone, The Modern Law of Contract (10th edn, Routledge 2013) 61.

When referring to a range of pages:

Richard Stone, The Modern Law of Contract (10th edn, Routledge 2013) 61-63.

6.2 Book with two authors

Footnote

Geoffrey Woodroffe and Robert Lowe, Woodroffe and Lowes Consumer Law and Practice
(9th edn, Sweet & Maxwell 2013).

Bibliography
When listing a book in your bibliography, you should reverse the author(s) name so that the
surname appears first, followed by their initials then a comma.

Woodroffe G and Lowe R, Woodroffe and Lowes Consumer Law and Practice (9th edn, Sweet
& Maxwell 2013).

Other footnote examples

When referring to a particular page:

Geoffrey Woodroffe and Robert Lowe, Woodroffe and Lowes Consumer Law and Practice
(9th edn, Sweet & Maxwell 2013) 15.

When referring to a particular paragraph:

Geoffrey Woodroffe and Robert Lowe, Woodroffe and Lowes Consumer Law and Practice
(9th edn, Sweet & Maxwell 2013) para 3.11.

6.3 Book with three authors

Footnote

Mark Sutherland Williams, Michael Hopmeier and Rupert Jones (eds), Millington and
Sutherland Williams on the Proceeds of Crime (4th rev edn, Oxford University Press 2013).

Bibliography
When listing a book in your bibliography, you should reverse the author(s) name so that the
surname appears first, followed by their initials then a comma.

Sutherland Williams M, Hopmeier M and Jones R (eds), Millington and Sutherland Williams on
the Proceeds of Crime (4th rev edn, Oxford University Press 2013).
6
6 Books
Books

39
37
 6 Referencing
Referencing Handbook:
Handbook: OSCOLA
OSCOLA

6.4 Book with more than three authors

If there are more than three authors, in the footnote, give the name of the first author followed
by and others but list all the authors in the bibliography.

Footnote

Robert Cryer and others, An Introduction to International Criminal Law and Procedure (2nd
edn, Cambridge University Press 2010).

Bibliography
List all author names in your bibliography.

When listing a book in your bibliography, you should reverse the author(s) name so that the
surname appears first, followed by their initials then a comma.

Cryer R, Friman H, Robinson D and Wilmsburst E, An Introduction to International Criminal Law

and Procedure (2nd edn, Cambridge University Press 2010).

Other footnote examples

When referring to a particular page:

Robert Cryer and others, An Introduction to International Criminal Law and Procedure (2nd
edn, Cambridge University Press 2010) 211.

When referring to a range of pages:

Robert Cryer and others, An Introduction to International Criminal Law and Procedure (2nd
edn, Cambridge University Press 2010) 236-239.

6.5 Edited book

Checklist:
In the footnote put the editor(s) first name followed by their surname and
a comma.
In the bibliography put the editor(s) surname followed by their initial and
a comma.
Put ed or eds (for more than one editor) in round brackets followed by a comma
Title of book in italics
In round brackets put:
the edition (if not the first) followed by edn (abbreviation for edition)
and a comma
publisher and year of publication
Finish with a full stop.
6 Books

40
38
 Books
Books
6
Footnote

Anthony Arnull and others (eds), A Constitutional Order of States? Essays in EU Law in Honour
of Alan Dashwood (Hart 2011).

Bibliography
When listing a book in your bibliography, you should reverse the editor(s) name so that the
surname appears first, followed by their initials then a comma.

Arnull A, Barnard C, Dougan M and Spaventa E (eds), A Constitutional Order of States?

Essays in EU Law in Honour of Alan Dashwood (Hart 2011).

6.6 Chapter in an edited book

When referring to a chapter in an edited book, your footnote should include the chapter
author(s) name, followed by the title of the chapter in single quotation marks, then give the
editor(s) name(s), the title of the book (in italics) and the publication information.

Checklist:
In the footnote
Put the chapter author(s) first name, followed by their surname and a comma
Title of chapter in single quotation marks
Put in followed by the editor(s) first name and surname
In round brackets put ed or eds (if more than one editor) followed by a comma
Title of book in italics
In round brackets
put the edition (if not the first) followed by edn (abbreviation for edition)
and a comma
publisher and year of publication
Finish with a full stop.

In the bibliography
Put the editor(s) surname, followed by their initial and a comma
In round brackets put ed or eds (if more than one editor) followed by a comma
Title of book in italics
In round brackets put:
the edition (if not the first) followed by edn (abbreviation for edition)
and a comma
publisher and year of publication
Finish with a full stop.
6
6 Books
Books

41
39
 6 Referencing
Referencing Handbook:
Handbook: OSCOLA
OSCOLA

Footnote
2. Title of chapter in 3. Put in followed by
1. Put the chapter author(s) first name, single quotation the editor(s) first
followed by their surname and a comma marks name and surname

Duncan French and Richard Kirkham, Complaint and Grievance

Mechanisms in International Dispute Settlement in Duncan French,
Matthew Saul and Nigel White (eds), International Law and Dispute
Settlement: New Problems and Techniques (Hart 2012).

