OSCOLA referencing style is used when submitting work for a module for the School of Law.  Due to the complexity of particular sources, some entries are very detailed.  Make sure to fully read each page.

If the item has an ISBN treat it as a book (check the copyright page or very last page for ISBNs). If it is identical to the print version, treat it as a print version.  If the document has nothing to indicate that it has ever been published in a hard copy print format, or is not in pdf format i.e. electronic facsimile of the print version, provide the web address and date of access as required for websites.

 

Follow the standard pattern below but if the item is part of a recognised series, include the series title and number in round brackets after the title. Some types of report may have a corporate author (the name of the organization responsible for the report) - this goes in the author position.  If there is no identifiable author, use a double em dash if the author is not identified.

 

Footnote standard form

Government Department Reports

Author, Title (additional information, publisher year) pinpoint if necessary.

 

Law Commission Reports

Author, Title (Law Com/Scot Law Com number, year) pinpoint if necessary.

 

Law Commission and Scottish Law Commission reports are published and retrievable from the Law Commission website as pdfs so cite by title in italics, Law Com/Scot Law Com number and year.  For Law Commission consultation papers and Scottish Law Commission discussion papers, give the Law Com CP number or the Scot Law Com DP number.  Command Paper numbers need not be given.  If you can only access the item in an electronic format with no pagination, give the web address in angled brackets (< >), followed by the date of most recent access.

 

For Command Papers, see https://library.port.ac.uk/ref/page665.html#t665

 

For examples, click on the More button.

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Examples

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, 'Bigger, Better Business: Helping Small Firms Start, Grow and Prosper' (TSO 2011).

Home Office, 'Prisons Policy for England and Wales(HMSO 1994).

Law Commission, Criminal Law a Criminal Code for England and Wales vols 1 & 2 (Law Com 177, 1989) 12.

Office of the Parliamentary Counsel, 'Queen's or Prince's Consent' (Office of the Parliamentary Counsel, July 2015) 4.

5Scottish Law Commission, Report on Remedies for Breach of Contract (Scot Law Com No 174, 1999) 7.

6 Land Registry, 'Adverse Possession of Registered Land' (Practice Guide 4, Land Registry June 2015) <www.gov.uk/government/publications/adverse-possession-of-registered-land/practice-guide-4-adverse-possession-of-registered-land> accessed 27 November 2015.

 

 

Bibliography

Home Office, 'Prisons Policy for England and Wales' (HMSO 1994)

Land Registry, 'Adverse Possession of Registered Land' (Practice Guide 4, Land Registry June 2015) <www.gov.uk/government/publications/adverse-possession-of-registered-land/practice-guide-4-adverse-possession-of-registered-land> accessed 27 November 2015

Law Commission, Criminal Law a Criminal Code for England and Wales vols 1 & 2 (Law Com 177, 1989)

Office of the Parliamentary Counsel, 'Queen's or Prince's Consent' (Office of the Parliamentary Counsel, July 2015)

Scottish Law Commission, Report on Remedies for Breach of Contract (Scot Law Com No 174, 1999)

 

Notes

Reference: Faculty of Law, University of Oxford, OSCOLA: Oxford Standard for the Citation of Legal Authorities (4th edn Oxford University 2010) 39.