MASTERING

LEGAL CITATIONS
OSCOLA ILI BLUEBOOK SILC
 Understand the Basics
N S
O
TI Citations briefly identify the source of
TA

borrowed information, quotes, and figures in

the text. The citation must be placed at the
CI

beginning, middle or end of the borrowed

information. It must be clear what information
is borrowed and where it comes from, including
page references whenever possible.

RE
FE
R
T h e r e f e r e n c e l i s t c o n t a i n s t h e f u ll

EN
descriptions of only those sources that

CE
a r e c i t e d i n t h e p a p e r . I t e n a b le s t h e
reader to find any source cited in the
p a p e r . T h e r e f e r e n c e s a r e p la c e d i n
alphabetical order at the end of the
paper.

H Y
P
RA
G A bibliography lists all the sources you have
LIO

gone through to conceive the idea.

B i b l i o g r a p h y i s a b o u t l i s t i n g o u t a ll t h e
BIB

m a t e r i a l s w h i c h h a s b e e n c o n s u lt e d d u r i n g
the research work. At the end of the
research report, bibliography is added,
which contains a list of books, magazines,
j o u r n a l s , w e b s i t e s o r o t h e r p u b li c a t i o n s .
SOME STANDARD
ABBREVIATIONS
 This means 'and others'. It is used in in-text citations
et al.  where there are 3 or more authors.
NOTE: full stop after 'al.' not after 'et'

The short form used to refer to the immediately

id./ibid
preceding citation

Compiled or custom textbooks are created to support

Comp. 
specific units.

ed.  For the edition of a book

supra Used in a text to refer to something mentioned earlier

Const. Constitution

For electronic sources that do not provide page

para. numbers, use the paragraph number and, if available,
preceded by the abbreviation ‘para.’

Ed. or Eds. When a book includes editors rather than authors

Art. Article

Used in end-text referencing when item is identified as

Rev. ed.
being a revised edition
 If one page number is being referred to, use the
p. or pp. abbreviation p. for page. If there are multiple pages use
pp. to represent pages.

For sources that do not have a date of publication,

n.d.
substitute ‘n.d.’ (no date) after the name of the author.

n.p No page numbers

Name the translator or editor only in the end-text

reference, immediately following the title. In the case of
Trans.
translated works, cite the title in its translated form, not
in its original form.

Include in end text referencing if books include volume

Vol. or Vols.
information

§ or Sec. Section

v. Versus

Dn. Division

Reg. Regulation

SC/HC Supreme Court/High Court

HOW TO CITE DIFFERENT SOURCES

BOOKS
OSCOLA
AUTHORED BOOK:
Author, |Title of the Book | (additional information, edition, publisher year)
| pincite.
“V.K. Ahuja, Law Relating to Intellectual Property Rights (2nd edn, Lexis
Nexis 2013) 83.”

CONTRIBUTIONS TO EDITED BOOKS:

Author, | ‘Title of the Contribution’ | in Editor name (ed/s), |Title of the
Edited Book | (additional information as available, publisher | year).
“Francis Rose, ‘The Evolution of the Species’ in Andrew Burrows and Alan
Rodger (eds), Mapping the Law: Essays in Memory of Peter Birks (OUP
2006).”

BLUEBOOK
AUTHORED BOOK:
By a single author
AUTHOR NAME, | TITLE OF THE BOOK | pincite | (Name of Editor (if any)
|Edition (if more than one), |Year of Publication).
“V. NAGESHWARA RAO, THE INDIAN EVIDENCE ACT 323 (2nd ed. 2015).

By two authors
Use ‘&’ to separate the author names.
SAHANA PAL & SUMEDHA RAY SARKAR, STUDENT HANDBOOK ON
COMMONLY USED CITATION STYLES 6 (1st ed. 2019).

By multiple authors
Either list all the authors’ names or list the first author’s name followed by
“et al.”
DAVID HUNTER ET AL., INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND
POLICY 555 (3rd ed. 2006).