5. Title of book in italics 4. In round brackets put ed or 6. In round brackets put:

eds (if more than one editor) edition (if not the first) followed by edn
followed by a comma (abbreviation for edition) and a comma
publisher and year of publication
Finish with a full stop

Bibliography
When listing a book in your bibliography, you should reverse the editor(s) name so that the
surname appears first, followed by their initials then a comma.

French D, Saul M and White N (eds), International Law and Dispute Settlement: New Problems
and Techniques (Hart 2012).

6.7 Loose-leaf publication

When referring to a loose-leaf publication you should give the title (in italics) excluding the name
of the current author or editor but including names which have become part of the title, e.g.
Monroe & Nock on the Law of Stamp Duties. Do not give publication details in either the footnote
or the bibliography.
Try to avoid referring to a particular page/paragraph but if you must do so, refer to the paragraph
rather than the page, providing the following information: volume (if appropriate), release number
or date of issue (which should be located at the bottom of the page of the publication) in the same
format used by the publisher but without full stops.

Checklist:
Title of loose-leaf in italics, followed by a comma
If referring to a particular paragraph:
put vol and the number (if applicable) followed by a comma
put para followed by the number (if applicable)
in round brackets put issue, followed by the number (if applicable)
Finish with a full stop.
6 Books

42
40
 Books
Books
6
Footnote
When referring to a loose-leaf publication as a whole:

Harvey on Industrial Relations and Employment Law.

When referring to a particular paragraph in a loose-leaf publication:

Harvey on Industrial Relations and Employment Law, vol 1, para 31 (issue 234).

Bibliography
You do not need to provide publication details for a loose-leaf publication.

Harvey on Industrial Relations and Employment Law.

6.8 Encyclopaedia
When referring to an encyclopaedia, follow the guidelines for a book but exclude the author/editor
and publisher information:

Checklist:
Title of encyclopaedia in italics
In round brackets:
put the edition followed by a comma
year of issue/reissue
Put vol followed by the number
In the footnote, if referring to a particular paragraph, put a comma followed by
para and the paragraph number
Finish with a full stop.

Footnote
When referring to a particular volume:

Halsburys Laws (5th edn, 2013) vol 23.

When referring to a particular paragraph:

Halsburys Laws (5th edn, 2013) vol 23, para 859.

Bibliography

Halsburys Laws (5th edn, 2013) vol 23.

6
6 Books
Books

43
41
 6 Referencing Handbook: OSCOLA

6.9 Ebook
When referring to ebooks you do not need to provide the URL/web address or the date the book
was accessed online.

Checklist:
In the footnote put the author(s) first name followed by their surname and a
comma. If there is no author put the title of the book
In the bibliography put the author(s) surname followed by their initial and a
comma. If there is no author put the title of the book
If the book is edited put ed or eds (for more than one editor) in round brackets,
followed by a comma
Title of book in italics
In round brackets:
put the edition (if not the first) followed by edn (abbreviation for edition)
and a comma
publisher and year of publication
Finish with a full stop.

Footnote
When referring to the book as a whole:

Phil Syrpis, The Judiciary, the Legislature and the EU Internal Market (Cambridge University
Press 2012).

When referring to a particular page in an ebook:

Phil Syrpis, The Judiciary, the Legislature and the EU Internal Market (Cambridge University
Press 2012) 54.

Bibliography
When listing a book in your bibliography, you should reverse the author/editor(s) name so that the
surname appears first, followed by their initials then a comma.

Syrpis P, The Judiciary, the Legislature and the EU Internal Market (Cambridge University
Press 2012).
6 6Books
Books

44
42
 7
Correspondence
Correspondence
7.1 Email
You should seek permission from the sender before referring to personal emails in your
academic work.

Checklist:
Put Email from followed by the senders first name and surname (if you are the
sender put author)
Put to followed by the recipients first name and surname (if you are the
recipient put author)
In round brackets put the day, month and year that the email was sent
Finish with a full stop.

Footnote

1. Put Email from followed by the senders first name

and surname (if you are the sender put author)

Email from Anne Dennett to author (7 July 2014).

2. Put to followed by the recipients first name 3. In round brackets put the day, month and year
and surname (if you are the recipient put author) that the email was sent. Finish with a full stop

Bibliography

Email from Anne Dennett to author (7 July 2014). 77

Correspondence
Correspondence

45
43
 7

7.2 Letter
You should seek permission from the sender/recipient before referring to personal letters in your
academic work.

Checklist:
Put Letter from followed by the senders first name and surname (if you are the
sender put author)
Put to followed by the recipients first name and surname (if you are the
recipient put author)
In round brackets put the day, month and year that the letter was sent
Finish with a full stop.

Footnote

Letter from author to Lincoln Crown Court (9 July 2014).

Bibliography

Letter from author to Lincoln Crown Court (9 July 2014).

77
Correspondence
Correspondence

46
44
 8
Conference papers
Conference papers

When referring to a conference paper that has been published, cite the published version following
the guidelines for a book.

Conference papers that are available online should include a URL/web address and date of access.

Checklist:
In the footnote put the author(s) first name followed by their surname and a
comma
In the bibliography put the author(s) surname followed by their initial and a
comma
Title of paper in single quotation marks
In round brackets:
put the conference title, followed by a comma
the location, followed by a comma
the date of the conference
If the conference paper was accessed online, put:
In angled brackets (<>) the URL/web address
Put accessed and the date you accessed the source
Finish with a full stop.

