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OSCOLA Format and Referencing Style 4th Edition Made Easy

• Post author By Evans
• Post date May 30, 2024
• 3 Comments on OSCOLA Format and Referencing Style 4th Edition Made Easy

The OSCOLA Referencing Style (Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities) is a citation system specifically designed for legal scholarship. The OSCOLA Referencing Style provides a standardized method for referencing legal sources and authorities, ensuring clarity, precision, and consistency in legal writing. The OSCOLA style is widely used in legal documents, academic papers, and scholarly articles in the UK and other jurisdictions. The key aspects of the OSCOLA Referencing Style are shown in the table below.

Cases	References include the case name, year, volume number, report series, and page number.
Footnotes	The primary citation method is where references are provided in footnotes rather than in-text citations.
Bibliography	Organized at the end of the document, listing all sources cited, separated into categories such as cases, legislation, and secondary sources.
Books	Bibliographic references include the author’s name, title in italics, edition (if not the first), publisher, and year of publication.
Articles	The primary citation method is where references are provided in footnotes rather than in-text citations.
Legislation	Citations for statutes and statutory instruments include the title, year, and chapter number or other identifying details.

OSCOLA 4th Edition: What’s New?

The 4th edition of OSCOLA introduced several key changes to improve usability and address evolving citation needs in the digital age. Here’s a quick overview of the major updates:

Feature	Change in 4th Edition
Online Sources	Expanded guidelines for citing digital resources
Neutral Citations	Increased emphasis on using neutral citations for cases
Abbreviations	Updated list of standard abbreviations
Foreign Materials	Enhanced guidance on citing international sources

These changes reflect the growing importance of online legal resources and the internationalization of legal scholarship.

General Principles of Formatting

• Footnotes: OSCOLA uses footnotes for citations, not in-text parenthetical references.
• Superscript Numbers: Place footnote markers after punctuation marks.
• The recommended font is Arial 12 (unless other instructions are given).
• The spacing should be Double-spacing.
• 1’’ (2.54 cm) margins, which are similar to APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, AMA, and Vancouver formats,

Heading Levels Layout

Note:

Since OSCOLA is most commonly employed for citing legal sources, it lacks the specific requirements of a full-fledged style when it comes to the design of a title page and other details. Using footnotes to cite legal documents and files is crucial.

• A footnote marker may follow a significant word or phrase.
• Superscript numbers that denote footnotes are typically positioned at the conclusion of a sentence.
• A superscript number is followed by a full stop at the conclusion of a sentence.
• Single quotation marks are employed in place of double quotation marks.
• Semicolons are employed to distinguish between multiple citations within a single footnote.

OSCOLA Footnote Citation Guide

• Where the same source is referred to again successively on the same page following the OSCOLA referencing style, one is advised to avoid giving a second full citation so that it remains brief and not needlessly repetitive. Instead, it becomes necessary to use a shortened form or other suitable identifier to indicate that it is the same source.
• When a later reference is made to a source that has already been cited, it is possible to provide a short identifier, such as the name of the author and a part of the title indicating it is the same source. The identifier should then be followed by a cross-citation in brackets to the original footnote number where the full citation is found.
• In the case where the next footnote is the same source as a full citation just before it, then ‘ibid’ (short for ‘ibidem,’ which translates to ‘in the same place’) should be used to indicate that it is the same reference. The use of ‘ibid’ in this way will ease the citation and also avoid unnecessary repetition while keeping the meaning intact.

Example:

1. Qun Zhang, ‘Lean Six Sigma: A Literature Review’ (2012) 3 (10) IJCRB 599.
2. Ibid 600.

Reference List

• Secondary sources should be placed on a separate sheet following the main content of the paper.
• Sources must be arranged in alphabetical order and should correspond to the footnotes through the use of a corresponding superscript number in the document.
• If multiple sources of the same author are used, they are to be listed in chronological order with 2 em-dash replacing the author’s name.

Example:

Fromm E, The Fear of Freedom (Routledge & Kegan Paul 1942)

— — The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness (Harmondsworth: Penguin Books 1987)

• When citing multiple sources from the same author and year, it is necessary to include letter designations after the year of publication (e.g., 2014a, 2014b).
• The majority of the paper should be formatted with double spacing, except for the reference list where single spacing is employed, with an additional line to separate each entry.