Note: Use Small Caps formatting for the Author's name and Title of book.
INDIAN LAW
INSTITUTE (ILI)
AUTHORED BOOK:
By a single author:
Name of the Author, | Title of the Book | p.no. (if referring to specific
page or pages) | (Publisher, Place of publication, Edition/Year of
publication).
“M.P.Jain, Indian Constitutional Law 98 (Kamal Law House, Calcutta, 5th
edn., 1998).”

By two authors:
Name of the Authors, |Title of the Book | p.no. (if referring to specific
page or pages) | (Publisher, Place of publication, Edition/Year of
publication).
“M.P.Jain and S.N. Jain, Principles of Administrative Law 38 (Lexis Nexis
Butterworths, Nagpur, 2001).”

By multiple authors (more than two):

Name of the first two Authors, et al., |Title of the Book | p.no. (if
referring to specific page or pages) | (Publisher, Place of Publication,
Edition/Year of publication).
“Jerry L. Mashaw, Richard A. Merrill, et al., The American Public Law
System – Cases and Materials 50 (West Group, St. Paul, MN, 1992).”

FOR AN EDITED BOOK

By a single editor:
Name of the Editor (ed.), |Title of the Book | p.no. (if referring to specific
page or pages) |(Publisher, Place of publication, edn/year).
“Nilendra Kumar (ed.), Nani Palkhivala: A Tribute (Universal Publishers,
Delhi, 2004).”

By two editors:
Name of the Editors (eds.),| Title of the Book | p.no. (if referring to
specific page or pages) |(Publisher, Place of publication, edn/year).
“S.K. Verma and Raman Mittal (eds.), Intellectual Property Rights: A
Global Vision 38-42 (ILI, Delhi, 2004).”
 By more than two editors:
Name of the Editors the first two only, et al. (eds.), |Title of the Book
|p.no. (if referring to specific page or pages) (Publisher, Place of
publication, edn/year).
“Chatrapati Singh, P.K. Coudhary, et al. (eds.), Towards Energy
Conservation Law 78 (ILI, Delhi, 1989).”

STANDARD INDIAN LEGAL

CITATION (SILC):
AUTHORED BOOK:
Name of Author(s), | Title of Book, | Page Number | (Editors(s),
edition, Year).
“P.C. Markenda, Law Relating to Arbitration & Conciliation, 98 (6th ed.,
2006).”

FOR AN EDITED BOOK

Title of Book, |Page |Number| (Editors(s), Edition, Year).
“V.N. Shukla’s Constitution of India, 219 (M.P. Singh, 12th ed., 2013)”

EDITED BOOKS WITH ARTICLES

Name of Author(s), | Title of the Article, | First page, cited page
number | in | Name of the Book (Editors(s), Edition, Year).
“S. Sen, The Principle of Common Heritage of Mankind in Outer Space:
A Framework of Ambiguity and Ineffectiveness?, 26, 39 in Outer Space
Law: From Theory to Practice (Sandeepa Bhat B., 1st ed., 2009).”
HOW TO CITE DIFFERENT SOURCES

CASE LAWS
OSCOLA
UK CASES
Case name |[year] |court number, | year or (year) |volume |report
abbreviation| first page.
“Corr v IBC Vehicles Ltd [2008] UKHL 13.”

INDIA AND ANY OTHER FOREIGN JURISDICTION

Case name, | Indian Reporter Citation (AIR, SCC, SCR, etc).
“Charan Lal Sahu v. Union Carbide, (1989) 1 SCC 674.”

BLUEBOOK
U.S. SUPREME COURT CASE
First Party v. Second Party, |reporter volume number |U.S.| first page
of case, | specific page referred to | (year of decision).
“Meritor Sav. Bank v. Vinson, 477 U.S. 57, 60 (1986).”

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

Case Name, |Reporter Citation Format |(India).
“Charan Lal Sahu v. Union Carbide, (1989) 1 SCC 674 (India).”
STANDARD INDIAN
LEGAL CITATION (SILC)
INDIAN CASES
Names of the Parties, | Reporter Citation.
“Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala, AIR 1973 SC 1461, 1480.”