Footnote 3. In round brackets put:

the conference title, followed by a comma
1. In the footnote put the author(s) first name 2. Title of paper in single the location, followed by a comma
followed by their surname and a comma quotation marks the date of the conference

Duncan French, Why do we Teach International Law Like We do?

(Society of Legal Scholars Annual Conference, Bristol,
12 September 2012) <http://www.conference.legalscholars.ac.uk/
bristol/abstract.cfm?id=298> accessed 28 June 2014.

4. If the conference paper was accessed online, put the URL/web address, in angled brackets (<>). Put accessed and
the date you accessed the source. Finish with a full stop
88

Bibliography
Conference
Conferencepapers

When listing a conference paper in your bibliography, you should reverse the author(s) name so
that the surname appears first, followed by their initials then a comma.

French D, Why do we Teach International Law Like We do? (Society of Legal Scholars Annual
Conference, Bristol, 12 September 2012) <http://www.conference.legalscholars.ac.uk/bristol/
papers

abstract.cfm?id=298> accessed 28 June 2014.

47
45
 9
Interviews
9.1 Broadcast

Checklist:
In the footnote, put the interviewer(s) first name, followed by their surname and
a comma
In the bibliography, put the interviewer(s) surname, followed by their initials and
a comma
Put Interview with followed by the first name and surname of the interviewee
In round brackets put:
the programme name (if applicable) followed by a comma
where it was broadcast, followed by a comma
day, month and year it was broadcast
Finish with a full stop.

Footnote
1. In the footnote, put the interviewer(s) first name, 2. Put Interview with followed by the first
followed by their surname and a comma name and surname of the interviewee

Andrew Marr, Interview with David Cameron (Andrew Marr Show,

BBC One, 5 January 2014).

3. In round brackets put:

the programme name (if applicable) followed by a comma
where it was broadcast, followed by a comma
day, month and year it was broadcast
Finish with a full stop

Bibliography
When listing an interview in your bibliography, you should reverse the interviewer(s) name so that
the surname appears first, followed by their initials then a comma.

Marr A, Interview with David Cameron (Andrew Marr Show, BBC One, 5 January 2014).
9 Interviews

48
 9

9.2 Personal
You should seek permission from the interviewee/interviewer before referring to a personal
interview in your academic work.

Checklist:
If the interview was conducted by somebody other than yourself, put the
interviewer(s) first name and surname followed by a comma
Put Interview with
The first name and surname of the interviewee, followed by a comma
Position of the interviewee followed by a comma
Institution (if applicable)
In round brackets put:
the location of the interview
day, month and year of the interview
Finish with a full stop.

Footnote

Interview with Jo Carby-Hall, Director of International Legal Research, Centre for Legislative
Studies, University of Hull (Hull, 1 July 2014).

Bibliography

Interview with Jo Carby-Hall, Director of International Legal Research, Centre for Legislative
Studies, University of Hull (Hull, 1 July 2014).
99
Interviews
Interviews

49
47
10 This handbook provides information on how to reference print and online journal articles.
The majority of the articles that you find (via Westlaw, LexisLibrary or Find it at Lincoln) are print

Journal articles
journals which have been made available electronically. For these journals you should follow the
guidelines for a print journal.

Occasionally you will find journal articles that are only accessible online. These articles will be
published by relatively unknown or small publishing companies. An example of this is the Web
Journal of Current Legal Issues. For these journals you should follow the guidelines for an
Journal
online articles found on databases (such as LexisLibrary, HeinOnline, Westlaw, etc) or websites
journal.
(such as publishers, the Library, etc.) should be treated as hard copies; this means that you
shouldreferencing
When reference them as print
a journal articlecopies even though
you should you have first
list the author(s) accessed them electronically.
name followed by their You
should never
surname in theinclude information
footnote; however,about
in the how you accessed
bibliography thetoarticle
you need unless
reverse it is only
this and available
list the
electronically.
author(s) surname followed by their initial.
When referencing journal articles you should list the author(s) first name followed by their sur-
If the article has more than one author, follow the (author) guidelines for a book: three or less
name in the footnote; however, in the bibliography you need to reverse this and list the author(s)
authors, list all the authors in the footnote and bibliography. If there are more than three authors,
surname followed by their initial.
put and others in the footnote but list all authors in the bibliography.
If the article has more than one author, follow the (author) guidelines for a book: three or less, list
Your footnote
all the authorsand Bibliography
in the should
footnote and not includeIf information
bibliography. about
there are more how
than you authors,
three accessedput
theand
journal article, e.g. via Westlaw, LexisLibrary, etc.
others in the footnote but list all the authors in the bibliography.

Checklist:
In the footnote put the author(s) first name followed by their surname and a
comma. If there is no author put the title of the article
In the bibliography put the author(s) surname followed by their initial and a
comma. If there is no author put the title of the article
Title of article in single quotation marks
[year] OR (year)*
Volume number (if applicable)
Issue number in round brackets (if applicable)
Journal abbreviation.
If you are unsure what the abbreviation is, search for the title using the
Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations: http://www.legalabbrevs.cardiff.ac.uk
First page of article
Finish with a full stop.