Examples of OSCOLA Primary Sources

OSCOLA Referencing of Cases from England and Wales

Cases with neutral citations

In the OSCOLA reference style, legal cases should be cited with the case name in italics, followed by the year in square brackets or round brackets depending on whether the year is essential for identifying the volume, the court abbreviation, the case number, and the first page of the report.

Note:

• When the case is first mentioned in the text or footnotes, give the full name. After that, it can be shortened.

^1. R v R [1991] UKHL 12, [1992] 1 AC 599

^2. R (n 14)

A reference to a particular paragraph of a judgment or page of a report (pinpoint) may be stated at the end. Reference to a paragraph is written in square brackets.

^3. Smith v Jones [2010] EWCA Civ 143, [2010] 1 WLR 1234 [para 25]–[para 40]

Cases without neutral citations

In the OSCOLA reference style, legal cases without neutral citations should be cited with the case name in italics, followed by the year in square brackets or round brackets (depending on whether the year is essential for identifying the volume), the volume number, the report abbreviation, the first page of the report, and the court in parentheses.

Example:

^4. Smith v Brown [2015] UKSC 25, [2015] 2 WLR 789 (SC)

^5. Smith (n 11)

Law reports

^6. Jones v Smith [2005] CLY 421 (QB)

^7. Robinson v Brown [2012] CLY 888 (Ch)

Cases from Scotland

In the OSCOLA reference style for Scottish cases, citations should include the case name in italics, followed by the year in round brackets, the volume number, the report abbreviation, and the first-page number, with no punctuation other than commas separating the page numbers.

For example, a case citation would look like this:

^8. Durham v Hislop (1852) 4 D 1188

^9. Adams v Advocate General 2023 SC 171 (OH)

Cases from Northern Ireland

^10. Smith v Jones [2008] NI 45

UK Legislation

Statutes

^11. Sexual Offences Act 2003, s 1(1)(c).

^12. Criminal Attempts Act 1981, ss 1(1) and 4(3). 25 17.

Bills

Title HC Bill (session) [number] OR Title HL Bill (session) number

^13. Abortion HC Bill (2017-2019) [2].

UK Acts of Parliament

Title year of adoption.

^14. Parliament Act 2019.

Parts of UK acts

A short title, year of adoption, session (subsection number) (paragraph).

^15. Human Rights Act 1998, s 15(1)(b).

Statutory Instruments, or Sis

Title year/number.

^16. Cremation (England and Wales) Regulations 2008, SI 2008/2841.

OSCOLA Referencing of Devolved UK legislatures

Scottish Parliament

Act title asp number (Act of the Scottish Parliament).

^17. Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2016 (asp 1).

Scottish SSIs (statutory instruments)

Title with a particular year SSI number.

^18. The Letting Agent Registration (Scotland) Regulations 2016, SSI 2016/432.

Northern Ireland Assembly Acts

Title mentioning Northern Ireland year.

^19. Criminal Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 2013.

Northern Irish Statutory Rules

Title of the Rule, including Northern Ireland year, Statutory Rule number.

^20. The Local Government (Specified Bodies) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2012, SR 2012/8.

Welsh legislation

As a rule, specific measures are cited, which may be passed by the Welsh government. In footnotes, they are abbreviated as nawm. Such a citation includes:

Title of the measure year (number).

^21. Domestic Fire Safety (Wales) Measure 2011 (nawm 3).

Welsh Statutory Instruments

Order title and year Welsh Statutory Instrument year/Instrument’s number in brackets.

^22. The Independent Health Care (Fees) (Wales) Regulations Order 2011 Welsh Statutory Instrument 2011/106 (W. 25).

European Union Legislative Documents

This type of official documentation includes legislation, directives, regulations, and decisions.

European Union Legislation

Title of legislation [year] series mentioned in Official Journal (OJ) issue/first page.

^23. Treaty of Lisbon amending the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty establishing the European Community [2007] OJ C 306/01.

Directives, Regulations, and Decisions

Type of legislation number title [year] L series in the Official Journal issue/first page.

• European Union Directives: ^24. Council Directive 2001/29/EC on the harmonization of certain aspects of copyright and related rights in the information society [2001] OJ L 167/10.
• European Union Regulations: ^25. Council Regulation (EU) 1984/2003 introducing a system for the statistical monitoring of trade in bluefin tuna, swordfish and big eye tuna within the Community [2003] OJ L 295/1.
• European Union Commission Decisions ^26. Alcatel/Telettra (Case No IV/M.042) Commission Decision [1991] OJ L 122/48.