UNPUBLISHED DECISIONS
Names of the Parties, | Appeal Number (Court name, Date).
“State of Bihar v. Nirmal Kumar Gupta, Civil Appeal No. 128 of 2013
(Supreme Court, 08/01/2013).”

SECURITIES APPELLATE TRIBUNAL

Name of the Parties, | Application/Appeal No. (as applicable)
(Securities Appellate Tribunal, Date of Order).
“Sahara India Real Estate Corporation Ltd. v. Securities and Exchange
Board of India, Misc. Application No. 133 of 2013 and Appeal No. 206
of 2013 (Securities Appellate Tribunal, 04/02/2014).”

COMPETITION COMMISSION OF INDIA

Name of the Parties, | Case No. (Competition Commission of India,
Date of Order).
“Ajay Devgn Films v. Yash Raj Films Private Limited, Case No. 66 of
2012 (Competition Commission of India, 05/11/2012).”
INDIAN LAW
INSTITUTE (ILI)
FOR INDIAN CASES
Case Name, | Indian Reporter Citation
“Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala, AIR 1962 SC 933.”

INDIAN REPORTER
CITATION
ALL INDIA REPORTER (AIR)
If the case name and citation together are to be written in the text
of the article itself:
Case Name| AIR| Year| Court | Page No.
“Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala (AIR 1962 SC 933).”

If the name and citation are to be written in the footnote itself:

Case Name, |Reporter Citation
“Kesavnanda Bharati v. State of Kerala, AIR 1962 SC 933.”

Where the case title is written in the body of the text, only the
name of the case shall be in the text e.g.
“Kesavananda Bharathi v. State of Kerala and the citation is written in
the footnote as AIR 1973 SC 1461.”

SUPREME COURT CASES (SCC)

If the name and citation are to be written in the footnote itself:
Case Name | (Year) | Volumn | SCC| Page no.
“Jassa Singh v. State of Haryana (2002) 2 SCC 481.
 If the case title is to be written in the body of the research paper,
only the name of the case shall be written e.g.,
Jassa Singh v. State of Haryana then the citation would be written in the
footnote as (2002) 2 SCC 481.

CRIMINAL LAW JOURNAL (CRI LJ)

Case Name, | Year | Cri LJ| Page no. | (Court)
“Lakhwinder Singh & Ors. v. State of Punjab, 2003 Cri LJ 3058 (SC).”

SUPREME COURT REPORTS (SCR)

Case Name | (Year) | Volume No.| SCR | Beginning Page no. | (Court)
“Sebastian Hongray v. Union of India (1984) 1 SCR 904”

EQUIVALENT CITATIONS
It covers the case reported in the four major Law Journals namely,
Supreme Court Cases (SCC), AIR (SC), JT and SCALE. Wherein the
citation of one reporter can be found in the other reporter using a
Equivalent Citation Table.

Example: Ajay Goswami Vs. Union of India (UOI) and Ors.

Equivalent Citation: AIR 2007 SC 493, 2006 (14) SCALE 317,
(2007) 1 SCC 143

Link to Equivalent Citation Table:

https://main.sci.gov.in/pdf/ECT/1Equivalent%20Citation%20Table.pdf
HOW TO CITE DIFFERENT SOURCES

LEGISLATIVE
MATERIALS
OSCOLA
UK PRIMARY LEGISLATION
Short Title of Act| Year
“Act of Supremacy 1558.”

INDIA OR FOREIGN LEGISLATION

Cite legislation from other jurisdiction as cited in its own jurisdiction but
without any full stops in abbreviations.
The Information Technology Act, 2000 (Act 21 of 2000).

CONSTITUTIONS
United States Constitution
U.S. CONST.| art. roman numerical, | Section number, |clause number
“U.S. CONST. art. I, § 9, cl. 2.”

Constitution of India
- INDIA CONST. | art. number, | cl. number.
INDIA CONST. art. 1, cl. 2.
INDIA CONST | art. number, | amended by The Constitution (Number
Amendment) Act, | year.
INDIA CONST. art. 269, amended by The Constitution (Eightieth Amendment)
Act, 2000.
STATUTES
United States Codes
Title number| abbreviation of code cited| section symbol| specific
section cited| (date of code edition cited).
42 U.S.C. § 1983 (2012).

