A Quick Guide to OSCOLA Referencing |

A Quick and Complete Guide to OSCOLA Referencing

What is Referencing?

It is necessary to acknowledge other people’s work or ideas when writing; hence, the sources used in your work must be referenced. This is usually done via an in-text citation within the body of a text that refers to work or ideas by others. Also, a complete reference list is provided at the end of the written materials of works or ideas taken from others.

What is OSCOLA referencing?

OSCOLA signifies Oxford Standard for the Citation of Legal Authorities. It is the Law referencing system that Oxford University created for post-graduate law students to use. This referencing style puts citations in footnotes, at the bottom of the page, and in bibliographies.

Citation

Use a number placed in superscript for in-text citation.

Example:

Young states that the Human Rights Act 1998 limits the power of the judiciary to interpret the legislation such that it is compatible with conventional rights.³

Inserting Footnote in Microsoft Word

Go to the References on the menu tab

Select insert footnote

Shortcut to Add a Reference:

Instead of going through the long route to add a reference to your work, you can use the shortcut Ctrl + Alt + F. You need to press these three keys together for the shortcut to work.

Footnotes in OSCOLA Referencing:

Indicates the authority of the preceding concept or text. It usually contains a superscript number in-text that corresponds with the relevant authority at the bottom of the page.

Example:

¹Jackson v Attorney General [2006] 1 AC 262

It appears after the necessary punctuation in the text; except you need to explain more, it is necessary to put it directly after the word or phrase.

Example:

Young states that the Human Rights Act 1998 limits the power of the judiciary to interpret the legislation such that it is compatible with conventional rights.¹

Sources and Footnote Style

General Information

Feel free to use abbreviations for common words and phrases;
Do not use full stops in abbreviations;
The name of the authors should be exactly as it appears on the work. Apply this also to editors;
Where authors are more than three (3), only use the first author mentioned and add ‘and others’
Organizations can be authors, in situations where the name of the author is not given;
Where no person or organization is mentioned, start the citation with the title of the work;
The order of the names in the footnote is the first name (or initials) followed by the surname.

Case Law

Neutral citations are given by the courts to identify their cases, independent of any law report. The citation refers to the judgement of the court and the practice that started in the United Kingdom in 2001. These transcripts are available for free on www.bailii.org.

The following are the various examples of abbreviations of courts in neutral citations – UKSC: Supreme Court; UKHL: House of Lords; UKPC: Privy Council; EWCACrim: England and Wales Court of Appeal (Criminal Division); EWCA Civ: England and Wales Court of Appeal (Civil Division); EWHC: England and Wales High Court; Divisions are indicated in brackets after the judgment number. (QB), (Admin), (Pat) etc.

Where you stated the name of the parties in the text, you do not need to repeat it in the footnote. For example, ‘In the case of X v Y,¹ the court formulated the ‘neighbour principle’. The footnote: ¹[1932] 5 SC 31 (HL).
The names of the law report and court should be abbreviated.
The name of the court and the first page of the law report may be excluded where appropriate.
Only state name the first defendant and claimant where there is more than one party.
Where a case has been mentioned before, you may shorten the name of a case in the footnote subsequently. For example, first footnote: A v B[1932] 5 SC 31 (HL).Subsequent footnotes: ‘in A’ or ‘in the A case’
When a case is unreported, but the neutral citation is known, state the neutral citation. In other cases, state the date of the judgement in parenthesis after naming the case. For example, D v E (CA 14 May 1997).
You can refer to a specific page or paragraph in the judgment. Put the number of the paragraph in square brackets: separated by comma if citing more than one paragraph, for example, C v D [2003] EWCA Civ 1120, [2003] 1 WLR 2110 [4], [7]; or a dash if it spans all the paragraphs in between, for example, A v B [2011] EWHC 300 (QB), [2011] 3 All ER 200 [5]– [9]. In pointing to specific pages, state the page - separated by comma if citing more than one page, for example, J v L [1900] Ch 100 (CA) 72, 74; or a dash if it spans all the paragraphs in between, for example, R v Z [1990] QB 523 (QB) 700–41.

