Referencing

Students undertaking modules in the School of Law should use the Oxford Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (OSCOLA) referencing style.

The main characteristics of this style are that it uses numbered footnotes in the text, and the list of references at the end of the written work should be presented in three parts: 1) A list of the cases cited in the text; 2) A list of legislation or statutes cited; and 3) A list of secondary sources used, arranged in alphabetical order by authors' surnames.

Authoritative guides

The principal guide is the OSCOLA Guide 4th edition produced by the Faculty of Law at the University of Oxford.  Other guides that can be used include:

• The OSCOLA Quick Reference Guide
• 'Big OSCOLA' for looking up rules for citation of materials not covered in the basic guide
• Citing International Law Sources
• Cite Them Right Online also has materials and examples in OSCOLA style (Login then enter 'University of Birmingham' for full access if you are a UoB student or staff member)

Other help

• More information on using OSCOLA, including frequently asked questions can be found on the website of the Faculty of Law at the University of Oxford
• Citing the Law: an online tutorial on using OSCOLA produced by Cardiff University Library Service
• Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations: for looking up the correct abbreviations for journal titles and law report series as required by the OSCOLA style