Section 3
Citation styles

There are two levels in acknowledging source material.

• The last section explained cases for which source material must be acknowledged.

• This section explains how an acknowledgement can be presented.

1. Numbered references
2. Harvard style
3. Citation in the text
4. Information for each discipline

Section 3-4
Information for each discipline - Law

Disciplines
• Arts
• Business Administration
• Education
• Engineering
• Law
• Medicine
• Science
• Social Science

Legal Citation Style Guide

This guide outlines citation style for commonly used legal resources. A list of further readings is provided at the end of this guide.

GENERAL INFORMATION ON GRAMMAR AND STYLE:

Footnotes:
Footnotes (citation references inserted at end of relevant page) should be used instead of endnotes (citation references inserted at end of paper or assignment) or in text citations.

Students should footnote all materials referred to or directly quoted from as well as materials that ideas were taken from.

‘See’ references in footnotes:
‘See’- supports idea or argument in text
‘See also’- added information to support idea

Bibliography:
Students should provide a Bibliography at the end of their papers or assignments using the following headings to group references (all materials in alphabetical order within group).

Textbooks/journal articles/government publications
Cases
Legislation
Treaties or international documents

Referencing:
In assignments or papers the first reference should always be provided in full. It is then possible to use the following for further references to the same work.

Ibid: (Latin meaning: ‘in the same place’ for same source cited immediately above). Add relevant page if different from page used in original footnote.

For a reference already cited that does not appear immediately above use
Above n (n= footnote number) or
Below n (n= footnote number) for parts of the text or footnotes that come after the present footnote.

Quotations:
Substantial quotations should be indented and single-spaced preceded by a semi-colon - use of quotation marks is optional.
Short quotations placed within the text should have quotation marks or inverted commas.

Quoting judges in text:
Provide judge’s name and abbreviation of their judicial title when quoting their judgments in the text of paper or assignment.

In a footnote provide case reference and then reference to judge and their judicial title in brackets.

PRIMARY SOURCES:

Reported cases:
A reported case would be cited as follows:

Jumbo King Ltd v Faithful Properties Ltd (1999) 2 HKCFAR 279 (CFA)

Party names followed by year and volume reference then abbreviation for set of law reports the case is reported in. Only the first page reference is provided unless the case is being referred to in a footnote. The page or page range being referred to should then be indicated as follows.

Jumbo King Ltd v Faithful Properties Ltd (1999) 2 HKCFAR 279, 282
Or
Jumbo King Ltd v Faithful Properties Ltd (1999) 2 HKCFAR 279 at 282

If the case has parallel citations the authorised should be referred to when known.

Unreported decisions- possible formats:

HKLII format:
The main standard medium neutral citations used in HKLII are:

Li Sau Ying v Kincheng Banking Corp & Another [2002] HKCFI 202

Hong Kong Court Citation:
Li Sau Ying v Kincheng Banking Corporation & Another HCA18515/1999
Use Court Identifier (Court level and case type): HCA: (High Court-civil action)
Case Number: 18515/1999

For full listing of Court Level and case types see http://legalref.judiciary.gov.hk/lrs/common/help/hlptopic.htm

Westlaw:
2 possible formats: The second is more commonly used for citation

Li Sau Ying v Kincheng Banking Corporation & Another 2002 WL 1341429 (CFI); [2002] HKEC 1103

Lexis:
Tsui Chi Hung Tony v Hsin Chong Construction Co Ltd and Others [2006] HKCU 190

Footnotes:
In footnotes for unreported citations use paragraph references enclosed in square brackets.

Li Sau Ying v Kincheng Banking Corporation & Another HCA18515/1999 [10]

Abbreviations used in law reports:

Listed here are relevant abbreviations that appear in Hong Kong and UK judgments. 