* Use square brackets if there is no volume number, or round brackets if there is a separate
10 Journal articles10 Journal Articles

volume number.

48

50
 Journal articles
Journal Articles
10
10
10.1 Print articles
Footnote
When referring to the article as a whole:

1. In the footnote put the author(s) first name

followed by their surname and a comma. 2. Title of article in single
If there is no author put the title of the article quotation marks

Julia Powles, Replacement of Parts and Patent Infringement

(2013) 72(3) CLJ 518.

3. [year] OR (year) 6. First page of article.

5. Journal abbreviation Finish with a full stop
4. Volume number (if applicable).
Issue number in round
brackets (if applicable)

Bibliography
When listing a journal article in your bibliography, you should reverse the author(s) name so that
the surname appears first, followed by their initials then a comma.

Powles J, Replacement of Parts and Patent Infringement (2013) 72(3) CLJ 518.

Other footnote examples

When referring to a particular page:

Julia Powles, Replacement of Parts and Patent Infringement (2013) 72(3) CLJ 518, 520.

When referring to a range of pages:

Julia Powles, Replacement of Parts and Patent Infringement (2013) 72(3) CLJ 518, 520-522.

When referring to an editorial:

AWM, Murder is Murder (1996) 38(3) Crim LQ 257 (editorial).
10
10Journal
Journal Articles
articles

51
49
10
10 Referencing
Referencing Handbook:
Handbook: OSCOLA
OSCOLA

10.2 Online articles

When referring to journals that have been published online only, e.g. Web Journal of Current
Legal Issues, you need to provide the URL/web address and the date you accessed the article.

The journals available online via Westlaw, LexisLibrary and HeinOnline tend to be print journals
that have been made available electronically; therefore, if you found the article on one of the
above, you do not need to add the URL/web address or the date you accessed it.

Checklist:
In the footnote put the author(s) first name followed by their surname and a
comma. If there is no author put the title of the article
In the bibliography put the author(s) surname followed by their initial and a
comma. If there is no author put the title of the article
Title of the article in single quotation marks
Year the article was published in
round brackets if there is a separate volume number
square brackets if there is no separate volume number
Volume number (if applicable)
Issue number in round brackets (if applicable)
Journal abbreviation.
If you are unsure what the abbreviation is, search for the title using the
Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations: http://www.legalabbrevs.cardiff.ac.uk
First page of the article
If the journal is only available online, in angled brackets (<>) give the
URL/web address
Put accessed and the date you accessed the online journal
Finish with a full stop.

Footnote
When referring to an article that is only available online:

Richard Stone, Forming Contracts without Offer and Acceptance, Lord Denning and the
Harmonisation of English Contract Law [2012] 4 Web JCLI <http://www.bailii.org/uk/other/
journals/WebJCLI/2012/issue4/pdf/stone4.pdf> accessed 8 April 2014.

When referring to a print article that has been accessed online:

Paul Davies, Rectifying the Course of Rectification [2012] 75(3) MLR 412.
10
10Journal
Journal Articles
articles

52
50
 Journal articles
Journal Articles
10
10
Bibliography
When listing a journal article in your bibliography, you should reverse the author(s) name so that
the surname appears first, followed by their initials then a comma.

Davies P, Rectifying the Course of Rectification [2012] 75(3) MLR 412.

Stone R, Forming Contracts without Offer and Acceptance, Lord Denning and the
Harmonisation of English Contract Law [2012] 4 Web JCLI <http://www.bailii.org/uk/other/
journals/WebJCLI/2012/issue4/pdf/stone4.pdf> accessed 8 April 2014.

10.3 Case notes/comments

Treat case notes/comments with titles as if they were journal articles but add note in round
brackets at the end of the citation. If the case note/comment does not have a title, use the name
of the case. When referring to the note or comment of a case, even if not separately cited, you
should include the case in your Table of Cases, citing the most authoritative report.

Checklist:
In the footnote put the author(s) first name followed by their surname and a
comma. If there is no author put the title of the article
In the bibliography put the author(s) surname followed by their initial and a
comma. If there is no author put the title of the article
Title of the article in single quotation marks
Year the article was published in
round brackets if there is a separate volume number
square brackets if there is no separate volume number
Volume number (if applicable)
Issue number in round brackets (if applicable)
Journal abbreviation.
If you are unsure what the abbreviation is, search for the title using the
Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations: http://www.legalabbrevs.cardiff.ac.uk
First page of the article
Put note in round brackets
Finish with a full stop.

Footnote

Kingsley Hyland, R v Mahmood and Khan: Prison Having Blanket Policy Whereby all
Telephone Calls from Inmates Recorded Whether Recordings Admissible in Evidence
(2014) 7 Crim LR 518 (note).
10
10Journal
Journal Articles
articles

53
51
10
10

Bibliography
When listing a case note/comment in your bibliography, you should reverse the author(s) name so
that the surname appears first, followed by their initials then a comma.

Hyland K, R v Mahmood and Khan: Prison Having Blanket Policy Whereby all Telephone Calls from
Inmates Recorded Whether Recordings Admissible in Evidence (2014) 7 Crim LR 518 (note).