Note:

• Commission decisions should be cited in the same way as cases.

European Court of Justice (ECJ) and General Court (GC) Judgements

Prefix (“Case C-” for ECJ or “Case T-” for GC) number indicating the case registration Case Name [year] report citation.

^27. Case C-557/12 Kone AG v OBB-Infrastruktur [2014] C.M.L.R. 5.

OSCOLA Referencing of International Legislative Resources

United Nations laws

Author Title (date) number:

^28. UNGA Res 67/97 (26 August 2008) A/63/332.

Treaties

Title (date of adoption) publication mentioning (Short name) number of the article:

^29. Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (adopted 10 June 1958, entered into force 7 June 1959) 330 UNTS 4739 (Foreign Arbitral Awards Convention) art 3.

International Court of Justice (ICJ) documents

Case Title [year] Court’s Report Citation/<link> accessed DD Month YYYY

^30. Alleged Violations of Sovereign Rights and Maritime Spaces in the Caribbean Sea (Nicaragua v. Colombia) [2013] ICJ Judgement <https://www.icj-cij.org/en/case/155> accessed 24 December 2018.

Examples of OSCOLA Secondary Sources

OSCOLA Referencing of Books

One author

Author, Title (additional information, edition, publisher year)

Sepetys R, Salt to the Sea (Philomel Books 2016)

Footnote citation:

^1. Ruta Sepetys, Salt to the Sea (Philomel Books 2016)

Two or three authors

Bohm A and Chaudri D, Securing Australia’s Future: An Analysis of the International Education Markets in India (IDP Education Australia 2000)

Footnote citation:

^1. Andrew Bohm and Dean Chaudri, Securing Australia’s Future: An Analysis of the International Education Markets in India (IDP Education Australia 2000) 33–55

Four or more authors

Bell M and others, Universities Online: A Survey of Online Education and Services in Australia (Department of Education, Science and Training 2002)

Footnote citation:

^1. Michael Bell and others, Universities Online: A Survey of Online Education and Services in Australia (Department of Education, Science, and Training 2002) 45

Books with editors or translators

Baker R (ed), The Norton Book of Light Verse (W. W. Norton 1986)

Footnote citation:

^1. Russell Baker (ed), The Norton Book of Light Verse (W. W. Norton 1986) 105

Note:

• For one editor, use ed; for two and more – eds
• In a case with a translator, use tr / trs instead of ed/eds

Authors plus editors or translators

Churchill W, The Literary Works of Winston Churchill (Samuel Jackson ed, The Limited Editions Club 1963)

Footnote citation:

^1. Winston Churchill, The Literary Works of Winston Churchill (Samuel Jackson ed, The Limited Editions Club 1963) 12

Multiple works by the same author

Using multiple works by the same author poses no challenge, as all are to be cited in footnotes at the bottom of the page.

Fromm E, The Fear of Freedom (Routledge & Kegan Paul 1942)

—. The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness (Penguin Books 1987)

Footnote citation:

^1. Erich Fromm, The Fear of Freedom (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1942) 33

^2. Erich Fromm, The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness (Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1987) 42

Different editions

Kremer J and Moran A, Pure Sport: Practical Sport Psychology (2nd edn, Routledge 2013)

Footnote citation:

^1. John Kremer and Aidan Moran, Pure Sport: Practical Sports Psychology (2nd edn, Routledge 2013) 104

Encyclopedia or dictionary

‘Christianity’, The New Encyclopedia Britannica (15th edn, 2018) <https://www.britannica.com/topic/Christianity/Church-tradition> accessed 24 December 2018

Footnote citation:

^1.‘Christianity’, The New Encyclopedia Britannica (15th edn, 2018) <https://www.britannica.com/topic/Christianity/Church-tradition> accessed 24 December 2018

Note:

• State either page number(s) or link and access date depending on whether the source is published or found online.

