OSCOLA Referencing Guide

Accurate and consistent referencing is essential in all academic work. Whenever you refer to someone else’s words, ideas or arguments, acknowledge the source. A clear reference gives your reader enough information to find the material and the passage you used.

Updated to follow OSCOLA, fifth edition (March 2026), the Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities.

OSCOLA uses numbered footnotes. This guide explains how to cite legal authorities and secondary sources, how to refer to them again, and how to prepare tables and a bibliography. You can also use our OSCOLA referencing generator to create a footnote from your source details.

How to reference using OSCOLA

Put the reference in a footnote, with a superscript number after the sentence’s punctuation. If it refers only to material in brackets, put the number inside those brackets. Number footnotes consecutively, starting again in each chapter of a book or thesis.

Give the full citation on first use. End the footnote with a full stop unless it already ends with a question mark or exclamation mark. Separate sources in the same footnote sentence with semicolons.

The case name is already in the sentence, so it need not be repeated in the footnote. The pinpoint [21] directs the reader to paragraph 21 of the judgment.

For a single proposition, cite legislation before cases and primary sources before secondary sources. Sources of the same kind normally go in chronological order. Where some are more directly relevant, give those first and introduce the remaining sources in a new sentence with “See also”.

Pinpoints and punctuation

A pinpoint directs the reader to a particular passage. Include one when quoting or referring to a specific part of a source:

• Cases: use a numbered paragraph in square brackets, such as [21]. If there are no paragraph numbers, give the relevant page without “p” or “pp”.
• Books: put the page number after the publication details. Use “para” or “paras” for numbered paragraphs, rather than square brackets.
• Journal articles: give the article’s first page, then a comma and the page you are discussing.
• Legislation: use the appropriate provision, such as s 2, reg 7(2) or art 6.
• Audio and video: give a timestamp or time range before the web address.

Do not add full stops to initials or abbreviations: use HLA Hart, UKSC and WLR. Use an en dash for a range. Page ranges can be shortened, as in 125–26; retain at least two digits in the final number, and an extra digit where that would otherwise begin with zero, as in 201–203. Write paragraph ranges in full, for example [120]–[123].

Quotations and acknowledging sources

Cite ideas you paraphrase as well as words you quote. Include the page or paragraph containing the passage.

Short quotations

Keep quotations of up to three lines within your paragraph, in single quotation marks. Use double quotation marks for a quotation within a quotation. Put the footnote number after the closing quotation mark and punctuation.

Long quotations

Set quotations longer than three lines in a separate indented paragraph, with space above and below. Do not add enclosing quotation marks or indent the first line further. A quotation within the passage takes single quotation marks.

Omitting words

Use an ellipsis, with a space on either side, for omitted words within a quotation or an ending cut short. Do not use one at the start. A question mark belonging to the quotation stays inside the quotation marks.

Changing a quotation

Show alterations in square brackets. Here, [y] shows that the original capital “Y” has been changed to fit the sentence. Mark an error in the original with [sic] immediately after it.

Adding emphasis

If you add italics for emphasis, put “(emphasis added)” after the citation. Use “(emphasis in original)” if the emphasis belongs to the source.

If you find a quotation in another author’s work, cite the work you actually read. Where attribution is needed, include the original source’s citation in that footnote too.

UK cases

Cases from England and Wales

Italicise the case name. Give its neutral citation, where one exists, followed by a comma and the citation of the best law report. The rest of the reference stays in ordinary type.

Corr v IBC Vehicles Ltd [2008] UKHL 13, [2008] 1 AC 884.

Use the ICLR Law Reports in preference to another report. If the case does not appear there, use the Weekly Law Reports or All England Law Reports before a specialist series. A reference to a report remains necessary even if you read the judgment online. Do not add the database name or URL.

If a reported case has no neutral citation, give the report citation and then a court identifier. A separate court identifier is unnecessary where the neutral citation already supplies it. Do not use retrospectively assigned neutral citations for judgments before 2001.

Donoghue v Stevenson [1932] AC 562 (HL).