10.4 Yearbooks
When referring to an article in a yearbook, you should treat it the same way you would a
journal article.

Checklist:
In the footnote put the author(s) first name followed by their surname and a
comma. If there is no author put the title of the article
In the bibliography put the author(s) surname followed by their initial and a
comma. If there is no author put the title of the article
Title of the article in single quotation marks
Year the article was published in
round brackets if there is a separate volume number
square brackets if there is no separate volume number
Volume number (if applicable)
Issue number in round brackets (if applicable)
Journal abbreviation.
If you are unsure what the abbreviation is, search for the title using the Cardiff
Index to Legal Abbreviations: http://www.legalabbrevs.cardiff.ac.uk
First page of the article
Finish with a full stop.

Footnote

Jan Wouters and Sanderijn Duquet, The Arab Uprisings and the European Union: In Search
of a Comprehensive Strategy (2013) 32(1) YEL 230.
1010

Bibliography
Journal

When listing an article from a year book in your bibliography, you should reverse the
Journal

author(s) name so that the surname appears first, followed by their initials then a comma.
Articles

Wouters J and Duquet S, The Arab Uprisings and the European Union: In Search of a
articles

Comprehensive Strategy (2013) 32(1) YEL 230.

54
52
 Journal Articles
11
Newspaper articles
When referring to newspaper articles you should give the authors name, the title of the article,
the name of the newspaper and then in round brackets the place of publication and the date.
If the article has a page number give this information after the brackets. If the article was
accessed online and does not have a page number, provide the web address and date of
access.
Your footnote and bibliography should not include information about how you accessed the
source, e.g. LexisLibrary, Westlaw, etc.
Checklist:
Footnote only put the author(s) first name, followed by their surname and a
comma
Bibliography put the author(s) surname, followed by their initial and a comma
Title of the article in single quotation marks
Name of the newspaper in italics
In round brackets put:
city of publication, followed by a comma
day, month and year of publication
Section name (if applicable) followed by the page number (if known)
If accessed online and there is no page number:
In angled brackets (< >) put the URL/web address
Put accessed and the date you accessed the source
Finish with a full stop.

Footnote

1. In the footnote put the author(s) first name, 2. Title of the article in
followed by their surname and a comma single quotation marks

Richard Norton-Taylor, MOD Breached Rights Laws with

Detention of Afghans The Guardian (London, 3 May 2014) 12.

3. Name of the 4. In round brackets put: 5. Section name (if applicable)

newspaper in city of publication followed by a comma followed by the page
italics day, month and year of publication number (if known).
Finish with a full stop
11 Newspaper articles

Bibliography
When listing a newspaper article in your bibliography, you should reverse the author(s)
name so that the surname appears first, followed by their initials then a comma.

Norton-Taylor R, MOD Breached Rights Laws with Detention of Afghans The Guardian
(London, 3 May 2014) 12.

55
12
12 Referencing Handbook: OSCOLA

Official publications
Official publications

12.1 Command papers

Command papers include White and Green papers, government responses to select committee
reports, and reports of committees of inquiry.

Checklist:
Name of the department or body that produced the paper, followed by a comma
Title of the paper in italics
In round brackets put:
any additional information required
the command paper number followed by a comma
the year
Finish with a full stop.

3. In round brackets put:

Footnote any additional information required
the command paper number followed
by a comma
1. Name of the department or body that 2. Title of the the year
produced the paper, followed by a comma paper in italics Finish with a full stop

Lord Chancellor, Secretary of State for Justice and Secretary of

State for Health, Valuing Every Voice, Respecting Every Right:
Making the Case for the Mental Capacity Act (The Governments
Response to the House of Lords Select Committee Report on the
Mental Capacity Act 2005 CM 8884, 2014).
Bibliography

Lord Chancellor, Secretary of State for Justice and Secretary of State for Health, Valuing Every
Voice, Respecting Every Right: Making the Case for the Mental Capacity Act (The Governments
Response to the House of Lords Select Committee Report on the Mental Capacity Act 2005
CM 8884, 2014).
1212
Offi
Official

Other footnote examples

cial publications

When referring to a particular page:

publications

Lord Chancellor, Secretary of State for Justice and Secretary of State for Health, Valuing Every
Voice, Respecting Every Right: Making the Case for the Mental Capacity Act (The Governments
Response to the House of Lords Select Committee Report on the Mental Capacity Act 2005
CM 8884, 2014) 9.

56
54
 Official publications
12
12.2 Hansard and Parliamentary reports
When referring to debates on the floor of the House of Commons or the House of Lords you
should include the following information:
Debates
Checklist:
HL Deb or HC Deb
Day, month and year, followed by a comma
Put vol followed by the volume number and a comma
Put col or cols (if referring to more than one column)
If referring to a written answer in the House of Lords, put WA
Column number
If referring to a written answer in the House of Commons, put W
Finish with a full stop.

Footnote
When referring to a particular column:

HL Deb 22 October 2013, vol 748, col 892.

When referring to a range of columns:

HC Deb 9 May 2012, vol 545, col 15-17.

When referring to a written answer in the House of Lords:

HL Deb 20 November 2013, vol 749, col WA209.

