LAW REFERENCING

WORKSHOP 2020

PowerPoint compiled by Priyanka Ramnarain & Priyaska Ramnarain

 IIE LAW STYLE GUIDELINES AND
LEGAL REFERENCING 2019

• Law students must follow these style guidelines in all assignments unless the
context indicates otherwise for all “pure law” modules.

• Footnotes are therefore to be applied in law subjects: Ctrl+alt+f.

• There must be both footnotes in the assignment itself AND a bibliography

(Reference List) on the last page of the assignment to prevent being called for
plagiarism.
 HOW TO FIND THE IIE LAW STYLE GUIDELINES
AND LEGAL REFERENCING 2019

• Go to : https://www.varsitycollege.co.za/
• Click on “My VC”

• Click on “Library”

• Click on “E-Shelf”

• Click on “Referencing and Plagiarism”

• Click on “IIE Law Reference Guide”
• DOWNLOAD Pdf. (its free…)
 Legislation

AN EXAMPLE OF AN Case Law

ASSIGNMENT ANSWER TO
SERVE AS A GUIDELINE AS TO
WHAT THE
REFERENCING SHOULD Textbook

LOOK LIKE:

Website
(Online
Source)

Font: Arial

Size: 12

Line Spacing: 1.5 Footnotes

Justify (if required to by lecturer)

Ctrl + Alt + f
Page Number: Bottom right to create a
footnote

AN EXAMPLE OF A
BIBLIOGRAPHY/REFERENCE LIST
The order of headings
(Sources) in your
bibliography must be as
follows:
• Legislation
• Cases
• Loose-leave editions (stack of
pages unbound)
• Articles
• Books (Text books)
• Chapters in books and journals
• Theses and internet sources
NB!!!
List all sources under the headings
alphabetically.
Reference list/bibliography to be on the last
separate page only
 What is it?

Using your own words to express someone else's message or ideas. In a

paraphrase, the ideas and meaning of the original source must be
PARAPHRASING maintained; the main ideas need to come through, but the wording has
to be your own.
How to paraphrase in five steps
1.Read the passage several times to fully understand the
meaning.
2.Note down key concepts.
3.Write your version of the text without looking at the original.
4.Compare your paraphrased text with the original passage and
make minor adjustments to phrases that remain too similar.
5.Cite the source where you found the idea.

https://www.scribbr.com/citing-sources/how-to-paraphrase/
 SPELLING

• Use UK/SA spelling.

• This means that words ought to be spelt with an “s” as opposed to a “z” where appropriate.
• Example, cognisance as opposed to cognizance ; realisation as opposed to realization
etc.
• Where appropriate “u” must be used after an “o”.
• For example, favour instead of favor ; colour instead of color , which is American
spelling.
• Only use capitalisation in the middle of a sentence if it is customary to do so, e.g. High Court of South
Africa; Bill of Rights, etc.
• Where possible, use gender neutral language. If it is not possible, use she/he, s/he, her/his, etc.
• When referring to a juristic person use “it” e.g. The employer applied the rule it distributed to its
employees….
• The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 does not have an act number
SPELLING (CONTINUED)

• “Section” is only written out if it is at the beginning of a sentence. If it is in the middle of a sentence, you
may use “s”; plural “ss” e.g. ss 5, 7-12; articles: art or arts; foot notes: fn.
• Remember the paragraph reference is always in italics; e.g. s 1(2)(d). Section 1,
subsection 2, paragraph d (this is the paragraph reference)
• Name of the applicable piece of legislation must be written out in full each time that you use it in a
different question.
• Where more than one paragraph is referred to: paras. 27-31
• Quotation marks must be avoided and used sparingly. Quotes must be accurate (all editing must be
copied exactly as is in the original source); use double quotation marks (“…”).
• No more than 10% of the assignment may consist out of direct quotes.
• Do not write in the first person and do not use emotional words e.g. My opinion is that I like this case’s
outcome because the judge used good English.
ABBREVIATIONS

• Standard abbreviations may be used without having to write out the full
word/phrase initially. E.g. CEO
• For non-standard abbreviations the word/phrase must be written out in
full the first time in a chapter or learning unit where after the
abbreviation may be used if given in brackets.
• For example, Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 (LRA).
ACRONYMS

• The first time that an acronym is used in a chapter or learning unit it

must be written out in full where after the acronym may be used, e.g.
The South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) …
• If the acronym is pronounced as a word, the first letter is capitalised,
and the rest of the letters are in lower case, e.g. Unisa.
• If the letters of the acronym are pronounced separately, e.g. SANBS,
the acronym is written in capital letters in full without full stops.
 APOSTROPHES

• If the word ends on an “s”, the apostrophe is used after the “s”, e.g. Jo Smiths’
words … and not Jo Smiths’s words …

DATES
Use the traditional South African method – day, month, year and not the
American method (month, day, year). So, dates are written as follows: 11 March
2017.
 EMPHASIS
• No underlining is to be used, unless you put in a hyperlink. (example of
a hyperlink: www.varsitycollege.co.za )
• For emphasis, use bold.