The European Commission – case name; (case number); decision number; [year]; OJ L issue/first page, for example, Pistol (Case IV/M.030) Commission Decision 80/101/EEC

[1995] OJ L170/20

You may need to cite their decisions on competition and mergers law.

The European Court of Human Rights’ Judgments – depends on the report used

You can use either the European Human Rights Reports (EHRR) or the official reports, the Reports of Judgments and Decisions (ECHR). Stick to the one that you chose, for example, A, B and C v UK (2008) 40 EHRR 30
Until 1996, Series A was the name for the official reports. The reports were numbered consecutively. The consecutive numbering was retained by the EHRR until 2006 when they gave way to case numbers. For example, X v Ireland (1980) Series A no 10

The European Court of Justice and General Court’s Judgment– case number; case name; [year]; report; first page

The numbering of these cases is based on where they are registered. Either at the General Court (GC) or the European Court of Justice (ECJ). You can also use prefixes such as T (for GC cases) or C (for ECJ cases).
It is preferable that you cite the official law reports, which is the ECR. Volume one (I) of the ECR reports cases from the ECJ and volume two (II) reports those from the GC. In case an ECR reference is unavailable, then use the Common Market Law Reports (CMLR).
The page number is attached to the volume number via a dash. The volume numbers are in Roman numerals, for example, Case T–100/98 X v Y [2006] ECR II–2405
Use ‘para’ or ‘paras’ after a comma, when pinpointing, for example, Case C–186/04 Commission v Council [2008] ECR I–7079, paras 48–50

Legislation/statutes

Acts of Parliament- Short Title | year | section. For example, Equality Act 2010;

If the title starts with the article ‘the’, you should omit it.
The section should be included using a ‘s’ or ‘ss’ for multiple sections and the number. Equality Act 2010 s1 or ss 2(1) and 3(4)
If you will refer to the legislation subsequently, add an abbreviation after the first mention. For example, Equality Act 2010 (EA 2010) s 1.
Where the legislation has been spelt out in the text, you are not required to add a footnote. For example: “The Equality Act 2010 provides for the procedure that must be complied with to lay claim for equal pay”
If the legislation has an explanatory note, use the words ‘explanatory notes to the…’ For example, Explanatory Notes to the Child’s Rights Act

Bills (House of Lords or House of Commons) – Title | House | (Parliamentary session) | [Running number] For example, Consolidated Fund HC Bill (2001–04) [2]

The running number of the House of Lords Bills are not placed in square brackets. For example, Academies HL Bill (2007-9) 3
The clause(s) of the Bill are usually abbreviated as ‘cl’ or ‘cls.’ For example, Academies HL Bill (2007-9) 3, cl 3 (2)

Statutory Instruments (SI) – Short Title; Date; Serial number, for example, Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 2009, SI 2009/2087

Where the title contains the article ‘The’, it should be omitted.

European Union Treaties and Protocols - Legislation Title, amendments (where applicable) | [year] | OJ series | issues/first page number; for example, Consolidated Version of the Treaty on European Union [2008] OJ C115/13

EU Directives, Opinions, Recommendations, and Regulations – legislation type; number; title; [Year]; OJ L issue/first page; for example,Council Regulation (EC) 1986/2007 of 18 April 2007 introducing a system for the statistical monitoring of trade in bluefin tuna, swordfish, as well as big eye tuna within the Community [2007] OJ L185/1

Books, Articles, Web site/blog, and newspaper articles

Author(s); Title; (additional information, edition, publisher; year) for example, Sepetys R, Salt to the Sea (Philomel Books 2016).