When referring to a written answer in the House of Commons:

HC Deb 24 April 2013, vol 561, col 904W.

Bibliography
List debates in date order (starting with the oldest).

HC Deb 9 May 2012, vol 545, col 15-17.

HC Deb 24 April 2013, vol 561, col 904W.
12 Official publications

HL Deb 22 October 2013, vol 748, col 892.

HL Deb 20 November 2013, vol 749, col WA209.

57
12 Referencing Handbook: OSCOLA

Reports
When referring to reports of select committees of either House, or joint committees of both
Houses, you should, where possible, provide the following information:
Checklist:
Name of the committee, followed by a comma
Title of the report in italics
In round brackets put:
HL or HC
the session followed by a comma
the paper number
in roman numerals the volume number (if applicable)
Finish with a full stop.

Footnote
When referring to a House of Lords select committee report:

Science and Technology Committee, Setting Priorities for Publicly Funded Research
(HL 2009-10, 104-I).

When referring to a House of Commons select committee report:

Health Committee, The Use of Overseas Doctors in Providing Out-Of-Hours Service

(HC 2009-10, 441).

When referring to a joint committee report, cite first the House of Lords paper number,
followed by a comma and then the House of Commons paper number:
Joint Committee on Human Rights, Legislative Scrutiny: Child Poverty Bill (2008-09,
HL 183, HC1114).

Bibliography

Health Committee, The Use of Overseas Doctors in Providing Out-Of-Hours

Service (HC 2009-10, 441).
Joint Committee on Human Rights, Legislative Scrutiny: Child Poverty Bill
(2008-09, HL 183, HC1114).
Science and Technology Committee, Setting Priorities for Publicly Funded
Research (HL 2009-10, 104-I).
12 Official publications

58
 Official publications
12
Research papers
Checklist:
Footnote only put the author(s) first name, followed by their surname and a
comma
Bibliography put the author(s) surname, followed by their initial and a comma
Title of the report in italics
In round brackets put:
Series/publisher (if applicable) followed by the report number (if applicable)
and a comma
the year
If accessed online:
In angled brackets (< >) put the URL/web address
Put accessed and the date you accessed the source
Finish with a full stop.

Footnote

Matthew Leeke, Chris Sear and Oonagh Gay, An Introduction to Devolution in the UK
(House of Commons Library Research Paper 03/84, 2003) <http://researchbriefings.parlia-
ment.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summary/RP03-84> accessed 20 July 2016.

Bibliography

Leeke M, Sear C and Gay O, An Introduction to Devolution in the UK

(House of Commons Library Research Paper 03/84, 2003) <http://researchbriefings.parlia-
ment.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summary/RP03-84> accessed 20 July 2016.
12 Official publications

59
12 Referencing Handbook: OSCOLA
12

12.3 Law Commission reports

When referring to a Law Commission report, you should include the following information:

Checklist:
Put Law Commission, followed by a comma
Title in italics
In round brackets:
put Law Com No followed by the report number and a comma
the year
Finish with a full stop.

Footnote

Law Commission, Data Sharing Between Public Bodies: A Scoping Report (Law Com
No 351, 2014).

Bibliography

Law Commission, Data Sharing Between Public Bodies: A Scoping Report (Law Com
No 351, 2014).

Other footnote examples

When referring to a particular paragraph, put para followed by the relevant number:

Law Commission, Data Sharing Between Public Bodies: A Scoping Report (Law Com No 351,
2014) para 1.56.

When referring to a range of paragraphs, put paras followed by the relevant numbers separated
with a dash:

Law Commission, Data Sharing Between Public Bodies: A Scoping Report (Law Com No 351,
2014) paras 1.81-1.85.
12 Official publications

12 Official publications

60
57
 13
Social media

13.1 Blogs
Checklist:
In the footnote put the author/editor(s) first name followed by their surname and
a comma. If there is no author put the title of the blog
In the bibliography put the author/editor(s) surname followed by their initial and
a comma. If there is no author put the title of the blog
Title of blog entry in single quotation marks
In round brackets put:
the name of the blog, in italics, followed by a comma
the day, month and year of the blog entry
In angled brackets (<>) put the URL/web address of the blog post
Put accessed and the date you accessed the blog entry
Finish with a full stop.

Footnote
1. In the footnote put the author/editor(s) first 2. Title of blog 3. In round brackets put:
name followed by their surname and a comma. entry in single the name of the blog, in italics,
If there is no author put the title of the blog quotation marks followed by a comma
the day, month and year of the blog entry

Tim Kevan, From Then to Now: How Has Litigation Funding

Reformed? (The Barrister Blog, 17 March 2014) <http://timkevan.
blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/from-then-to-now-how-has-litigation.
html> accessed 25 March 2014.

4. In angle brackets (<>) put the 5. Put accessed and the date you
URL/web address of accessed the blog entry.
the blog post Finish with a full stop

Bibliography
When listing a blog in your bibliography, you should reverse the author(s) name so that the
surname appears first, followed by their initials then a comma.
13 Social media

Kevan T, From Then to Now: How Has Litigation Funding Reformed? (The Barrister Blog, 17
March 2014) <http://timkevan.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/from-then-to-now-how-has-litigation.
html> accessed 25 March 2014.