UK Case citations:

As for HK standard format of party names, year, volume, abbreviation for set of law reports and first page reference

Dudley v Holland [1965] 1 QB 31

It should be noted that since 2001 Sweet & Maxwell (UK) uses case numbers not page numbers when providing citations to cases and may exclude the volume reference. For example:

A Local Authority v Z (2005) HRLR 2
(Case number 2 –page number where it actually is reported is 99 in Volume 6 for 2005)

Earlier UK decisions - Nominate reports:
Cite parallel citation to ER when one exists

For example: (A case from Russell and Mylne):
Simson v Jones (1831) 2 Russ. & My. 365; 39 ER 433                     

Newspaper citations to cases:
Use Times newspaper citation only if no other exists
Party names, The Times, date (Day Month Year)

English Unreported Citations:

For the UK the following are some major medium neutral citations that have been adopted since 2001. Provide party names, [year] court abbreviation and case number (date of delivery)

For example:
LTF v LMF [2006] EWCA Civ 1179 (17 August 2006)

Legislation:

Hong Kong legislation:

Principal legislation is cited as

Gas Safety Ordinance Cap 51
Or
Gas Safety Ordinance (Cap 51)

If students are referring to Ordinances before it has received its chapter number the year reference would be useful to put in so it can be located but isn’t officially required.

Citibank (Hong Kong) Limited (Merger) Ordinance 2005

Students should note that if they are referring to the Ordinance as originally passed the chronological number and year should be included.

Citibank (Hong Kong) Limited (Merger) Ordinance (No 5 2005)

Amendment legislation includes the year reference

Vocational Training Council (Amendment) Ordinance 2005

Subsidiary legislation is generally cited with their year although established ones may only have a title. For example the High Court Rules made under the High Court Ordinance (Cap 4) appear just as ‘Rules of the High Court’. Amendment regulations appear as follows. 

Electronic Transactions Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule) Order 2006

Basic Law:
Cited by name and article number

Basic Law Art 158

For Bibliographies cite in full as

The Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China

UK Legislation:
It is similar for recent UK legislation although the year is added. Major Principal Legislation would appear as

Clean Air Act 1993
Or
Clean Air Act 1993 (c 11)

Regulations may be cited just by number or just by title or include year as well.
For example:

The Cross Border Insolvency Regulations 2006 No 1030
Or
The Cross Border Insolvency Regulations 2006

Citing sections etc. from legislation:

All references are to sections, subsections or paragraphs, parts and divisions and these may be abbreviated in footnotes as follows:1

Legislation may also contain schedules. The references are abbreviated as follows

Documents/ Agreements/Treaties relevant to Hong Hong’s development:
These should be cited by name and date of implementation

The Sino-British Joint Declaration (19 December 1984)

International materials:

UN Treaty:
Treaty name, date, treaty series citation, page ref (Date of entry into force)

UN Framework Convention on Climate Change 1771 UNTS 165 (9 May 1992)

International cases and arbitral decisions:
Case name, (parties names), phase of proceedings /advisory opinion [year] Report series or publication name, starting page

Case concerning the Barcelona Traction, Light and Power Company (Belgium v Spain) [1970] ICJ Rep 44

UN materials:
Include following where applicable
Author/title, resolution number official record, session number, subdivision UN Document number, year

Radhika Coomaraswamy, Report of the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, Its Causes and Consequences, UN Doc E/CN.4/1995/42 (22 November 1994).

European Materials:

Official Journal of the European Communities:
Official Journal of the European Union (2004 on)
Pre 1974: indicate citation to special edition of the Official Journal of the European Communities (OJ spec Ed)

Post 1974: Reference should include Official Journal of the European Communities/Union (OJ) all series citation (L - legislation C- information and notices)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 689/2009 of 29 July 2009 amending Council Regulation (EC) No 329/2007 concerning restrictive measures against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Official Journal of the European Union 01.08.2009. L201/3

European Court Reports:
Case no, name of the parties, year, ECR, page no (preceded by numerical I for cases before Court of Justice or II for cases before the Court of First Instance)

T-82/01 Josanne and others v Commission (2003) ECR II 2017

SECONDARY SOURCES:

Books:
Authors name (Surname and first name or Surname and initial), Book title, (edition no if 2nd or later edition) place of publication (may not be included at lecturer’s preference), publisher, year of publication (these may be enclosed in parentheses). Details should the same for printed or e-book versions if used.