For law reports in England and Wales, square brackets mean that the year is needed to identify the volume. Use round brackets where the volume has its own independent number. Include a volume number where the report series requires it.

Place a pinpoint after the complete citation. If the judgment has numbered paragraphs, use those instead of page numbers. When quoting a judge whose identity is not clear from your text, add the judge’s name in brackets after the pinpoint.

Darnley v Croydon Health Services NHS Trust [2018] UKSC 50, [2019] AC 831 [21].

If the case name already appears in your sentence, you can omit it from that sentence’s footnote. For an unreported case, use its neutral citation. If it has neither a report nor a neutral citation, give the case name followed by the court and full judgment date in brackets.

Stubbs v Sayer (CA, 8 November 1990).

For a pre-1865 case reproduced in the English Reports, cite both the original nominate report and the English Reports. Court identifiers are not required for those older cases.

Create a reference for an English or Welsh case

Cases from Scotland and Northern Ireland

Scottish cases also use a neutral citation followed by the best report where available. Prefer Session Cases, then the Scots Law Times. In Scottish report citations, leave the year unbracketed when it identifies the volume; use round brackets for independently numbered volumes. For Court of Session reports, identify the Inner House or Outer House with (IH) or (OH).

Adams v Advocate General 2003 SC 171 (OH) 175.

Northern Irish cases follow the neutral-citation and report approach used in England and Wales. Supply a court identifier where there is no neutral citation.

Hylands v McClintock [1999] NI 28 (Ch D).

Create a reference for a Scottish case or a Northern Irish case.

Acts, bills and statutory instruments

UK Acts of Parliament

Give the Act’s short title and year in ordinary type, with no comma before the year. In a footnote, omit “the” before the title. Add a comma before a section or other provision. Use “s” for one section and “ss” for more than one; use “sch” for a schedule and “para” for a paragraph.

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

If the title, year and relevant provision are all supplied in your text, a footnote repeating that information is unnecessary. For explanatory notes, use “Explanatory Notes to the” followed by the Act and, where needed, a paragraph pinpoint.

Explanatory Notes to the Charities Act 2006, para 15.

Create an Act of Parliament reference

Devolved legislation

• Scotland: add the Act’s “asp” number in brackets after the year.
• Wales: add “asc” for Acts of Senedd Cymru, “anaw” for Acts of the former National Assembly, or “nawm” for Assembly Measures, followed by the running number in brackets. The Welsh-language equivalents are “dsc”, “dccc” and “mccc”.
• Northern Ireland: use “(Northern Ireland)” between the title and year for Acts of the current Assembly, and “(NI)” for Acts of the former Parliament.

Crofting Reform etc Act 2007 (asp 7).

Welsh Tax Acts etc (Power to Modify) Act 2022 (asc 2).

Learner Travel (Wales) Measure 2008 (nawm 2).

Presumption of Death Act (Northern Ireland) 2009.

Create a reference for a Scottish Act, a Welsh Act or Measure, or a Northern Irish Act.

Bills

For a Westminster Bill, give its title, “HC Bill” or “HL Bill”, the parliamentary session in round brackets and the Bill number. Put a Commons Bill number in square brackets; leave a Lords Bill number unbracketed. Use “cl” or “cls” for clauses.

Consolidated Fund HC Bill (2008–2009) [5].

Academies HL Bill (2010–11) 1, cl 8(2).

Scottish Bills use the SP Bill number before the title, then the stage in square brackets, the session and the year. Welsh and Northern Irish Bills use the title, stage in square brackets and year; include “(Northern Ireland)” after the title for an Assembly Bill.

SP Bill 4A Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc (Scotland) Bill [as amended at Stage 2] Session 1 (2000).

Agriculture (Wales) Bill [as amended at Stage 2] 2020.

Budget Bill (Northern Ireland) [as introduced] 2020.

Create a reference for a Westminster, Welsh or Northern Irish Bill or a Scottish Bill.

Statutory instruments and rules

Give the instrument’s title and year, followed by a comma and its SI number. Add a provision after another comma, using “reg”, “art” or “r” for a regulation, article or rule; the plurals are “regs”, “arts” and “rr”.

