OSCOLA, the Oxford University Standard for the Citation of Legal Authorities, is the footnote-based citation style used by most UK law schools and many law journals. Citations go in footnotes, not in brackets in the text.
The edition in common use is the 4th, published in 2012; check whether your law school has adopted a newer version or local variations. This guide explains the core rules with examples for the sources law students cite most.
OSCOLA in Five Rules
- Cite in footnotes, marked by a superscript number after the relevant punctuation.
- End every footnote with a full stop.
- Use minimal punctuation: no full stops in abbreviations such as HL, AC or edn.
- Italicize case names; do not italicize legislation titles.
- Give pinpoints to the exact page or paragraph you rely on.
How Footnotes Work
Place the footnote marker at the end of the sentence or clause, after the punctuation. A footnote can contain more than one citation, separated by semicolons.
If you name a case in your text, you can give its citation in the footnote. Subsequent references use a short form or ibid, explained below. OSCOLA does not use "op cit" or "loc cit".
Cases
Cite cases by name, year, report and first page. Use square brackets for the year when it identifies the volume, and round brackets when the report series has its own volume numbers. Add the court in brackets if it is not clear from the report or neutral citation.
Donoghue v Stevenson [1932] AC 562 (HL).
With a pinpoint page: Donoghue v Stevenson [1932] AC 562 (HL) 580.
Neutral Citations
Since 2001, judgments in the senior courts of England and Wales and the UK Supreme Court carry a neutral citation. Give it first, followed by the best law report citation if the case is reported.
R (Miller) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union [2017] UKSC 5, [2018] AC 61.
Pinpoint to a paragraph in square brackets: R (Miller) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union [2017] UKSC 5, [2018] AC 61 [86].
Law Reports and Court Abbreviations
| Abbreviation | Meaning |
|---|---|
| AC | Law Reports, Appeal Cases |
| QB, KB | Law Reports, Queen's or King's Bench |
| Ch | Law Reports, Chancery |
| WLR | Weekly Law Reports |
| All ER | All England Law Reports |
| UKSC, UKHL | Supreme Court, House of Lords (neutral citations) |
| EWCA Civ, EWCA Crim | Court of Appeal, Civil and Criminal Divisions (neutral) |
| EWHC | High Court, with the division in brackets after the number (neutral) |
Where a case is reported in several series, prefer the official Law Reports (AC, QB, KB, Ch) over the general series.
Statutes and Statutory Instruments
Cite Acts by short title and year, without italics or a comma before the year. Use s for section, ss for sections, sch for schedule, and pt for part.
Human Rights Act 1998, s 3(1).
Equality Act 2010, ss 13–14.
Statutory instrument: Title of Regulations Year, SI Year/Number, reg #.
If you name the Act in your text, you do not need a footnote for it, though many students add one for the pinpoint.
Journal Articles
Format: author, 'title' (year) volume journal abbreviation first page, pinpoint. Article titles go in single quotation marks; journal names are abbreviated and not italicized.
HLA Hart, 'Positivism and the Separation of Law and Morals' (1958) 71 Harv L Rev 593, 606.
Use round brackets for the year when the journal has volume numbers, and square brackets when the year serves as the volume. Give author names as they appear in the publication.
Books and Chapters
Format: author, title (edition, publisher year) pinpoint. Book titles are italicized, and the edition, publisher and year go together in brackets.
Book: Amara Osei, Clinical Negligence and the Law (2nd edn, Northfield Academic Press 2021) 47.
Chapter: Kofi Mensah, 'Consent after Montgomery' in Laura Brennan (ed), Medical Law in Practice (Harbor Academic 2020) 52.
The book and chapter in these examples are illustrative. Note that there is no comma between the publisher and year, and none between the closing bracket and the pinpoint.
Websites and Online Sources
Cite online sources like their print equivalents where possible. For web-only material, give the author, title, website and date, followed by the URL in angled brackets and the date of access.
Author, 'Title of Page' (Website Name, 12 March 2024) <https://www.example.org/page> accessed 14 January 2025.
Do not give URLs for cases or legislation you have read in a standard database, since the report citation is enough.
Ibid and Later References
1. Amara Osei, Clinical Negligence and the Law (2nd edn, Northfield Academic Press 2021) 47.
2. ibid 52.
3. Donoghue v Stevenson [1932] AC 562 (HL) 580.
4. Osei (n 1) 60.
5. Donoghue (n 3) 599.
Use ibid for the source in the immediately preceding footnote, adding a new pinpoint if needed. For an earlier source, use a short form with a cross-reference to the footnote of the full citation, as in "(n 1)". Short case names are italicized.
Tables and Bibliography
Longer work, such as a dissertation, usually ends with a table of cases, a table of legislation and a bibliography of secondary sources, each in alphabetical order. Shorter essays may not need them; follow your module guidance.
In the bibliography, put the author's surname first, followed by initials without full stops, and omit pinpoints:
Hart HLA, 'Positivism and the Separation of Law and Morals' (1958) 71 Harv L Rev 593
Osei A, Clinical Negligence and the Law (2nd edn, Northfield Academic Press 2021)
Bibliography entries do not end with a full stop.
Common OSCOLA Errors
- Using author-date citations in the text.
- Leaving out the full stop at the end of a footnote.
- Adding full stops to abbreviations, such as H.L. or edn.
- Italicizing the names of Acts.
- Omitting the neutral citation for a case decided after 2001.
- Missing pinpoints when relying on a specific passage.
- Adding commas between the volume, journal and first page.
How IvyDrafts Helps with OSCOLA
Send your essay or dissertation, any law school style notes and a list of your authorities if you have one. A graduate editor checks every footnote, short form, cross-reference and table against OSCOLA, corrects punctuation and format and flags any citation that looks incomplete, with changes tracked.
We never invent cases or authorities. Free revisions within the scope of your original request are included.
Get Your OSCOLA Footnotes Right
Send your essay or dissertation and any law school style notes. Your editor corrects footnotes, short forms and tables to OSCOLA, with changes tracked.
Order OSCOLA FormattingFree revisions · Full refund if late · Written from scratch for your order
Frequently Asked Questions
The Oxford University Standard for the Citation of Legal Authorities, the footnote style used by most UK law schools.
No. Citations go in footnotes, marked by superscript numbers in the text.
Yes. Every footnote ends with a full stop, but bibliography entries do not.
Yes, for the source cited in the immediately preceding footnote. For earlier sources, use a short form with a cross-reference such as (n 4).
No. Case names are italicized, but the names of Acts and statutory instruments are not.
Usually for dissertations and longer work, divided into tables of cases and legislation and a list of secondary sources. Check your module guidance for essays.