OSCOLA STYLE 1

OSCOLA Citation Style (4th ed.)

This guide is developed in line with Nolan D and Meredith S, OSCOLA: Oxford University Standard for
Citation of Legal Authorities (4th edn, Hart Publishing 2012).

General Principles of Formatting

 Double-spacing
 1’’ (2.54 cm) margins
 Arial 12 unless other instructions are given.
OSCOLA, as a rule, is used to cite legal sources; therefore, it is difficult to call it a full-fledged
style since there are no special requirements regarding the design of a title page and other nuances. One
of the most important points is the application of footnotes in order to quote legal documents and files.
 Superscript numbers indicating footnotes are usually placed at the end of a sentence.
 A footnote marker may be put after a significant word or phrase.
 A full-stop is put after a superscript number at the end of a sentence.
 Semicolons are used to separate several citations within one footnote from one another.
 Single quotation marks are used instead of double.

Headings
Level 1 Is Centered, Bold and Capitalized

Level 2 Is Centered and Capitalized

Level 3 Is Flushed Left, Bold and Capitalized

Level 4 is flushed left, not capitalized and sentence-formatted.

Footnote Citations
 If the same resource follows the previous one on one page, it should not be repeated.
 In a subsequent citation of a source, briefly identify the source and provide a crosscitation in
brackets to the footnote in which the full citation can be found.
 If the subsequent citation in the footnote immediately follows the full citation, use ‘ibid’ instead.
Example:
1. Qun Zhang, ‘Lean Six Sigma: A Literature Review’ (2012) 3 (10) IJCRB 599.

2. Ibid 600.

Reference List
 Only secondary sources should be placed on a separate sheet after the body of the paper.
 Sources should be listed in alphabetical order and are to match the footnotes with a
corresponding superscript number used in the document.
OSCOLA STYLE 2

 If multiple sources of the same author are used, they are to be listed in chronical 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)
 If multiple sources of the same author and year are used, letter designations should be given
after the year of publication (2014a, 2014b).
 Although most of the paper should be double-spaced, the single spacing is used on the reference
list with an extra line to separate the entries.
OSCOLA STYLE 3

Primary Sources

Citing Cases from England and Wales

Cases with neutral citations

Case Name [year] Court number, [year] OR (year) | volume report abbreviation first page
Note:
 Give the name of the case in full when it is first mentioned in the text or footnotes; it may be
shortened thereafter.
1. Corr v IBC Vehicles Ltd [2008] UKHL 13, [2008] 1 AC 884

2. Corr (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. Bunt v Tilley [2006] EWHC 407 (QB), [2006] 3 All ER 336 [3]–[37]

Cases without neutral citations

Case Name [year] OR (year) volume Report Abbreviation first page (court)

4. Barrett v Enfield LBC [2001] AC 550 (HL)

5. Barrett (n 11)

Law reports

6. Taylor v Glass [1979] CLY 672 (CA)

7. Horton v Sadler [2007] 1 AC 307 (HL).

Cases from Scotland

In OSCOLA, citations of Scottish law reports have no punctuation other than commas separating page
numbers.

8. Hislop v Durham (1842) 4 D 1168

9. Adams v Advocate General 2003 SC 171 (OH)

Cases from Northern Ireland

10.
Hylands v McClintock [1999] NI 28

UK legislation
OSCOLA STYLE 4

Statutes

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

12. Sexual Offences Act 2003, s 1(1)(c).

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 1949.

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.

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.
OSCOLA STYLE 5

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:

OSCOLA STYLE 6

24. Council Directive 2001/29/EC on the harmonisation 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 the same 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.

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.
OSCOLA STYLE 7

Secondary Sources

Citing 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

OSCOLA STYLE 8

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 Sport 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 a
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
OSCOLA STYLE 9

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

Citing 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 format is similar to that of journal articles, but in this case, <URL> or <doi> and access date 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

Citing Web Sources

OSCOLA STYLE 10

Websites and Blogs

Daniels C, ‘Pumpkin Pie’ (Easy Recipes, 25 April 2016) <www.easyrecipes.com/04/25/2016/pumpkin-

pie> 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 25 November 1997, vol 583, col 835.

 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:

OSCOLA STYLE 11

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-answers-

statements/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, Their Position, Educational Institution (if necessary), (Place of the interview date)

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