OSCOLA Citation Guide
5th Edition
OSCOLA (Oxford University Standard for the Citation of Legal Authorities) 5th Edition is the premier citation standard for UK legal education, court cases, statutes, and legal scholarship.
When Should You Use OSCOLA?
- UK law school essays & dissertations
- Court case authorities & legal briefs
- UK & international legislation citations
- Law journal articles & reviews
- Government legal reports
Primary Case Law Example (OSCOLA 5th)
Corr v IBC Vehicles Ltd [2008] UKHL 13, [2008] 1 AC 884
Cases use italics for party names and square brackets for year of law report.
Primary Legislation / Statute Example (OSCOLA 5th)
Human Rights Act 1998, s 6
Statutes are cited by short title and year without a comma, followed by section (s) or subsection (ss).
Statutory Instrument (SI) Example (OSCOLA 5th)
Penalties for Disorderly Behaviour (Amount of Penalty) Order 2002, SI 2002/1837
Legal Book Example (OSCOLA 5th)
HLA Hart, The Concept of Law (3rd edn, Oxford University Press 2012)
Law Journal Article Example (OSCOLA 5th)
John Griffiths, 'The Political Economy of Constitutional Law' (2024) 44 Oxford Journal of Legal Studies 120
Common Citation Mistakes
- Missing publication dates
- Incorrect author formatting
- Missing page numbers where required
- Incorrect capitalization
- Improper reference ordering
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