FOREIGN WORDS / NUMBERS

• All foreign words/phrases (latin words) need to be in italics, e.g. pro non scripto,
supra, etc.

• Numbers zero to ten are always written and numerals are not used (written as
words e.g. zero, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.)

• Numerals are used from 11 and more. (written as numbers e.g. 11, 12, 145 etc.)
 REFERRING TO CASE LAW, BOOKS,
DISSERTATIONS
• Shortcut key: ctrl+alt+f to create footnotes.

FOOTNOTES
• The footnote is always inserted after the punctuation; never before. The footnote
number is also always in normal font, i.e. not in bold, italics, etc.
• Footnotes always start with a capital letter and end with a full stop.
• Footnote after every new idea.
• If you make reference to a case, footnote the case.
 FOOTNOTES
• The abbreviation or shortened reference of the case, article, textbook etc. must be placed in brackets
after the full citation/reference but before the page number to which one is referring.
• For example:
• Textbook:
• Van der Merwe, DP. Roos, A. Pistorius, T. Eiselen, GTS. & Nel, SS. Information and Communications Technology
Law 2nd ed (2016) LexisNexis: Cape Town (hereinafter Van Der Merwe et al) 134.
• Explanation: Author surname, Initials. Surname, Initial. Surname, Initial. Surname, Initials. & Surname, Initials.
Title of book in italics Edition number (Year book was published) Name of Publisher: Place of publication (the
shortened reference of the textbook in brackets) Page number.

• Case:
• S v Makwanyane 1974 (4) SA 674 (W) (the Makwanyane case or matter).
• Explanation: The full citation of the case used (the shortened reference of the case in brackets)
 CASE LAW
• The names of the parties must be in italics and the rest of the citation must be in normal font.
• All cases must contain the full citation in the footnote only. •This full citation of the
case must be in the
• Example: footnote.
• In S v Makwanyane ……… In assignment
• S v Makwanyane 1974 (4) SA 674 (W) (the Makwanyane case or matter).
• Explanation: The full citation of the case used (the shortened reference of the case in brackets)
LEGISLATION
• Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (no act number for the Constitution).
• When you use the name of an Act more than once in a text, put the abbreviation in brackets after the
first use of the name of the Act, e.g. Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998 (EEA).
• The word “Section” is only written out if it is at the beginning of a sentence. If it is in the middle of a
sentence, you may use “s”. (Remember the paragraph reference is always in italics; e.g. s 1(2)(d)).
• Avoid using “the Act” as reference.
OTHER NOTICES

GOVERNMENT GAZETTE
• G41488 GeN121 No R 121, 2018 (9 March 2018).

The following details are required:

• Notice number (GN), Gazette number (GG), date (day, month, year), and page/s

• Example: GN 431 of GG 12703, 3/10/2001; 26

 ARTICLES
• Use the abbreviation for a journal, if there is one.
• Surname, initial/s, name of article (in italics), standard journal reference

• Examples:
• Sun, H Copyright law under siege: An inquiry into the legitimacy of copyright protection in the context of the
global divide IRIPCL 2005 (2) 192-213.
• Van der Merwe, D Computer crime 1983 Obiter 124 Tzanou, D Data protection as a fundamental right to
privacy? ‘Reconstructing’ a not so new right 2013 IDPL 88.

• Electronic journals are cited the same as ordinary journals.

Abbreviation for the journal of “Computer
• For example: Law and Security Review”
• Svantesson, D Jurisdictional issues in cyberspace CLSR 17 (2001) 318-326.
 TEXTBOOKS
• The first time a reference is made to a textbook text, refer to all the authors, and then followed by the first
author’s surname in brackets and et al.
• Example: Van der Merwe, DP. Roos, A. Pistorius, T. Eiselen, GTS. & Nel, SS. Information and
Communications Technology Law 2 nd ed (2016) LexisNexis: Cape Town (hereinafter Van Der Merwe et al).

• Where there are a number of authors with an editor:

• McGregor, M & Dekker, A (Eds) Budeli-Nemakonde, M GermishuysBurchel, W Manamela, ME Manamela,
TE Tshoose, CI Labour law rules! (2017) 3rd ed Siber Ink: Cape Town.
• Should it be used more than once, then add (McGregor et al), and thereafter use McGregor et al states
that…

• Where there are a number of authors without an editor:

• Nagel, CJ. Eiselen, GTS. & Nel, SS Commercial Law (2015) 5th ed LexisNexis: Durban.
 TEXTBOOKS

• Where there are two authors:

• Papadopoulos, S & Snail, S Cyber Law: the law of the internet in South
Africa 3rd ed Van Schaik Publishers: Pretoria (2012).
 This means that it does not
have a traditional binding like
LOOSE-LEAF EDITIONS a hardcover or a paperback:
basically, a loose leaf edition
is just a stack of pages

• Surname and initials/s of author/s or editor/s; title (in italics) Vol; at most recent service number (in brackets);
pinpoint/page/para.
• For example:
• Bourke, JP Bourke's Criminal Law Victoria Vol 1 (at Service 95) [3.120].