Eggs and Chicks (England) Regulations 2009, SI 2009/2163, reg 7(2).

Use “SSI” for Scottish statutory instruments and “SR” for Northern Ireland statutory rules. Welsh instruments retain the SI number and add the Welsh number in brackets, using “W” in English or “Cy” in Welsh. Instruments made at Westminster use the UK format even when they apply only to a devolved jurisdiction.

Act of Adjournal (Criminal Appeals) 2003, SSI 2003/387.

Learner Travel (Wales) Measure 2008 (Commencement No 2) Order, SI 2009/2819 (W 245).

Rates (Regional Rates) Order (Northern Ireland) 2022, SR 2022/50.

Older statutory rules and orders use “SR & O” and their year/number. Rules of court use their established abbreviations and rule numbers, for example CPR 7.1.

Create a reference for a UK statutory instrument, Scottish instrument, Welsh instrument or Northern Ireland statutory rule.

European cases and legislation

EU court decisions

Give the case number, italicised case name and European Case Law Identifier (ECLI). Use the identifier in the form “EU:C:year:number” or “EU:T:year:number”, without adding “ECLI:” or a law report reference. Earlier decisions have also been assigned identifiers. Do not add “C-” to case numbers from before 1989.

Case C-403/03 Schempp v Finanzamt EU:C:2005:446 [19].

For an Advocate General’s opinion, use the opinion’s own ECLI, then “Opinion of AG” and the surname. Use “point” or “points” for a pinpoint.

Case C-189/16 Zaniewicz-Dybeck v Pensionsmyndigheten EU:C:2017:329, Opinion of AG Wathelet, point 51.

European Commission decisions

For competition and merger decisions, give the italicised case name, case number in brackets, Commission Decision number where available, and the Official Journal reference.

Alcatel/Telettra (Case IV/M.042) Commission Decision 91/251/EEC [1991] OJ L122/48.

European Court of Human Rights

Give the italicised case name, the relevant phase and document type in separate round brackets, and “[GC]” or “[Committee]” where applicable. Follow these with “ECtHR”, the application number and the full date in round brackets. Add any paragraph pinpoint at the end. Use this fifth-edition format rather than a Series A or EHRR report citation.

Broniowski v Poland (Merits) (Judgment) [GC] ECtHR App No 31443/96 (22 June 2004).

Use “App Nos” for multiple applications. For an advisory opinion, give the relevant identifying details, such as its request number, in place of an application number. Do not repeat “Advisory Opinion” if it is already part of the title.

Create an ECtHR reference

EU legislation

Give the legislation’s full name, including its type, number and title, followed by its Official Journal reference. For older L-series entries, give the year in square brackets and the issue/first page. For legal acts published from 1 October 2023, give the publication date after “OJ L” instead of an issue and page.

Regulation (EC) No 593/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 June 2008 on the law applicable to contractual obligations [2008] OJ L177/6.

Regulation (EU) 2024/1083 of the European Parliament and Council of 11 April 2024 establishing a common framework for media services in the internal market and amending Directive 2010/13/EU (European Media Freedom Act) [2024] OJ L 17.4.2024.

EU treaties and protocols take their title and the Official Journal year, series, issue and first page. For legislation from 1952–72, use the English Special Edition where possible, abbreviated “OJ Spec Ed”.

Distinguish an assimilated UK version of EU legislation from the EU version. Put “Assimilated” before its title, use the title as it appears in that UK version, and replace the OJ reference with the details of any amending UK statutory instruments.

Assimilated Regulation (EC) No 593/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 June 2008 on the law applicable to contractual obligations, as amended by SI 2019/834, reg 10 (‘Rome I Regulation (Assimilated)’).

Create an EU legislation reference

Treaties

Give the treaty’s title, its relevant adoption or signature details and entry-into-force date, followed by its treaty-series reference. For a bilateral or trilateral treaty, name the parties in brackets unless the title already identifies them. Do not list the parties to a multilateral treaty.