Indian Statutes
Name of Act, |No. of ,| INDIA CODE |(year), |vol. number.
“Industrial Disputes Act, No. 14 of 1947, INDIA CODE (1993), vol. 13.”

Indian Regulations
Regulation name, | year of enactment, |volume number| publication
abbreviation| page(s) of specific material| country abbreviation if not
evident from context.
“Beedi Workers Welfare Cess Rules, 1977, 22 Gen. S.R.O. 719 (India).
Indian Post Office (1st Amendment) Rules, 1996, 1997 CIS 135 (India).”

STANDARD INDIAN LEGAL

CITATION (SILC)
STATUTES
S. | Section number/Order Number/ Rule Number, | Name of the
statute, | Year.
“S. 25, 26 & 27, The Indian Contract Act, 1872.”
“Order 1, Rule 3, The Code of Civil Procedure, 1908.”

BILLS
Name of the Bill, | Year (Status of the Bill).
“The Competition (Amendment) Bill, 2012 (pending).”
THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION
Art./Schedule| Article/Schedule number, | the Constitution of India.
“Art. 14, the Constitution of India.”

PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE REPORTS

Name of the Committee, | House of Parliament, | Title of the Report, |
Year.
“Committee on Agriculture, Lok Sabha, The Multi-State Co-Operative
Societies (Amendment) Bill, 2010.”

REPORTS BY MINISTRIES
Name of the Ministry, | Government of India, | Title of the Report, |
URL, | last seen on dd/mm/yyyy.
“Ministry of Finance, Government of India, Annual Report 2012-13,
available at http://www.finmin.nic.in/reports/AnnualReport2012-13.pdf,
last seen on 11/11/2013.”

PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES
Type of debate | by/to | Speaker/Participant, | Title of Debate, |
House of parliament (Date).
“Statement by Prime Minister, Statement Regarding Civil Nuclear
Energy Cooperation with the USA, Lok Sabha (27/02/2006).”
 HOW TO CITE DIFFERENT SOURCES

JOURNALS AND
OTHER WORKS
OSCOLA
JOURNAL ARTICLES
Author, | ‘Title of Article’|[year]|Journal name or abbreviation| first
page of article <OR>
Author, | ‘Title of Article’|(year)| Volume| Journal name or
abbreviation| first page of article
“Paul Craig, ‘Theory, “Pure Theory” and Values in Public Law’ [2005] PL
440.”
“Alison L Young, ‘In Defence of Due Deference’ (2009) 72 MLR 554.”

NEWSPAPER ARTICLES
Author, | ‘Headline’| Name of Newspaper| (Place, Date) Page
“N. Vyas, ‘Supreme Court Warns on Quality’ The Hindu (Madras, 1 July
2010) 3.”

BLUEBOOK
LAW REVIEW ARTICLES
Author’s full name(s), |Title of Article, |Volume No. (Issue No.)
|ABBREVIATION OF JOURNAL |Page on which article begins, | Pincite
or span of pages cited| (Year of Publication).
“Charles A. Reich, The New Property, 73 YALE L.J. 733, 737-38 (1964).”

MAGAZINE ARTICLE
Author’s full name(s), |Title of Article, |NAME OF MAGAZINE, |Cover
date of Issue, |at First page of Article.
“Geeta Mishra, Minority Opinions in the Supreme Court, FRONTLINE,
Feb. 18, 1991, at 55.”
NEWSPAPER ARTICLE
Author name(s), |Headline, |ABBREVIATION OF NEWSPAPER/NAME OF
NEWSPAPER, | Date of Article, |at Page on which article appears.
N. Vyas, BJP not Happy with JMM Proposal, THE HINDU June 8, 2010 at 2.

INDIAN LAW INSTITUTE

PUBLISHED WORKS
Citation of a paper published in a journal/periodical:
Author, | “Title of the Paper”, |Volume number of Journal, |Name of the
Journal in abbreviated form | page number |(year).
“K. Madhusudhana Rao, “Authority to Recommend President’s Rule
under Article 356 of the Constitution” 46 JILI 125 (2004).”