• In an online loose-leaf edition service, the same format as above is followed, except that there is no Vol
applicable.
• For example:
• Lawyers Practice Manual Thomson Reuters Victoria (at March 2010) [1.1.401].
WEB RESOURCES

• Surname and initial/s of author/s; full title of the document (in italics); date; the
title of the web resource (website, blog, etc.) on which the document appears;
URL; date accessed in brackets. (shortened version of website)

• Example:
• Israelstam, Unpleasant CCMA surprise for employers 9 November 2017
http://www.hrpulse.co.za/editors-pick/235422-unpleasant-ccmasurprises-for-
employers (accessed 12 December 2017) (hrpulse, 2017).
• There is no such author as “anon” – type the institution’s name as the author.
 CONSTITUTIONAL LAW TEXTBOOK REFERENCING
•Editors: 2 – Pierre De Vos, Warren Freedman
•Authors: 8 – Danie Brand, Christopher Gevers, Karthigasen Govender, Patricia Lenaghan, Douglas Mailula,
Nomthandazo Ntlama, Sanele Sibanda, Lee Stone
•Title: South African Constitutional Law in Context
•Edition Number: none
•Publisher: Oxford University Press
•Place of publication: Cape Town
•Date of publication: 2014
• Reference List:
•De Vos, P & Freedman, W (Eds) Brand, D Gevers, C Govender, K Lenaghan, P Mailula, D Ntlama, N Sibanda, S
Stone, L South African Constitutional Law in Context (2014) Oxford University Press: Cape Town.

•Should you use this source (COLA textbook) more than once then add (De Vos et al), and thereafter use De Vos et
al states….
• Footnote:
•De Vos, P & Freedman, W (Eds) Brand, D Gevers, C Govender, K Lenaghan, P Mailula, D Ntlama, N Sibanda, S
Stone, L South African Constitutional Law in Context (2014) Oxford University Press: Cape Town. (hereinafter De
Vos et al) Page number.
•De Vos et al page number. For example: De Vos et al 34.
IIE LAW STYLE REFERENCING EXAMPLE: TEXT BOOKS
1. Where there are a number of authors WITHOUT an editor:
Title: Hockly’s Insolvency Law
Authors (with initials): Robert D Sharrock, Kathleen E van der Linde and Alastair
D Smith
Edition: ninth (9th) edition
Year: 2012
Publisher: Juta and Company (Pty) Ltd
Place of publication: Cape Town

THE FOOTNOTE: (First time referring to the source):

Sharrock, RD. Van der Linde, KE. & Smith, AD Hockly’s Insolvency Law (2012) 9th ed
Juta and Company (Pty) Ltd: Cape Town (hereinafter Sharrock et al) page number.

(Second time referring to the same source in your footnotes):

Sharrock et al 134.

THE REFERNCE LIST OR BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Text books
Sharrock, RD. Van der Linde, KE. & Smith, AD Hockly’s Insolvency Law (2012) 9th ed
Juta and Company (Pty) Ltd: Cape Town.
2. Where there are a number of authors WITH an editor:
Title: The Law of Contract in South Africa
Editors: Dale Hutchison and Chris Pretorius
Authors: Elizabeth de Stadler, Jacques du Plessis, Sieg Eiselen, Tomas Floyd, Luanda Hawthorne, Birgit Kuschke, Catherine
Maxwell and Tjakie Naudé.
Edition: third (3rd) edition
Year: 2017
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Place of publication: Cape Town
THE FOOTNOTE: (First time referring to the source):
Hutchison, D & Pretorius, C (Eds) de Stadler, E du Plessis, J Eiselen, S Floyd, T Hawthorne, L Kuschke, B Maxwell, C Naude’, T
The Law of Contract in South Africa (2017) 3rd ed Oxford University Press: Cape Town (hereinafter Hutchison et al) page number.
(Second time referring to the same source in your footnotes):
Hutchison et al 152.
THE REFERENCE LIST OR BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Text books
Hutchison, D & Pretorius, C (Eds) de Stadler, E du Plessis, J Eiselen, S Floyd, T Hawthorne, L Kuschke, B Maxwell, C Naude’, T
The Law of Contract in South Africa (2017) 3rd ed Oxford University Press: Cape Town.
 
 ALL THE BEST WITH YOUR
ASSIGNMENTS!!

PowerPoint compiled by Priyanka Ramnarain & Priyaska Ramnarain