For a treaty opened for signature generally, give that opening date; for one signed by all its parties rather than open to further signature, give the adoption date. Include the entry-into-force date, or state that it has not entered into force where that is the case.

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (opened for signature 19 December 1966, entered into force 3 January 1976) 993 UNTS 3 (‘ICESCR’).

Prefer UNTS, LNTS or CTS where available, then an official treaty series of a state party, before another international treaty series. For a series organised by volume, put the volume before the abbreviation and the first page after it. A pinpoint to an article follows the treaty citation.

Books, ebooks and chapters

Authors and titles

In a footnote, reproduce an author’s name as it appears in the publication, omitting titles and postnominals. Give all the names where there are up to three authors. For more than three, give the first author followed by “and others”. Apply the same rule to editors. If an organisation takes responsibility for the work, use it as the author; if no author or responsible organisation is identified, start with the title.

Italicise book titles and use capitals for their major words. Put titles of chapters and articles in single quotation marks, in ordinary type.

Books

Give the author, a comma, the italicised title, then the publisher and year in round brackets. Give an edition other than the first before the publisher, using “edn”. A place of publication is not required for an ordinary modern book. Put any page or paragraph pinpoint after the brackets.

Timothy Endicott, Administrative Law (OUP 2009).

Mary Keyes, Jurisdiction in International Litigation (Federation Press 2005) 125–26.

For an edited book without an author, give the editor followed by “(ed)” or “(eds)”. Use “(tr)” or “(trs)” for translators. If the book has an author as well as a credited editor or translator, put the latter’s details at the beginning of the publication brackets.

Jeremy Horder (ed), Oxford Essays in Jurisprudence: Fourth Series (OUP 2000).

K Zweigert and H Kötz, An Introduction to Comparative Law (Tony Weir tr, 3rd edn, OUP 1998).

For a multivolume work, the volume normally follows the publication details. If the volumes have different publication details, put the volume before those details, separated from the title by a comma.

Create a book reference

Ebooks

An ebook with the same page or paragraph numbering as the printed book takes the print citation. If it has no printed counterpart, include the ebook type or edition before the publisher. Where pages and numbered paragraphs are absent, identify the chapter or section; a reference to a footnote within it can help locate the passage.

William Lucy, Philosophy of Private Law (Kindle edn, OUP 2007) ch 1, text to n 16.

Chapters in edited books

Give the chapter author and title, followed by “in”, the editor’s name and “(ed)” or “(eds)”, a comma, the italicised book title and its publication details. A pinpoint follows those details. You do not need the chapter’s opening page or its full page range.

Justine Pila, ‘The Value of Authorship in the Digital Environment’ in William H Dutton and Paul W Jeffreys (eds), World Wide Research: Reshaping the Sciences and Humanities in the Century of Information (MIT Press 2010).

Create a book chapter reference

Journal articles

Give the author, the article title in single quotation marks, the year, any volume number, the journal abbreviation and the article’s first page. Leave the journal name or abbreviation in ordinary type. Use round brackets for the year where the journal has independently numbered volumes, and square brackets where the year identifies the volume.

Alison L Young, ‘In Defence of Due Deference’ (2009) 72 MLR 554.

Paul Craig, ‘Theory, “Pure Theory” and Values in Public Law’ [2005] PL 440.

Include an issue number only when each issue restarts its page numbering. Put it in round brackets immediately after the volume, as in 1(1). Cite the first page rather than the article’s whole page range, then add a comma and any pinpoint.

JAG Griffith, ‘The Common Law and the Political Constitution’ (2001) 117 LQR 42, 64.

Use the print citation for a print article read online, without adding the database name or an access date. For an online-only article, give the normal article details that exist and use the website-link rules where a link is supplied. For an article awaiting publication, add “(forthcoming)” and omit volume or page details that have not yet been assigned.

A titled case note follows the article format. For an untitled note, use the case name in italics and add “(note)”. Book reviews take the article format with “(book review)” at the end; if the review has no title, use the book title in single quotation marks.

