QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE TO THE 20TH EDITION OF THE BLUEBOOK

This guide highlights some of the most commonly referred sources in articles and the correct
format of citing the concerned resources according to the 20th edition of the Bluebook. The
guide elaborates on the citation for the following sources in the order mentioned below.

1. STATUTES
2. ARTICLES
3. BOOKS
4. CASE LAWS
5. REPORTS
6. NOTIFICATIONS
7. UNITED NATIONS RESOLUTIONS
8. USAGE OF SUPRA, HEREINAFTER AND ID
9. INTERNET SOURCES
 STATUTES
FOREIGN STATUTES (UNITED STATES):
Rule: Official name of the concerned Act, Title Number, Abbreviation of the Code referred
(if available), and section referred to, year of code.

For example:
The Comprehensive Environmental Response Act of the US to be cited as follows:

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, 42 U.S.C. §§

9601-9675 (2012).

INDIAN CONSTITUTION:
For example:
INDIA CONST. art. 1, § 9, cl. 2.
INDIA CONST. art. 269, amended by The Constitution (Eightieth Amendment) Act, 2000.

INDIAN STATUTES:
 CODES

For example:
Industrial Disputes Act, No. 14 of 1947, INDIA CODE (1993), vol. 13.
Banking Regulation Act, No. 10 of 1949, INDIA CODE (1993), vol. 15.
 SESSION LAWS

For example:
Copyright (Amendment) Act, 1992, No. 13, Acts of Parliament, 1992 (India).
Taxation Laws (Amendment) Act, 2000, No. 1, Acts of Parliament, 2001 (India).
 REGULATIONS

For example:
Beedi Workers Welfare Cess Rules, 1977, 22 Gen. S. R. & O. 719 (India).

Indian Medical Council (Profession Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002,
Gazette of India, pt. III sec. 4 (Apr. 6, 2002).
 ARTICLES
PERIODICAL MATERIAL:
Rule: Author’s full name, title of the paper (in italics), Journal volume number, abbreviation
of the Journal (in small caps), pages on which article begins, span of specific pages cited,
date of publication, parenthetical describing content of pages cited.
For example:

Charles A. Reich, The New Property, 73 YALE L.J. 733, 737−38 (1964) (discussing the
importance of government largess).

MAGAZINE ARTICLE:
Rule: Author’s full name, title of the article (in italics), name of the magazine (in small caps),
cover date of issue, at, first page of the article.

For example:
Robert J. Samuelson, A Slow Fix for the Banks, NEWSWEEK, Feb. 18, 1991, at 55.

ONLINE ARTICLE:
Rule: Author’s full name, title of the paper (in italics), Journal volume number, abbreviation
of the Journal (in small caps), pages on which article begins, date of publication, hyperlink.

For example:
Kenneth W. Simmons, Retributivists Need Not and Should Not Endorse the Subjectivist
Account of Punishment, 109 COLUM. L. REV. SIDEBAR 1, 3 (2009), http://columbialawreview.
org/wpcontent/uploads/2009/03/1_Simons.pdf.

NEWSPAPER ARTICLE:
Rule: Author’s full name, headline (in italics), abbreviation of the newspaper (in small caps),
date of the article, at, page on which article appears.

For example:
Seth Mydans, Los Angeles Police Chief Removed for 60 Days in Inquiry on Beating, N.Y.
TIMES, Apr. 5, 1991, at A1.
INTERNET AND ONLINE NEWSPAPERS:
Rule: Author’s full name, headline (in italics), abbreviation of the newspaper (in small caps),
date of the article, hyperlink.

For example:
John M. Broder, Geography is Dividing Democrats over Energy, N.Y. TIMES (Jan. 26, 2009),
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/27/science/earth/27coal.html.
 BOOKS

BOOK BY ONE AUTHOR:

Rule: Author’s full name (in small caps), title of the book (in small caps), page cited, editors
name, edition cited, year of publication.

For example:
FRANCIS A. CAREY, ORGANIC CHEMISTRY 310 (Kent A. Peterson et al. Eds., 6th ed. 2006).

BOOK BY TWO AUTHORS:

Rule: Authors name in order as they appear in the title page (in small caps), title of the book
(in small caps), page cited, editors name (if available), edition cited (if available), year of
publication.

For example:
A. LEO LEVIN & MEYER KRAMER, NEW PROVISIONS IN THE KETUBAH: A LEGAL OPINION 3 – 4
(1955).

BOOK BY MORE THAN TWO AUTHORS:

Rule: Authors name in order as they appear in the title page (in small caps) or one author’s
name followed by “ET AL.”, title of the book (in small caps), page cited, editors name (if
available), edition cited (if available), year of publication.

