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Why cite?When submitting a piece of academic work, you need to properly acknowledge the material that you have consulted. This allows others who read your work to verify facts or research the same information more easily. Acknowledgment may be in the form of footnotes and / or a bibliography. Information that you need to collect in order to prepare a citation can include details such as the author, title, journal name, page numbers and publication information. Citations of web documents should also include a URL and the date the information was accessed. There are many sources of information; this guide describes the more commonly used ones for Law. For others, refer to the sources below. What style does the Faculty of Law use?The format of citations and footnotes used by the Monash University Law Faculty
is described in: Australian
Guide to Legal Citation (2nd ed, Melbourne University Law Review
Association, 2002) For other legal style guides, see books for legal referencing below. Primary sourcesCasesReported Judgments - cite from Authorised Law Reports if available (CLR, FCR, VR, etc) Party names (Year) Volume number Law Report Abbreviation First page, Cited page and/or [paragraph number]  Example:
Reported Case with sequential volume numbering - use round brackets for the year New South Wales v Lepore (2003) 212 CLR 511 Party names [Year] Volume number if applicable Law report abbreviation First page, Cited page and/or [paragraph number] Example:
Reported Case with sequence organized by year rather than volume - use square brackets for the year Victorian Lawyers RPA Ltd v X [2001] 3 VR 601 Unreported Judgments - Medium Neutral Citation Party names [Year of decision] Court abbreviation Sequential judgment number, [Cited paragraph number] Example:
Unreported Case with Medium Neutral Citation R v Whyte [2004] VSCA 5 StatutesShort title Year (Jurisdiction) Pinpoint reference Example:
An Australian Act Legal Practices Act 1996 (Vic) s 37. Note that the citation for Bills is the same as for Acts but should not be italicised. Example:
An Australian Bill Anti-terrorism Bill 2004 (Cth). TreatiesTreaty name, Opened for signature Date, Treaty series citation (Entered into force Date) Example:
Security Treaty between Australia, New Zealand and the United States of America [ANZUS], opened for signature 1 September 1951, [1952] ATS 2 (entered into force 29 April 1952). Secondary sourcesBooksAuthor, Title (Edition, Publisher, Place of publication, Year of publication), Page, paragraph or chapter reference. Author names:
Examples:
Authored book Chisolm, Richard and Nettheim, Garth, Understanding Law: An Introduction to Australia's Legal System (6th ed, Butterworths, Sydney, 2002). Edited book Kinley, David (ed), Human Rights in Australian Law : Principles, Practice and Potential (The Federation Press, Leichhardt, N.S.W., 1998). Chapter in an edited book Morgan, F, 'The Extent and Location of Crime', in Goldsmith, Andrew, Israel, Mark and Daly, Kathleen (eds), Crime and Justice : an Australian Textbook in Criminology (2nd ed, Lawbook Co., Sydney, 2003), 11. Journal articlesAuthor, 'Title' (Year) Volume Journal Title, First page number of the article, Cited page Example:
Journal article with continuous voluming - use round brackets for the year. Bagaric, Mirko, 'Active and Passive Euthanasia: Is there a Moral Distinction and Should there be a Legal Difference?' (1977) 5 Journal of Law and Medicine 143. Example:
Journal article with no continuous voluming - use square brackets for the year. Lee, HP, 'The High Court and Implied Fundamental Guarantees' [1993] Public Law 606. Note - an article should be cited as above regardless of retrieval method (ie. print or electronic) UNLESS the article is ONLY available in electronic form. If paragraph numbers are available, these may be referred to and enclosed in square brackets. Example:
Example: Journal article only available on the internet (no print equivalent) Rimmer, Matthew, 'Daubism: Copyright Law and Artistic Works' (2002) 9(4) E Law - Murdoch University Electronic Journal of Law [58] <http://www.murdoch.edu.au/elaw/issues/v9n4/rimmer94.html> at 21 February 2003. Internet sourcesAuthor, Title (Year), Website name <URL> Date of retrieval.
A Document published on the internet International Bar Association, International Code of Ethics (1988) Center for the Study of Ethics in the Profession, Illinois Institute of Technology <http://www.iit.edu/departments/csep/PublicWWW/codes/coe/International_Bar_Association_88.html>at 21 February 2003. Law reform agency reportsName of agency, Title, Report/Discussion paper No (Year) Example:
Australian Law Reform Commission, Essentially Yours: the Protection of Human Genetic Information in Australia, Report No 96 (2003). Legal encyclopaediasPublisher, Encyclopaedia title, vol # (at Date of retrieval) Title # Name of title, 'Chapter # Name of chapter' [Paragraph #]. Example:
LexisNexis, Halsbury's Laws of Australia, vol 4 (at 22 June 2004) 85 Conflict of Laws, I General' [85-145]. Online encyclopaedia - volume numbers are not applicable.Example:
LexisNexis, Halsbury's Laws of Australia, (at 7 April 2005) 85 Conflict of Laws, 'I General' [85-145]. Thomson, The Laws of Australia (at 10 July 2006) 2 Administrative Law, '2.4 Judicial Review of Administrative Action: Reviewable Decisions, Conduct and Powers and General Grounds' [2.4.94]-[2.4.98] Loose-leaf servicesAuthor/s (if any), Title of service, 'Title of section', volume #., looseleaf, Publisher, Place of publication, Date [Section or Paragraph #] Example:
Bourke, JP, Bourke's Criminal Law, Victoria, 'Provocation', vol 1, looseleaf, 3rd ed, Butterworths, Sydney, 1981 [3.120] Online service - volume numbers are not applicable. Add in date of access.Example:
Australian Labour Law Reporter, 'Contract of Employment', looseleaf (at 7 April 2005), CCH, North Ryde, NSW [1-738]. Books for legal referencingThe Monash University Law Faculty uses: Australian
Guide to Legal Citation (2nd ed, Melbourne University Law Review
Association, 2002) For further detail, see: French, Derek, How to Cite Legal Authorities (Blackstone Press, London, 1996) ALWD citation manual : a professional system of citation. Association of Legal Writing Directors and Darby Dickerson. ALWD is a US "learned society for professors who coordinate legal writing instruction in legal education". Although the examples are US based, it is comprehensive, with Part 4 devoted to electronic sources and neutral citations, and paragraph 39 on Westlaw and LEXIS. The website includes updates and links to legal writing. Appendix 4, which provides Court Abbreviations (pdf), is available online. Bluebook : a uniform system of citation compiled by the editors of the Columbia Law Review, the Harvard Law Review, the University of Pennsylvania Law Review and the Yale Law Journal. Online tutorials and guidesCiting and referencing, how to acknowledge
what you've read Legal Citation Guide from Murdoch University Law & Business Library, provides an excellent overview of citation styles for various formats and is clearly set out with examples. Introduction to Basic Legal
Citation (LII 2002-2003 ed.) by Peter W. Martin Melbourne
Manual for International Law Citation Oxford Standard
for Citation Of Legal Authorities (OSCOLA) EndNoteMonash University has a site licence for EndNote, a program to organise your references and create footnotes and bibliographies. The Monash University Law Style (based on the Australian Guide to Legal Citation, 2nd ed. 2002) is available to download as an EndNote style at the Library's EndNote page. Citation indexesJournal citation reports. Social sciences
edition Most Cited Legal Periodicals (Washington & Lee
University, School of Law Library) Social Sciences Citation Index Lexis.com Ask a question Phone +61 3 9905 5054 or use our enquiry services ask.monash for Monash students and staff | ask.monash for visitors, or online chat. |