Create a journal article reference

Websites and blogs

For a web page or blog post, give the author or username, the contribution’s title in single quotation marks, then the italicised website name and known publication date in round brackets. Omit an unknown author or date rather than inventing one.

Prefer a persistent link, such as Perma.cc, or a DOI; neither needs an access date. Put web links in angle brackets, but leave DOIs unbracketed. Otherwise, give the URL of the page hosting the content and the date you accessed it. Use that page rather than the homepage or a downloaded PDF.

Maximilian Steinbeis, ‘A European Network of Constitutional Law Blogs’ (VerfBlog, 17 March 2015) DOI: 10.17176/20181005-145902-0.

‘When is Human Trafficking Not Human Trafficking? When it Makes a Good Story’ (The Secret Barrister, 29 November 2022) <https://perma.cc/6548-64JY>.

For an ordinary URL, include the access date after the link:

Geert van Calster, ‘Rechtbank Noord Holland on Applicable Law viz a Pig Butchering Scam, Echoing the Classic Difficulty of Distinguishing Contract from Tort’ (GAVC Law, 15 July 2023) <https://gavclaw.com/2023/07/15/rechtbank-noord-holland-on-applicable-law-viz-a-pig-butchering-scam-echoing-the-classic-difficulty-of-distinguishing-contract-from-tort/> accessed 21 July 2023.

A book or journal article read online still follows the rules for that type of publication.

Create a website reference or a blog reference.

Social media, videos and podcasts

Social media posts, including TikTok

Give the username as displayed, followed by the italicised platform name and the post’s date in round brackets. Include its time where available and the time zone from which it was accessed. Include “@” for an X or Twitter username. Follow with the post’s link and, for an ordinary URL, the access date.

@The Criminal Bar (Twitter, 26 June 2023, 9:13pm GMT+1) <https://perma.cc/HD6K-3GZQ>.

The same social-media structure applies to a TikTok post: use its actual username, TikTok as the platform, the available publication details and a link to the post. If citing a particular passage in a video, add its timestamp before the link.

Create a social media reference

YouTube and other online videos

Give the uploader or author, the video title in single quotation marks, and the italicised site name and publication date in round brackets. Put a timestamp or time range before the link. The rules on persistent links, DOIs and access dates are the same as for websites.

UK Supreme Court, ‘Lady Hale’s Valedictory Remarks – 18 December 2019’ (YouTube, 18 December 2019) 42:41–51:17 <https://perma.cc/7YZV-Y43A>.

Create an online video reference

Podcast episodes

Start with the podcast name, followed by the episode title in single quotation marks and its full date in round brackets. Add a timestamp for the passage used and then a web address where available. Include an access date for an ordinary URL.

Double Jeopardy podcast, ‘Episode 27: Dr Bryn Harris – Free Speech, Harm and the Internet’ (7 April 2023) 3:40–3:56 <https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/double-jeopardy/id1633485236?i=1000607857832> accessed 21 July 2023.

Create a podcast reference

Generative AI outputs

Use the AI tool as the author. If you gave it instructions to generate the material, reproduce those instructions in single quotation marks after “response to”. Follow this with the developer’s name, then put the generation date in round brackets. Use the date the output was generated, rather than the date on which you later accessed or copied it.

ChatGPT, response to ‘Explain how artificial intelligence works’, OpenAI (16 July 2023).

Create a generative AI reference

Parliamentary and government materials

Hansard and parliamentary reports

For Commons or Lords debates, give “HC Deb” or “HL Deb”, then the full date, volume and column. Use “col” for one column or “cols” for several. For a Commons Public Bill Committee debate, use the Bill title followed by “Deb”, the date and the column.

HC Deb 3 February 1977, vol 389, cols 973–76.

Health Bill Deb 30 January 2007, cols 12–15.

For a select committee report, give the committee name and italicised report title, then “HL” or “HC”, the session, paper number and any volume in round brackets. A volume uses roman numerals. For a joint committee, give both Houses’ paper numbers, with the Lords first.

Science and Technology Committee, Genomic Medicine (HL 2008–2009, 107–I).