61
13 Referencing Handbook: OSCOLA Social media
13
13.2 Facebook
Checklist:
Contributor(s) followed by a comma
Short description of post in single quotation marks
In round brackets put:
the name of the Facebook page in italics, followed by a comma
the day, month and year of the post
In angled brackets (<>) put the URL/web address of the Facebook page
Put accessed and the date you accessed the post
Finish with a full stop.

Footnote

University of Lincoln English Language Centre, English Language Workshops (University of

Lincoln English Language Centre, 16 May 2013) <https://www.facebook.com/pages/University-
of-Lincoln-English-Language-Centre/214820105273196> accessed 10 June 2013.

Bibliography

University of Lincoln English Language Centre, English Language Workshops (University of

Lincoln English Language Centre, 16 May 2013) <https://www.facebook.com/pages/University-
of-Lincoln-English-Language-Centre/214820105273196> accessed 10 June 2013.
13 Social media

13 Social media

62 59
13 Referencing Handbook: OSCOLA Social media
13
13.3 Video sharing websites
Checklist:
In the footnote put the contributor(s) first name followed by their surname and
a comma, or corporate author. If there is no named author, start the citation with
the title of the video
In the bibliography put the contributor(s) surname followed by their initial and
a comma, or corporate author. If there is no named author, start the citation with
the title of the video
Title of video in single quotation marks
In round brackets put:
the title of the website, in italics, followed by a comma
the date the video was uploaded (if available)
In angled brackets (<>) put the URL/web address
Put accessed and the date you accessed the video
Finish with a full stop.

Footnote

University of Lincoln, Research Showcase: Reform of Law on Powers of Entry (YouTube,

8 January 2014) <http://youtube/P_0ztDLF7mc?list=PL23BqVEMhpmnxdfyPHpUW9p8-
m8LP4Tnf> accessed 22 July 2014.

Bibliography

University of Lincoln, Research Showcase: Reform of Law on Powers of Entry (YouTube,

8 January 2014) <http://youtube/P_0ztDLF7mc?list=PL23BqVEMhpmnxdfyPHpUW9p8-
m8LP4Tnf> accessed 22 July 2014.

13 Social media
13 Social media

60 63
13 Referencing Handbook: OSCOLA Social media
13
13.4 Twitter
Checklist:
Contributor(s) followed by a comma
Short description of tweet in single quotation marks
In round brackets put:
Twitter in italics, followed by a comma
the day, month and year of tweet
In angled brackets (<>) put the URL/web address of the tweet
Put accessed and the date you accessed the tweet
Finish with a full stop.

Footnote

Lincoln Law School, Staff/Student International Law Workshop (Twitter, 4 June 2014)
<https://twitter.com/LincolnLaw/status/474159347598372864> accessed 4 June 2014.

Bibliography

Lincoln Law School, Staff/Student International Law Workshop (Twitter, 4 June 2014)
<https://twitter.com/LincolnLaw/status/474159347598372864> accessed 4 June 2014.
13 Social media

13 Social media

64 61
13 13

13.5 Podcasts, vidcasts, vodcasts

When referring to a podcast, vidcast or vodcast, provide the following information:

Checklist:
In the footnote put the broadcaster(s) first name followed by their surname and
a comma, or corporate author. If there is no named author, start the citation with
the title of the podcast/vidcast/vodcast
In the bibliography put the broadcaster(s) surname followed by their initial and
a comma, or corporate author. If there is no named author, start the citation with
the title of the podcast/vidcast/vodcast
Title of the podcast/vidcast/vodcast in single quotation marks
In round brackets put:
the title of the website, in italics, followed by a comma
the day, month and year of broadcast (if available)
In angled brackets (<>) put the URL/web address
Put accessed and the date you accessed the podcast/vidcast/vodcast
Finish with a full stop.

Footnote

BBC, Law in Action: Policing Social Media (Podcasts & Downloads, 24 June 2014) <http://
www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/law accessed 21 July 2014> accessed 21 July 2014.

Bibliography

BBC, Law in Action: Policing Social Media (Podcasts & Downloads, 24 June 2014) <http://
www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/law> accessed 21 July 2014.
13 Social media
13 Social media

65
62 62
14 14
Theses, dissertations
Theses, dissertations

Checklist:
In the footnote put the authors first name followed by their surname and
a comma
In the bibliography put the author(s) surname followed by their initial and
a comma
Title of thesis/dissertation in single quotation marks
In round brackets put:
qualification level, followed by a comma
the Higher Education institution
the year of completion
Finish with a full stop.

Footnote

1. In the footnote put the authors first name 2. Title of thesis/dissertation in single
followed by their surname and a comma quotation marks

Graham Melling, The Continued Validity of the United Nations

Charters Use of Force Paradigm (PhD thesis, University of
Reading 2005).

3. In round brackets put:

qualification level, followed by a comma
the Higher Education institution
the year of completion
Finish with a full stop

Bibliography
When listing a thesis/dissertation in your bibliography, you should reverse the authors name
so that the surname appears first, followed by their initials then a comma.
14 Theses, dissertations

14 Theses, dissertations

Melling G, The Continued Validity of the United Nations Charters Use of Force Paradigm
(PhD thesis, University of Reading 2005).

