OSCOLA available for first time in hard copy

OSCOLA bookjacket

photo of Donal Nolan
photo of Sandra Meredith

OSCOLA, The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities  has now been published by Hart Publishing. This latest revision of OSCOLA (the fourth edition) is the first to be published in hard copy, and provides more detailed coverage of both primary and secondary legal sources.

There are two golden rules for the citation of legal authorities. One is consistency. The other is consideration for the reader. Legal writing is more persuasive when the author refers to legal materials in a clear, consistent and familiar way. OSCOLA helps authors to achieve consistency in citing cases, legislation and secondary sources. And it helps authors to make life easier for their readers. OSCOLA is widely used by law schools and legal publishers both in the United Kingdom and abroad.

The editors are Donal Nolan and Sandra Meredith. Donal Nolan is the Porjes Foundation Fellow and Tutor in Law, Worcester College, University of Oxford. Sandra Meredith is Departmental Lecturer in Legal Research Skills, Faculty of Law, University of Oxford.

OSCOLA can be purchased in good book stores, directly from Hart Publishers and from online bookstores (ISBN13: 9781849463676). A PDF version (61 pages) is also available for free download from the OSCOLA page below. This version is substantially the same as the fourth edition PDF published in November 2010, with the following exceptions:

  • there is now an index
  • section 2.1.7 on Judges’ names has been amended to say that all Supreme Court Justices are called Lord or Lady
  • section 2.6.2 now refers to the Judgments of the European Court of Justice and General Court, rather than the Court of First Instance
  • examples in sections 3.3.4, 3.4.1, 3.4.8 and 3.4.9 no longer include http:// in web addresses that begin with www.