For a Bibliography:
Brewer, John The Law and Practice of Hong Kong Private Companies Hong Kong, Sweet & Maxwell Asia 2005
Or
Brewer, John The Law and Practice of Hong Kong Private Companies (Sweet & Maxwell Asia 2005)

Subsequent editions example:

Brewer, John The Law and Practice of Hong Kong Companies (2nd Ed) Hong Kong, Sweet & Maxwell/ Thomson Reuters 2009

For a footnote:
Brewer, John The Law and Practice of Hong Kong Private Companies Hong Kong, Sweet & Maxwell Asia 2005, 44
Or
Brewer, John The Law and Practice of Hong Kong Private Companies Hong Kong, Sweet & Maxwell Asia 2005 at 44

Edited works:
Editors name (ed), Book title, place of publication (may not be included at lecturer’s preference), publisher, year of publication (these may be enclosed in parentheses)

Antons, Christoph (ed) Law and Development in East and Southeast Asia New York, RoutledgeCurzon 2003

Chapters in edited works:
Author of chapter, ‘Title of chapter’, author or editor of book, Book title, place of publication (may not be included at lecturer's preference), publisher, year of publication (these may be enclosed in parentheses)

Bishop, Bernard ‘APEC, Industry Policy and the Role of Law’ in  Antons, Christoph (ed) Law and Development in East and Southeast Asia New York, RoutledgeCurzon 2003

Books (or articles/other secondary sources) cited within another work (for footnote references):
Details of both the cited work and the work it is cited in needs to be provided

Lord Millet ‘Proprietary Restitution’ in The Common Law Lecture Series Hong Kong, The University of Hong Kong Faculty of Law 2005, 57 cited in Yeung, Clemence The Law of Unjust Enrichment in Hong Kong Hong Kong, LexisNexis 2008, 76

CD-ROMs that come with books:
Author, (year) Title, [CD-ROM] Place of publication, publisher, year, (CD version indication of content if available)

Brewer, John The Law and Practice of Hong Kong Private Companies [CD-ROM] Hong Kong, Sweet & Maxwell Asia 2005 (CD version containing precedents)

Translations:
Author, Title (details, name of translator, ‘original title of work’, place of publication, publisher, and translation year edition and original edition year if relevant)

Shang, Yang, The Book of Lord Shang; A classic of the Chinese school of law Translated from the Chinese with introduction and notes by J.J.L. Duyvendak. “Shang-chün-shu” London : Probsthain, [1963, c1928]

Loose leaf services:
Publisher title Vol Chapter and chapter title (if relevant) Title of paragraph, paragraph number (same details provided if an online version is used)

LexisNexis/Butterworths Securities Law: Hong Kong and the Peoples Republic of China Vol 1 Chapter 1 Regulatory Authorities Functions of the SFC [53]

Theses:
Author, Title, Level of Theses, Institution, year

Strick, Ross Canadian International Human Rights Policy: The cases for Cuba and China. Thesis (MA), University of Windsor, 1997

Encyclopaedias:
Publisher, Encyclopaedia title, edition number if 2nd edition or later edition, volume (if relevant), date of publication or date of retrieval if using electronic format and no date can be verified, title number, name of title, paragraph number, name of paragraph, page number(s) if using print version.

Print citation example:
LexisNexis/Butterworths Halsbury’s Laws of Hong Kong, 2nd ed., Volume 12 2012, [90], Civil Procedure, District Court, [90.2045], Extension of time by consent, 290

Online citation example:
LexisNexis/Butterworths Halsbury’s Laws of Hong Kong, [online] dated 24/05/12, [90], Civil Procedure: District Court, [90.2045], Extension of time by consent

Dictionaries are cited in a similar format to textbooks
Dictionary name, place of publication, publisher, year of publication (add page reference in footnotes if citing a definition)

Hong Kong Legal Dictionary Hong Kong, LexisNexis/Butterworths 2004

Journal articles:
Authors name (Surname and first name or Surname and initial), title of article, year of journal, volume, issue if noted, Title of Journal (may be abbreviated depending on lecturer’s preference) , page
(Example below is for a Bibliography-for footnotes add page details as per books above)

Halegua, Aaron Reforming the People’s Mediation System in Urban China (2005) 35 Hong Kong Law Journal 715
Or
Halegua, Aaron Reforming the People’s Mediation System in Urban China (2005) 35 HKLJ 715

Speeches:
Speaker, Title, location of speech, date

Hannum, Hurst Turbans, Trade and Terrorism: Are Human Rights the Answer Speech given as Sir Y K Pao Chair in Public Law Inaugural Lecture at Hong Kong University on 24 March 2006

Conferences:
Author, Title of paper, conference details, date

Amador, Raquel International Refugee Law Refugee Law Conference Centre for Comparative and Public Law Faculty of Law Hong Kong University February 21 2004

Government Report:
Personal or corporate author (department, minister etc), Title, department, state and/or country, year.

