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OSCOLA Referencing

UK Statutes

 

The following are examples of how to reference UK Statutes.

 

Statute (Whole)

Cite an act by its short title and year. Use capitals for major words, and do not use a comma before the year.

 

Template (Footnote/Table of Legislation):

Short title | Year.


Examples:

Act of Supremacy 1558.

Shipping and Trading Interests (Protection) Act 1995.

Statute (Part)

When referring to a specific part of a statute (part/section/subsection/paragraph/subparagraph), this should also be included in the footnote citation. Reference the statute as a whole in the Table of Legislation. The relevant abbreviations are as follows: 


part/parts pt/pts
section/sections s/ss
subsection/subsections sub-s/sub-ss
paragraph/paragraphs para/paras
subparagraph/subparagraphs subpara/subparas
schedule/schedules sch/schs

Template (Footnote):

Short title | year, | abbreviation | number.


Example:

Consumer Protection Act 1987, s 2.

 

If citing a part of a section, only include the abbreviation for section (s). So, for paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 15 of the Human Rights Act 1998:


Example:

Human Rights Act 1998, s 15(1)(b).

Older Statutes

For older statutes with no short title, it is helpful to include the regnal year and chapter number in the citation: 

 

Template (Footnote/Table of Legislation):

title | (regnal year | chapter number).


Example:

Crown Debts Act 1801 (41 Geo 3 c 90).


In this example, the Crown Debts Act 1801 was passed in the forty-first year in the reign of George III (41 Geo 3). The chapter number (c 90) refers to fact that this was the ninetieth Act to receive royal assent in that session of parliament.

Explanatory Notes to Statutes

When citing explanatory notes to statutes, precede the name of the statute with 'Explanatory Notes to the...': 

 

Template (Footnote/Table of Legislation):

Explanatory Notes to the | title | year.


Example:

Explanatory Notes to the Charities Act 2006.