The information of the publisher and the year are the most important in the parenthesis.
Additional information includes edition, translator, editor and other descriptions.
Where there are more than one volume, include the volume after the title, separated by a comma., for example, Jane Doe, The Start of Life, vol 1 (Knowledge Publishers 2000)
You can refer to a specific page in the book. You don’t need to add ‘page’ or ‘pg’, for example, Jane Doe, The Start of Life, vol 1 (Knowledge Publishers 2000) 20
The editor or translator may take the place of the author, where none is given. But, you must indicate who they are, for example, John Bull (ed), The Art of Knowing (Plantation 2000)
In other cases where the editor is mentioned alongside the author, you should cite the editor in the additional information section.
You can cite a particular chapter in an edited book, for example, Philips Phelps, ‘The Prisoner of War’ in Jane Doe (ed), The Start of Life, vol 1 (Knowledge Publishers 2000)

Encyclopedia – Name; (publication information, year) volume, paragraph. For example, Corpus Juris Secundum (4th edn, 2010) vol 100, para 20

The citation is similar to that of a book, except you don’t need to give the author or editor or publisher.
The year of issue or reissue and edition should be given.
You can refer to specific volumes or paragraphs too
Where the author of a part is specified, indicate the name of the start the citation with author and the title of that part, for example, Paul Paul, ‘Written Law’, Encyclopedia of Life (1900) 200
For encyclopedia accessed online, state the web address and date of access. Wikipedia, ‘List of encyclopedias by the branch of knowledge’, Wikipedia Encyclopedia (2022) accessed 13 January 2022

Online Journals – Author, | ‘Title’ | [year] | Journal Name (preferably abbreviated) | | access date Zhang Q and others, ‘Lean Six Sigma: A Literature Review’ (2012) 3(10) Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Business 599 accessed 24 December 2018.

Theses (unpublished) - Author, | title | (type of thesis, university and year of completion), for example, Javan Herberg, ‘Wrongful Ejection from Apartment’ (Mphil thesis, University of Nigeria 1990)

Websites and blogs - Author, | ‘Title’ | (name of the website/organisation, date of publication) | web address| access date, for example Schumer McRenolds, ‘The Pentagon Files’ (Reasonable Doubt, 1 May 2018) accessed 19 November 2021

Newspaper Articles – Author, | Title | Name of the New Organisation | (publication city, date) | page or web address; for example, Ikenna Obianeri, ‘2023: Present candidate that’ll be acceptable by all, group tells Ndigbo’ Punch Newspaper (South-east Nigeria, 13 January 2022) accessed 12 January 2022

Only give the page if you know;
You should use ‘Editorial’ as the author if it is an editorial

Miscellaneous Citations

Commands - Author, Title (Number, Year); for example, Prime Minister’s Office and Cabinet Office, Modernising government (Cm 4310, 1999)

Official Debate and Speech Records - House abbreviation Deb date, volume, column; for example, HL Deb 21 May 2013, vol 745, col WA39

Law Commission Reports - Law Commission, Report or Paper Title (number, year); for example, Law Commission, The 15th Programme of Law Reform (Law Com No 387, 2019).

Interpersonal Communication (Interviews) - Name of Interviewee(s), Position, Educational Institution (when required), (Place of the interview date). For example, Interview with ChiamaOkafor, Professor of Social Science, University Ibadan (Ibadan, 18 September 2019).

Unpublished letters or emails - Communication Form from Author to Recipient (date - DD Month YYYY), for example, Letter from A. Anderson WR (1 January 1980).

OTHER ISSUES

Referring to more than one source for the same text

The oldest source | semicolon (;) | the other sources

Where there is a more relevant source, cite that first, followed by others with ‘see also’
Do not use ‘and’ before the last item on the list
If you have both case law and legislation for the same content, start with the legislation
Primary sources should always come before secondary sources

Citing multiple works by the same author – you don’t have to rewrite the name of the author, for example, Fromm E, The Fear of Freedom (Routledge&Kegan Paul 1942). The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness (Penguin Books 1987)

Subsequent citations of the same work –

Cite only the author’s surname and cross-reference to the footnote with the full citation using (n), for example, Paul (n 3).
Where they follow themselves closely, use ‘ibid’ and add the page number of the new reference if you know, for example, ibid 200
Where you cite two different works of the same person, in other citations, provide the surname of the author and the title of the work (or short form). For example, McDonalds, Eating Burger (n 23)

Multiple works by the same author but different editions – for examples, Fromm E, The Fear of Freedom