Law

OSCOLA (Oxford Standard for the Citation of Legal Authorities) is normally the preferred system for written pieces of work completed by SOAS law students, but in some circumstances an individual member of staff may recommend another system, most likely Harvard.

Citing and referencing is the way in which you provide details of quotations, arguments and ideas of others that you have included in your own work. To avoid plagiarism, always keep notes as you go along of what you have been reading. Using reference organising software (e.g. Zotero and Endnote Web) would be recommended, although there are complications when gathering information about legal documentation, such as cases, legislation and international treaties.

How do I cite and reference sources?

Familiarise yourself with the OSCOLA guide and other abridged handbooks.

There are two key components to OSCOLA: 

1. Footnotes

Use these for to reference the information present in your work.

Remember to use the Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations in your footnotes.

2. Bibliography

Use this to list what you have used and consulted throughout your work.

Both of these are formatted differently, so consult the guides.

There are three important guides available on the OSCOLA website:

• Quick Reference Guide
• 4th Edition
• International Law Sources

Abridged guides from other sources:

• Institute of Advanced Legal Studies OSCOLA guide
• Cardiff University Library interactive OSCOLA tutorial
• University of Lincoln OSCOLA guide

Referencing foreign law

NYU libraries has a useful guide of resources on this topic, as does the University of Washington.

Finding and referencing UN documents

The Geneva Graduate Insitute has a guide for this topic.

Below are some example essays using OSCOLA:

Essay example 1 (from the University of Portsmouth)

Essay example 2 (from the University of Portsmouth)

Bibliography example (from Anglia Ruskin University)

Salford University Library has made a helpful walk-through of OSCOLA below.