Law - Legal Citation Guide

Accurate legal citation serves two major functions:

• Provides a succinct road map, so that a reader can locate the item to which you are referring.
• Conveys valuable information about the item which can help a reader quickly discern if the item is worth pursuing.

This online guide will help you with legal citation for the most common situations, and should be sufficient for legal research and writing courses at the Peter A. Allard School of Law, University of British Columbia.

Not every situation is covered in any one citation guide. Use analogy and common sense, rather than subserviently following a guide. For guidance on how to cite materials not covered by this online guide, you may wish to consult the Chicago Manual of Style which has an excellent index. 

Combining information found in the Chicago Manual of Style with this online guide should meet all of your legal citation needs. If you need further advice, see below for a selective list of other sources.       

• Australia:  Australian Guide to Legal Citation (AGLC)
• British Columbia:  British Columbia Court of Appeal, Citation of Authorities (Civil & Criminal Practice Directive, issued July 18, 2022)  
• Canada: 
  • Canadian Citation Committee, The Preparation, Citation and Distribution of Canadian Decisions
  • Canadian Citation Committee, Case Naming Guidelines
  • Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation (McGill Guide), 9th ed.
• United Kingdom:  Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (OSCOLA) – see especially the free 4th ed. pdf and OSCOLA 2006: Citing International Law 
• United States: 
  •  The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (Harvard Bluebook) LAW LIBRARY Reference Room (Level 2)  KF 245 B58 and Learning Commons (Level 2) KF 245 B58 [Note: Quick Style Guide is available]
  • The Maroonbook: The University of Chicago Manual of Legal Citation