Citation of an essay published in a book edited:

Author, | “Title of the Essay” | in Name of the Editor(s), | Title of the
Edited Book | page number | (publisher, edition/year).
“R.K. Nayak, “Evolving Global Drugs Law for the 21st Century” in D.C.
Jayasuriya, R.K. Nayak et al.(eds.), Global Drugs Law 70 (1997).”

Citation of an essay published as a part of a Survey of Law

Author, | “Title of the Essay” | Volume Number |Name of the Survey, |
page number |(year).
“P.S. Jaswal, “Constitutional Law-I” XXXVIII ASIL 115-150(2002).

Citation of a write-up published in a newspaper/periodical:

Author, |“Title of the Write-up” |Name of Newspaper, | date.
“Robert I. Freidman, “India’s Shame: Sexual Slavery and Political
Corruption are Leading to an AIDS Catastrophe” The Nation, Apr. 8,
1996.”

Citation of an editorial from a newspaper:

Editorial, | “Title of the Editorial” | Name of Newspaper, | date.
“Editorial, “Short-circuited” The Times of India, Aug. 2, 2004.”
UNPUBLISHED WORKS
Unpublished Research Work (E. g., Dissertation/Thesis):
Name of the Researcher, | Title of the Dissertation/Thesis |(Year)|
(Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Name of the University/Organization).
“Raman Mittal, XYZ (2004) (Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Punjab
University).”

Forthcoming publication of an article:

Name, | “Title of Publication", in Name of Editors(s), | Title of Edited
Book| (In Press, year).
Shabistan Aquil, “Classification of Human Rights”, in S.K. Verma,
Shabistan Aquil, et al. (eds.), Human Rights: Cases and Material (In
Press, 2004).

STANDARD INDIAN LEGAL

CITATION (SILC)
ARTICLE PUBLISHED IN LAW REVIEWS OR
JOURNALS
Hard copy: Name of Author(s), | Title of Article, | Volume no. | Full
Name of Journal | Starting page, | Cited page (year).
“C.D. Singh, P. Pranjal & S. Arora, The Protection of Children from the
Sexual Offences Act, 2012: A Critique of the Decision to Raise the Age
of Consent for Sexual Relations, 3 Journal of Indian Law & Society 286,
300 (2012).”

Online: Name of Author(s), | Title of Article, | Volume no. | Full

Name of Journal| Starting page, | Cited page| (year), | URL, | last
seen on dd/mm/yyyy.
“C.D. Singh, P. Pranjal & S. Arora, The Protection of Children from the
Sexual Offences Act, 2012: A Critique of the decision to raise the age
of consent for sexual relations, 3 Journal of Indian Law & Society 286,
300 (2012), available at http://jils.ac.in/, last seen on 11/11/2013.”
MAGAZINES (WITH VOLUME NUMBER)
Hard copy: Name of author(s), | Title of Article, | Volume no. (Issue
no.) | Full Name of Magazine| Starting page,| Cited page (year).
“J.V.M. Sarma & V. Bhaskar, A Road Map for Implementing the Goods
and Services Tax, 47(31) Economic & Political Weekly 68, 70 (2012).”

Online: Name of author(s), Title of Article, Volume no. (Issue no.) |

Full Name of Magazine| Starting page, | Cited page(year)URL, last
seen on dd/mm/yyyy.
“V. Venkatesan, Uncertain Principles, 30(1) Frontline, (Jan 12-25, 2013)
available at http://www.hindu.com/fline/fl3001/storie.htm, last seen on
11/11/2013.”

MAGAZINES (WITHOUT VOLUME NUMBER)

Hard copy: Name of author(s), | Title of Article, |Full Name of
Magazine | Starting page, Cited page (Date).
“R. Dixit, The Incensed and the Insensitive, The Week 35, 37
(06/01/2013).”
Online: Name of author(s), | Title of Article, |Full Name of
Magazine (Date), | URL, | last seen on dd/mm/yyyy.
“R. Dixit, The Incensed and the Insensitive, The Week (31/12/2012),
available at http://week.manoramaonline.com/theWeekContent.do?
programId=1073755753&conten tId=13134055&tabId=13, last seen on
11/11/2013.”