Electoral Affairs Commission Proposed Guidelines on Election-related Activities in respect of the District Councils Elections   Electoral Affairs Commission Hong Kong 2002

Newspaper articles:
Author, ‘Title’, Newspaper, Place of publication, Date, page (or ‘online version’ if using online sources)

Tyler, Marshall ‘HK Subversion bill sparks alarm on human rights’ The Sydney Morning Herald Sydney 15-16th February 2003 21

Tyler, Marshall ‘HK Subversion bill sparks alarm on human rights’ The Sydney Morning Herald Sydney 15-16th February 2003 (online version)

Bills are generally not italicised and the year should be added to aid identification.
E.g.:
Aviation Security (Amendment) Bill 2005
(Add jurisdiction as well if discussing a number of legislative details from different jurisdictions)

Legislative Council debates:
Jurisdiction, Legislative Council Official Record of Proceedings, full date of debate, page(s), (Full name of speaker)

Hong Kong Legislative Council Official Record of Proceedings, Wednesday 5th January 2005, 3014-3017 (Ms Emily Lau)

UK Command papers:
Author, Title, Command paper series number, (Year)

Home Office, Organised Crime Consultation paper 6875 (2006)

Parliamentary Papers:
Author, Title, House, paper number, Session number, (year)

House of Commons, Justice Committee. Constitutional Reform and Renewal. HC 923 2008-09 House of Lords, European Union Committee.  Co decision and National Parliamentary Scrutiny. HL Paper 125, 17th Report, Session 2008-09

Internet materials:

Email Message:
Author, email address, subject line from posting, date

Online databases:
Online database name, Publication or filename source [online], date of retrieval, Author if known, Title, date if known

LexisNexis, Forbes- Asia/Pacific Stories, [online] retrieved 26/08/06 Tanzer, Andrew How Taiwan is invading China, 8th April 1996

Students should note that published works should be cited using details of the published version. Only use Internet citation format for materials generally only available on the Internet eg an Online Journal

Author(s), ‘Title’ (year) volume (issue) Journal Title, URL (date of access)

Prest, Wilfrid Blackstone on Judges; Blackstone as Judge (2004) 11(4) E-Law http://www.murdoch.edu.au/elaw/issues/v11n4/prest114.html (12th August 2006)

General/individual works on the Internet:
Author (year) Title of document URL (date of access)

U.S. Department of State (2006) International Parental Child Abduction Hong Kong SAR http://travel.state.gov/abduction/country/country_495.html
(12th August 2006)

FURTHER READINGS:

Citation style guides:

Bachner, B A Legal Style Guide for Hong Kong Hong Kong, School of Law City University of Hong Kong 1999

Citation Formats Committee of the AALL Universal Citation Guide (2nd ed) Buffalo NY, Hein 2004
Also available online to Version 2.1: http://www.aallnet.org/Documents/Publications/ucg

Martin, P Introduction to Basic Legal Citation: LII 2010 Ed NY, Legal Information Institute Cornell Law School 2010
Online access to 2012 ed: http://www.law.cornell.edu/citation/

Melbourne University Law Review Association Australian Guide to Legal Citation (3rd ed) Melbourne, Melbourne University Law Review Association 2010
Also available online: http://mulr.law.unimelb.edu.au/go/aglc

Stuhmcke, A Legal Referencing (4th ed) Sydney, LexisNexis/ Butterworths 2012

The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (19th ed) NY, Harvard Law Review Association 2010

The Oxford Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities http://denning.law.ox.ac.uk/published/oscola.shtml

Citation abbreviation guides:

Cardiff University Law School: http://www.legalabbrevs.cardiff.ac.uk

Kavass, I and Prince, M (eds) World Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations Buffalo NY, Hein (loose-leaf 1991-)

Prince, M Bieber’s Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations (6th ed) Buffalo NY, Hein 2009
Also available through Lexis.com 

Raistrick, D Index to Legal Citations and Abbreviations (3rd ed) London, Thomson/Sweet & Maxwell 2008

February 2013 (version 14)

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