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Law

Encyclopaedias

Encyclopaedias (section 3.2.6 in OSCOLA Guide)

  • Cite an encyclopedia similarly to a book, but excluding the author/editor and publisher, and including the edition and year of issue or reissue.
  • Pinpoints to volumes and paragraphs come after the publication information. 

  • When an encyclopedia credits an author for a segment, give both the author and the segment title at the beginning of the citation:

    • Example: CJ Friedrich, ‘Constitutions and Constitutionalism’, International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences III (1968) 319

  • If citing an online encyclopedia, give the web address and date of access.

    • Example: Leslie Green, ‘Legal Positivism’, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall edn, 2009) <http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2009/entries/legal-positivism> accessed 24 April 2025.

 

  • Footnote Format:

Encyclopaedia title (edition year) pinpoint volume, pinpoint paragraph.

  • Footnote Example:

Halsbury’s Laws (5th edn, 2010) vol 54, para 52.

  • Bibliography Format:

Encyclopaedia title (edition year)

  • Bibliography Example:

Halsbury’s Laws (5th edn, 2010)