NEWSPAPER ARTICLES
Printed Version: Name of Author(s) (if given), | Title of Article, |
Name of newspaper | page number (City edition, date).
“T. Jaipuria, In Strong Message to Road Firms, NHAI may Bar GMR from
Bids, The Financial Express 1 (Kolkata, 11/01/2013).”
 Online Version: Name of Author(s) (if given), | Title of Article, |
Name of newspaper (date), URL, last seen on dd/mm/yyyy.
“P. Swami, Runaway Grandmother Sparked Savage Skirmish on LoC,
The Hindu (09/01/2013), available at http://www.thehindu.com/, last
seen on 21/12/2013.”

LAW COMMISSION REPORTS

Report number Law Commission of India Report, | Title/Subject, |
cited page number (year),| URL, | last seen on dd/mm/yyyy.
“181st Law Commission of India Report, Amendment to Section 106 of
the Transfer of Property Act, 1882, 8 (2002), available at
http://lawcommissionofindia.nic.in/reports/181rpt.pdf, last seen on
11/11/2013.”
HOW TO CITE DIFFERENT SOURCES

E-RESOURCES
OSCOLA
ARTICLES IN ONLINE VERSIONS OF
NEWSPAPERS
Author, | ‘Headline’| Name of Newspaper | (Place, Date) <website
link> accessed Date.
“Ian Loader, ‘The Great Victim of this Get Tough Hyperactivity is
Labour’ The Guardian (London, 19 June 2008)
<https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2008/jun/19/justice.uk
crime> accessed 19 November 2009.”

ONLINE JOURNALS
Author, | ‘Title’|[year] OR (year)|Volume/Issue| Journal name or
abbreviation| <website link> | accessed Date.
“Graham Greenleaf, ‘The Global Development of Free Access to Legal
Information’ (2010) 1(1) EJLT < https://ejlt.org/article/view/17> accessed
27 July 2010.”

BLUEBOOK
ARTICLES IN ONLINE VERSIONS OF
NEWSPAPERS
Author name(s), Headline, ABBREVIATION OF NEWSPAPER/NAME
OF NEWSPAPER (Date of Publication), <website link> (Last visited on
Date).
“N. Vyas, BJP not Happy with JMM Proposal, THE HINDU (June 8, 2010),
<https://www.thehindu.com/2010/06/08/opinion/politics/27coal.html>
(Last visited on Sept 7, 2010).
INDIAN LAW INSTITUTE
WEBSITES
If the website gives information as to when it was last modified, that
must be cited, if not one must cite the date of visiting the website.
“Information Technology Act 2000, India, available at:
http://www.mit.gov.in/it-bill.asp (Last Modified July 29, 2003).”

STANDARD INDIAN LEGAL

CITATION (SILC)
WEBSITES
Title of Page, | Name of website, | URL, | last seen on dd/mm/yyyy.
“About Us, Kulraj Broadway, available at
http://www.hdilbroadway.in/aboutus.html, last seen on 23/12/2013.”

BLOGS
Author(s), | Title of Blog Post, | Name of Blog, | URL, | last seen on
dd/mm/yyyy.
“G. Loomba, Will the Scourge of Manual Scavenging End: Analyzing the
2012 Bill, JILS Blog, available at
http://jilsblognujs.wordpress.com/2013/01/13/will-the-scourgeof-
manual-scavenging-end-analyzing-the-2012-bill/, last seen on
21/12/2013.”
 CITATION
TOOLS AND
WEBSITES
WEBSITES
https://www.mybib.com/
https://www.grammarly.com/
https://www.citethisforme.com/us/citation-
generator
https://www.scribbr.com/
https://www.bibme.org/
https://www.cite.com/

APPS/EXTENSIONS
Free APA and MLA Citation Generator
BibItNow
Citationsy
Lazy Scholar
MyBib: Free Citation Generator
Cite This For Me: Web Citer
Plagly
EasyBib Toolbar
Bibcitation
WebCite
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