Citation Style Guide
OSCOLA — Complete Legal Citation Guide
The Oxford Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities — the UK standard for citing cases, statutes, treaties, journal articles, and books in law essays and dissertations.
OSCOLA overview
OSCOLA (Oxford Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities) is the dominant citation standard for UK law students and legal academics. It is used by most UK law schools, law journals, and courts. OSCOLA is maintained by the Oxford Law Faculty and is freely available online.
OSCOLA is a footnote-based system. Sources are cited in numbered footnotes at the bottom of the page — not in parenthetical in-text citations. There are no brackets after an author's name in the running text; instead, a superscript number leads the reader to the full citation in the footnote.
Key OSCOLA principles
- No full stops in abbreviations: "AC" not "A.C."; "Ltd" not "Ltd."
- Minimal punctuation — no comma between author and title in books; comma only where explicitly required
- Cases: party names in italics; law report abbreviation in plain text
- Statutes: in plain text, not italics
- No "p." before page numbers in journal article footnotes
- Pinpoint page references: cite the specific page or paragraph you are relying on
Every source cited in the text must have a footnote. The footnote number appears as a superscript immediately after the relevant text — after punctuation at the end of a sentence, or immediately after the word or phrase being cited.
In-text with footnote
The court confirmed that a duty of care arises where damage is foreseeable, there is proximity between the parties, and it is fair, just, and reasonable to impose liability.¹
Footnote 1 would then read: Caparo Industries plc v Dickman [1990] 2 AC 605 (HL).
Cases
UK case — standard format
Party v Party [Year] Volume Law Report Abbreviation First Page (Court).
Donoghue v Stevenson [1932] AC 562 (HL).
R v Brown [1994] 1 AC 212 (HL) 213–214.
The pinpoint (page or paragraph) appears after the first page — here "213–214". For paragraphs: [2012] UKSC 10 [45]–[48].
Neutral citation (post-2001)
Fairchild v Glenhaven Funeral Services Ltd [2002] UKHL 22, [2003] 1 AC 32.
Neutral citation first, then the law report citation. Pinpoint by paragraph to neutral citation: [2002] UKHL 22, [2003] 1 AC 32 [45].
ECHR / ECtHR case
Handyside v United Kingdom App no 5493/72 (ECtHR, 7 December 1976).
Legislation (statutes and statutory instruments)
UK Act of Parliament
Human Rights Act 1998, s 6(1).
Acts are cited in plain text (no italics). "s" = section; "ss" = sections; "Sch" = Schedule; "Art" = Article. No comma before section number.
Statutory Instrument
Civil Procedure Rules 1998, SI 1998/3132, r 1.1.
EU and international law
EU Regulation / Directive
Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data [2016] OJ L119/1, art 6.
Treaty
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (consolidated version) [2012] OJ C326/47, art 101.
Journal articles
Format
Author, 'Title of Article' (Year) Volume Journal Abbreviation First Page, Pinpoint.
Allan Beever, 'Transferred Malice in Tort Law?' (2009) 29 Legal Studies 400, 412.
No full stops after abbreviations. No "p." before page number. Year in parentheses. Pinpoint page comes after the first page of the article.
Books and book chapters
Book
Author, Title (edition, Publisher Year) pinpoint page.
Andrew Burrows, A Restatement of the English Law of Contract (OUP 2016) 45.
Chapter in edited book
Author, 'Chapter Title' in Editor (ed), Book Title (Publisher Year) pinpoint.
Catherine Mitchell, 'Interpretation of Contracts' in Andrew Burrows and Edwin Peel (eds), Contract Terms (OUP 2007) 133, 140.
Websites and online sources
Format
Author, 'Title' (Website Name, Date) <URL> accessed Day Month Year.
Lord Neuberger, 'Has Mediation Had Its Day?' (Judicial Institute for Scotland, 15 January 2015) <https://www.judiciary.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/has-mediation-had-its-day-neuberger.pdf> accessed 10 February 2024.
Ibid. and shortened citations
Subsequent citation rules
Ibid.: Use when the immediately preceding footnote cites the same source. "Ibid 45" means the same source, page 45.
Shortened case citation: After the first full citation, subsequent references may use a shortened party name: Donoghue (n 1) 569.
Shortened book/article citation: After the first full citation: Burrows (n 5) 67. — where (n 5) refers to footnote 5 where the full citation appeared.
Bibliography format
OSCOLA bibliographies are divided into separate sections: Table of Cases, Table of Legislation, and Bibliography (secondary sources). Within each section, entries are listed alphabetically.
Bibliography entries for books differ slightly from footnote format: the author's surname comes first.
Bibliography entry vs footnote
Footnote: Andrew Burrows, A Restatement of the English Law of Contract (OUP 2016) 45.
Bibliography: Burrows A, A Restatement of the English Law of Contract (OUP 2016).
No pinpoint in bibliography entries. Surname-first in bibliography. No comma after surname in OSCOLA.
Common OSCOLA mistakes
- Adding full stops to abbreviations — "A.C." should be "AC"; "Ltd." should be "Ltd"
- Italicising statutes — Acts of Parliament are plain text, not italics
- Using parenthetical in-text citations instead of footnotes
- Omitting pinpoint references — always cite the specific page or paragraph you are relying on
- Using "p." before page numbers in journal article footnotes — OSCOLA omits "p."
- Citing cases without the court abbreviation in parentheses — always include (HL), (CA), (UKSC) etc.
- Forgetting the (n X) cross-reference in shortened subsequent citations
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