Citing & Referencing
OSCOLA Style of Citing and Referencing
OSCOLA (The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities) was designed to facilitate accurate citation of both primary and secondary legal sources. OSCOLA was created and is managed by the Faculty of Law at Oxford University and the style is on its 4th edition.
OSCOLA Ireland is an adaption of the OSCOLA style, undertaken by Irish academics. It is the first comprehensive citation system for Irish lawyers and law students. The OSCOLA Ireland style of citing and referencing is popular with many lecturers at University of Galway.
In OSCOLA / OSCOLA Ireland, citations appear in footnotes. A corresponding superscript number is placed in the text to indicate where the source has been used. Tables detailing primary legal sources, and a bibliography of all secondary sources cited, may also be required. This is often the case for longer pieces of work such as a thesis. If you are unsure as to what is required check directly with your lecturer.
The following resources can help you when citing and referencing using OSCOLA or OSCOLA Ireland Styles.
OSCOLA Guide
A print guide to the OSCOLA style is available in the Library. It is also available online via the University of Oxford Faculty of Law OSCOLA webpage. This website also contains other useful resources relating to OSCOLA style.
Nolan, D. and Meredith, S (2012) OSCOLA: the Oxford University standard for citation of legal authorities, 4th ed., Oxford: Hart Publishing.
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Cite Them Right, Richard Pears and Graham Shields
Pears, R. and Shields, G. (2022) Cite them right: the essential referencing guide, 12th ed., London: Bloomsbury Publishing.
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Click here to find this book in print in the Library
Section M of this guide covers the OSCOLA style. It provides guidance on style conventions and examples of how to reference different kinds of sources. The Library has both print and electronic copies of this book. Click on the image or links above to learn more.
OSCOLA Ireland Guide
Both a print and electronic guide to the OSCOLA Ireland style is available via the Library. The guide is also available online via the OSCOLA Ireland website.
Kennedy, R., Schweppe, J., Donnelly, L. and Fahey, E. (2016) OSCOLA Ireland: the Oxford standard for the citation of legal authorities for Ireland, LegalCitation.ie.
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Click here to access the OSCOLA Ireland website
This guide contains many useful resources, including very handy quick reference guide.
Juris-M Reference Management Software
The OSCOLA Ireland website also links to a guide on using OSCOLA with Juris-M reference management software. Juris-M is a variant of Zotero that particularly supports legal referencing. It is free to download via the OSCOLA Ireland webpage. OSCOLA can be a little tricky with Endnote and Juris-M is a good alternative software for this particular referencing style.
Click here to access the OSCOLA Ireland website
Guide to using OSCOLA and Juris-M
Supplement for Citing and Referencing International Materials
The OSCOLA supplement for citing international materials is used in conjunction with both OSCOLA and OSCOLA Ireland styles. The supplement is available from University of Oxford Faculty of Law OSCOLA webpage.