For example:
A. LEO LEVIN ET AL., DISPUTE RESOLUTION DEVICES IN A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY 77 (1985).
RICHARD H. FALLON, JR., JOHN F. MANNING, DANIEL J. MELTZER & DAVID L. SHAPIRO, HART
th
AND WECHSLER’S THE FEDERAL COURTS AND THE FEDERAL SYSTEM 330 (6 ed. 2009).
 CASE LAWS
Citation style for case laws from different jurisdiction has been summarized below.

INDIA:
Rule: Case name, year of reporter, volume number, reporter abbreviation, first page, year of
decision if different from the year of reporter, country abbreviation if not evident from
context.

For Example:
Charan Lal Sahu v. Union Carbide, (1989) 1 SCC 674 (India).

UNITED STATES:
Rule: the name of the case; the published or unpublished soure in which the case can be
found; a parenthetical indicating the court and year of decision; other parenthetical
information if any; the subsequent history of the case if any.

For Example:
Thompson v. Hanson 174 P.3d 120, 125 (Wash. Ct. App. 2007)

U.K.
Rule: Case name, year of publication, volume if any, reporter abbreviation, first page, court
abbreviation if not clearly indicated by reporter for post 1865 cases, page(s) of specific
material, or paragraph numbers of specific material in brackets if desired, jurisdiction
abbreviation if not evident from context.

For Example:
B.C. Elec. Ry. V. Loach [1916] 1 AC 719 (PC) (appeal taken from B.C.)

AUSTRALIA
Rule: Case name (in italics), year of publication when different from volume number,
volume number, reporter abbreviation, first page, page(s) of specific material if desired,
country abbreviation if not evident from context.

For Example:
Mobo v Queensland [No.2] (1992) 175 CLR 1, 5(Austl.).
CANADA
Rule: Case Name, year of report, abbreviation of report, first page, country abbreviation,
province abbreviation if applicable, court abbreviation if applicable

For Example:
Chase v. Campbell, [1962] S.C.R. 425 (Can.).
 REPORTS
For Example:
CARTON KOPEGE, THE ROAD TO INDUSTRIAL PEACE, H.R. Doc. No. 82-563, at 29-30 (1953).
U.S. IMMIGRATION COMM’N, IMMIGRATION LEGISLATION, S. Doc. No. 61-758, at 613 (3d
Sess. 1911)

UN RESOLUTIONS
GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLUTIONS
Rule: General Assembly Resolutions are citied by resolution number and date

For Example:
G.A. Res. 832 (IX), at 19 (Oct. 21, 1954).

SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLUTIONS

Rule: Security Council Resolutions are cited by resolution number and date

For Example:
S.C. Res. 508, ¶ 3 (June 5, 1982)

RESOLUTIONS BY SUBSIDIARY BODIES:

Rule: Resolutions by subsidiary bodies of the principal U.N. organs should be cited by the
name of the subsidiary body and the resolution number and the U.N. document symbol; the
pincite if any and the date

For Example:
Human Rights Council Res. 5/1, U.N. Doc. A/62/53, at 48 (June 18, 2007)
 SUPRA, HEREINAFTER & ID.
SUPRA:
Rule: When an authority has been fully cited previously the “supra” form may be used. The
“supra” form generally consists of the last name of the author of the work followed by a
comma and the word “supra.” Indicate any particular manner in which the subsequent
citation differs from the former.

For Example:
1
Reich, supra note 16, at 6
2
KEETON ET AL., supra note 29, § 2 at 4: Note, supra note 16, at 1416.

HEREINAFTER:
Rule: For authorities that would be cumbersome to cite with “supra” form or for which the
regular shortened form may confuse the reader, the author may establish a specific shorthand
form.

For Example:
1
Proposed Amendments to the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure: Hearings Before the
Subcomm. on Criminal Justice of the H. Comm on the Judiciary, 95th Cong. 92-93 (1997)
[hereinafter Hearings]

ID:
Rule: “Id.” may be used when citing the immediately preceding authority within the same
footnote or within the immediately preceding footnote when the preceding footnote contains
only one authority. The period at the end of “Id.” is always italicized.

“Id.” may not be used to refer to one authority in a preceding footnote if the preceding
footnote cites more than one source.

For Example:
1
Chalfin v. Specter, 233 A.2d 562, 562(Pa.1967).
2
Id. at 563
 INTERNET SOURCES
WEB LINKS:
Rule: A full citation of an Internet source includes: (1) the name of the author(s); (2) the title
of the specific page of the website; (3) the title of the main page of the website; (4) the date
and time; (5) the URL.

For Example:
David Lat, Movie Night with Justice Breyer, Above the Law (Oct 27, 2014, 3:31 PM),
http://abovethelaw.com/2 014/10/movie-night-with-justice-breyer/.

BLOGS:
For Example:
Emmarie Huetteman, 2016 Republican Prospects Spar Over Ukraine, N.Y. Times: The
Caucus (Mar. 9, 2014, 2:57 PM), http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/03/09/2016-
repblican-prospects-spar-over-ukraine.