Chapter in an edited book

Higgs M, ‘Change and Its Leadership: The Role of Positive Emotions’ in P. Alex Linley, Susan Harrington, and Nicola Garcea (eds), The Oxford Handbook of Positive Psychology and Work (Oxford University Press 2013) 67–94

Footnote citation:

^1. Malcolm Higgs, ‘Change and Its Leadership: The Role of Positive Emotions’ in P. Alex Linley, Susan Harrington, and Nicola Garcea (eds), The Oxford Handbook of Positive Psychology and Work (Oxford University Press 2013) 67–94

OSCOLA Referencing of Articles in Periodicals

Journal article

Author, ‘Title’ [year] Journal Name or Abbreviation first page of article

Author, ‘Title’ (year) volume(number) Journal Name or Abbreviation first page of article

Zhang Q and others, ‘Lean Six Sigma: A Literature Review’ (2012) 3(10) Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Business 599

Footnote citation:

^1. Qun Zhang and others, ‘Lean Six Sigma: A Literature Review’ (2012) 3(10) Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Business 599

Online Journals

The OSCOLA referencing of online journals is similar to that of journal articles, but in this case, <URL> or <doi>, and access dates are

given.

Zhang Q and others, ‘Lean Six Sigma: A Literature Review’ (2012) 3(10) Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Business 599 <https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/6303/744cf0edb78ac8512ecb660b19167b607ddb.pdf> accessed 24 December 2018

Footnote citation:

^1. Qun Zhang and others, ‘Lean Six Sigma: A Literature Review’ (2012) 3(10) Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Business 599 <https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/6303/744cf0edb78ac8512ecb660b19167b607ddb.pdf> accessed 24 December 2018

Newspaper Articles

Gellman B and Nakashima E, ‘US spy agencies mounted 231 offensive cyber-operations in 2011, documents show’ Washington Post (Washington, 13 August 2013) C3.

Footnote citation:

^1. Barton Gellman and Ellen Nakashima, ‘US spy agencies mounted 231 offensive cyber-operations in 2011, documents show’ Washington Post (Washington, 13 August 2013) C3

OSCOLA Referencing of Web Sources

Websites and Blogs

Daniels C, ‘Pumpkin Pie’ (Easy Recipes, 25 April 2016) <www.easyrecipes.com/04/25/2016/pumpkinpie> accessed 24 December 2018

Footnote citation:

^1. Christie Daniels, ‘Pumpkin Pie’ (Easy Recipes, 25 April 2016) <www.easyrecipes.com/04/25/2016/pumpkin-pie> accessed 24 December 2018

Citing Dissertations and Theses

Thesis or dissertation

Rutz CL, ‘King Lear and Its Folktale Analogues’ (PhD diss., University of Chicago 2013)

Footnote citation:

^1. Cynthia Lillian Rutz, ‘King Lear and Its Folktale Analogues’ (PhD diss., University of Chicago 2013) 99–100

Command Papers

Author, Paper Title (number, year).

Prime Minister’s Office and Cabinet Office, Modernising government (Cm 4310, 1999).

Footnote citation:

^1. Prime Minister’s Office and Cabinet Office, Modernising government (Cm 4310, 1999) para 15.

Hansard (Official Debate and Speech Records)

House abbreviation Deb date, volume, column.

HL Deb 15 March 2005, vol 670, col 1234

• Suffix WS for citing a written statement:

HC Deb 15 April 2013, vol 561, col 18WS.

• Prefix WA for citing a written answer:

HL Deb 21 May 2013, vol 745, col WA39.

• Suffix WH for citing a debate in Westminster Hall:

HC Deb 29 January 2013, vol 557, cols 179-205WH.

• Series numbers for old records:

HC Deb (4th series) 18 July 1900, vol 86, col 341.

• Hansard of Standing Committee:

SC Deb (D) 25 May 2004, col 40.

Note:

• Since 2014, column references have not been used. More information may be found on the official website https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answersstatements/written-questions-answers/. Today, a possible relevant citation may look as follows:

HC 10 July 2018, PQ 162501.

Law Commission Reports and Consultation Papers

Law Commission, Report, or Paper Title (number, year).

Law Commission, The 13th Programme of Law Reform (Law Com No 377, 2017).

Footnote citation:

1. Law Commission, The 13th Programme of Law Reform (Law Com No 377, 2017).

2. Law Com No 377.

Interpersonal Communications

Unpublished Letters or Emails

Communication Form from Author to Recipient (DD Month YYYY)

Letter from S Alexander to Gibson WR (1 November 1911).

Interviews

Interviewee’s Name, Position, Educational Institution (if necessary), (Place of the interview date)

Interview with Marilyn Charlton, Professor of Social Science, Swansea University (Swansea 17 July 2017)

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