66
63
15 Verbal 15
Verbal
communications
communications
15.1 Lecture, seminar
You should seek permission from your lecturer/tutor before referring to lectures or seminars in your
academic work.
Checklist:
In the footnote put the lecturer(s) first name followed by their surname and
a comma
In the bibliography put the lecturer(s) surname followed by their initial and
a comma
Title of lecture in single quotation marks
In round brackets put:
Lecture in
the module title and code, followed by a comma
the Higher Education institution, followed by a comma
day, month and year of lecture
Finish with a full stop.

Footnote

1. In the footnote put the 2. Title of lecture in single

lecturer(s) first name followed quotation marks
by their surname and a comma

Anne Dennett, Law of the Air and Outer Space (Lecture in

International Law LAW3066M-1314, University of Lincoln,
9 January 2014).
3. In round brackets put:
Lecture in
the module title and code, followed by a comma
the Higher Education institution, followed by a comma
15 Verbal communications

day, month and year of lecture

Finish with a full stop
15 Verbal communications

Bibliography
When listing a lecture/seminar in your bibliography, you should reverse the author(s) name so that
the surname appears first, followed by their initials then a comma.

Dennett A, Law of the Air and Outer Space (Lecture in International Law LAW3066M-1314,
University of Lincoln, 9 January 2014).

67
64
15 15

15.2 Speech

Checklist:
In the footnote put the author(s) first name followed by their surname and a
comma, or corporate author
In the bibliography put the author(s) surname followed by their initial and a
comma, or corporate author
Title of speech in single quotation marks
In round brackets put:
Speech delivered at followed by the location then a comma
day, month and year speech was delivered
If the speech was accessed online put:
in angled brackets (<>) the URL/web address
accessed and the date you accessed the source
Finish with a full stop.

Footnote

Attorney Generals Office and the Rt Hon Dominic Grieve, The Rule of Law and the
Prosecutor (Speech delivered at the 18th Annual Conference and General Meeting of the
International Association of Prosecutors, Moscow, 9 September 2013) <https://www.gov.uk/
government/speeches/the-rule-of-law-and-the-prosecutor> accessed 5 June 2014.

Bibliography

Attorney Generals Office and Grieve D, The Rule of Law and the Prosecutor (Speech
delivered at the 18th Annual Conference and General Meeting of the International Association
of Prosecutors, Moscow, 9 September 2013) <https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/
the-rule-of-law-and-the-prosecutor> accessed 5 June 2014.
15 Verbal communications

15 Verbal communications

68
65
 16
Websites
It is always important to evaluate a website before using it in your academic work. For more
information visit: http://guides.library.lincoln.ac.uk/learningdevelopment

If a website does not have a named author, you can often find more information in the About
us section. If no author is identified, and it is appropriate to cite an anonymous source, start the
citation with the title of the webpage.

The year of publication for a website is usually when the website was last revised/updated and is
often found at the bottom of the website.

Checklist:
In the footnote put the author/editor(s) first name followed by their surname and
a comma, or corporate author. If there is no named author, start the citation with
the title of the webpage
In the bibliography put the author/editor(s) surname followed by their initial and
a comma, or corporate author. If there is no named author, start the citation with
the title of the webpage
Title of webpage in single quotation marks
In round brackets put:
the title of the website, in italics, followed by a comma
the date of publication (if available)
In angled brackets (<>) put the URL/web address
Put accessed and the date you accessed the source
Finish with a full stop.

16.1 Personal author

Footnote
1. In the footnote put the author/editor(s) first name followed 2. Title of webpage in
by their surname and a comma, or corporate author single quotation marks

Gary Slapper, Weird Cases: Sexual Services in the Library

(The Times: Law, 30 June 2014) <http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/
law/weirdcases/article4128971.ece> accessed 19 July 2014.
16 Websites

3. In round brackets put: 4. In angled brackets (<>) put 5. Put accessed and the date you
the title of the website, in italics, the URL/web address accessed the source. Finish with
followed by a comma a full stop
the date of publication (if available)

69
16 16

Bibliography
When adding a website to your bibliography, you need to reverse the author(s) name so that the
surname appears first followed by their initials then a comma.

Slapper G, Weird Cases: Sexual Services in the Library (The Times: Law, 19 June 2014)
<http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/law/weirdcases/article4128971.ece> accessed 19 June 2014.

16.2 Corporate author

Footnote

The Law Society, Criminal Justice System: Reporting Problems with Digital Working (The Law
Society, 29 May 2014) <http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/advice/articles/reporting-problems-with-
digital-working/> accessed 19 June 2014.

Bibliography

The Law Society, Criminal Justice System: Reporting Problems with Digital Working (The Law
Society, 29 May 2014) <http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/advice/articles/reporting-problems-with-
digital-working/> accessed 19 June 2014.
16 Websites

16 Websites

70
Notes

Notes
Referencing
Handbook
OSCOLA
Designed by www.optimadesign.co.uk

The Library
University of Lincoln
Brayford Pool Telephone: +44 (0)1522 886222
Lincoln Email: [email protected]
LN6 7TS Web: library.lincoln.ac.uk
ISBN 978-1-86050-251-4 / Revised and Updated