Command papers and Royal Commission reports

Give the responsible department or body, the italicised title, then the command paper number and year in brackets. Preserve the prefix belonging to the paper: these include Cmd, Cmnd, Cm and, from 2019, CP. A Royal Commission report published as a command paper follows this format.

Home Office, Report of the Royal Commission on Capital Punishment (Cmd 8932, 1953) para 53.

Department for Science, Innovation & Technology, A Pro-innovation Approach to AI Regulation (CP 815, 2023) paras 23–25.

Law Commission reports and consultation papers

Give the commission name and italicised title, then its report or paper number and year in brackets. Use the appropriate Law Com, Scot Law Com or NILC identifier. Preserve “CP” or “DP” for consultation or discussion papers and add any pinpoint after the brackets.

Law Commission, Reforming Bribery (Law Com No 313, 2008) paras 3.12–3.17.

Law Commission, Privity of Contract: Contracts for the Benefit of Third Parties (Law Com CP No 121, 1991).

Citing a source again

After the full first citation, use a short identification of the source and a cross-reference to its original footnote, followed by the new pinpoint. The fifth edition does not use “ibid”, including when two references to the same source are consecutive.

For example, if the full book reference is in footnote 1:

¹ Robert Stevens, Torts and Rights (OUP 2007).

A later footnote referring to page 110 would contain:

Stevens (n 1) 110.

For a case, use an italicised short name, the original footnote number and the new pinpoint:

Here, footnote 12 sends the reader back to the full citation in footnote 7. Add a title or short title if several works by the same author share that original footnote. Legislation can reuse an established short form without a footnote cross-reference.

Tables of cases and legislation

In longer works, put tables of primary sources in the preliminary pages: cases first, then legislation and any other tables. A list of abbreviations comes before them. Shorter essays and articles ordinarily need only footnotes.

Table of cases

List cases alphabetically by the first significant word, in ordinary type rather than italics. Separate jurisdictions unless there are very few cases. The right-hand column gives pages in your own work, not pages in the law reports:

Move an introductory “Re” after the name: for example, “Farquar’s Estate, Re”. In a criminal-law work, list “R v Smith” under “Smith”; in work on another area of law, keep it under “R”. Keep judicial-review cases with the Crown as the first-named party under “R” as well.

For an EU court decision, put the name first, followed by the case number in round brackets and the ECLI:

Schempp v Finanzamt (Case C-403/03) EU:C:2005:446

Table of legislation

List legislation alphabetically, with provisions beneath each Act and page references to your own work:

List statutory instruments after the Acts, or in a separate table if there are many. Separate jurisdictions where useful.

OSCOLA bibliography

In a longer work, put the bibliography after the main text and appendices. It lists secondary sources; cases, legislation and other primary authorities belong in their tables. Books and articles can appear together in a single alphabetical list.

Use the source’s normal citation format with these bibliography changes: put the author’s surname before their initials, use initials instead of forenames, and place a comma after the initials. Do not end a bibliography entry with a full stop. Remove pinpoints to individual passages; a journal article still retains its opening page.

Footnote:

Elizabeth Fisher, Risk Regulation and Administrative Constitutionalism (Hart Publishing 2007).

Bibliography:

Fisher E, Risk Regulation and Administrative Constitutionalism (Hart Publishing 2007)

Order entries by author surname. For several works by the same author, put the oldest first, then order works from the same year by the first major word of their titles. Do not add “a”, “b” or similar letters to the years. After the first entry, replace that author’s name with a double em dash.

More than one author

Use surnames followed by initials for co-authors too:

Zweigert K and Kötz H, An Introduction to Comparative Law (Tony Weir tr, 3rd edn, OUP 1998)

Put co-written works after the first author’s sole-authored works. Sort different co-authors alphabetically and works by the same combination chronologically.

Works without an author

Put unattributed works first in the bibliography, ordered by the first major word of the title. Start each entry with a double em dash:

—— ‘no-fault compensation’, Oxford Dictionary of Law (10th edn, OUP 2022)

For the full citation rules and further examples, see the official Oxford OSCOLA guidance.