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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.
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.
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
Case Law
Neutral Citations:case name | [year] | court |number, | [year] or (year) | volume | report | first page. For example: A v B [2001] EWCA Civ 10 at [30], [2001] 2 All ER 364.
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.
Without Neutral Citation:case name | [year] or (year) |volume| law report | first page | (court). For example: X v Y [1990] 2 AC 605 (HL).
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
The European Court of Human Rights’ Judgments – depends on the report used
The European Court of Justice and General Court’s Judgment– case number; case name; [year]; report; first page
Legislation/statutes
Acts of Parliament- Short Title | year | section. For example, Equality Act 2010;
Bills (House of Lords or House of Commons) – Title | House | (Parliamentary session) | [Running number] For example, Consolidated Fund HC Bill (2001–04) [2]
Statutory Instruments (SI) – Short Title; Date; Serial number, for example, Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 2009, SI 2009/2087
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).
Encyclopedia – Name; (publication information, year) volume, paragraph. For example, Corpus Juris Secundum (4th edn, 2010) vol 100, para 20
Journal Articles (Hard Copy) – Author, | ‘Title’ | [year] | Journal Name (preferably abbreviated)| first page of the article or Author, | ‘Title’ | (year) | Vol. (no.) | Journal Name (preferably abbreviated), for example, Zhang Q and others, ‘Lean Six Sigma: A Literature Review’ (2012) 3(10) Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Business 599.
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
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
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 –
Multiple works by the same author but different editions – for examples, Fromm E, The Fear of Freedom
See also:
A Quick and Complete Guide to Oxford Referencing
A Quick Guide to Harvard Referencing
A Quick Guide to Vancouver Referencing
A Quick Guide to MLA (8th edition) Referencing
A Quick Guide to IEEE Referencing in Microsoft Word
A Quick Guide To IEEE Referencing
A Quick Guide To APA 7 Referencing
A Quick Guide To American Meteorological Society (AMS) Style Referencing
A Quick And Complete Guide To Chicago Referencing
A Quick Guide To MHRA Referencing
A Quick Guide To OSCOLA Referencing
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