• 3-minute read
• 4th September 2019

How to Format an OSCOLA Bibliography

In the UK, the main legal referencing system is OSCOLA. With this system, you need to list all sources you’ve cited at the end of your document. Hence, in this post, we look at how to format an OSCOLA bibliography.

Do I Need a Bibliography?

Short answer: Yes, but check your style guide for specifics.

Technically, the fourth edition of OSCOLA says that ‘shorter works, such as articles and essays, generally only require footnotes.’ However, most universities want you to demonstrate your ability to cite sources, so it’s usually best to include a full bibliography.

What Should an OSCOLA Bibliography Include?

The basic structure of an OSCOLA bibliography includes three things:

• A Table of Cases
• A Table of Legislation
• And a bibliography listing secondary sources

As you might expect, the tables of cases and legislation are where you list case reports and legislative documents cited in your work. The bibliography, meanwhile, is where you should list all other sources.

How to Format a Table of Cases/Legislation

Cases and legislation are listed in separate tables. If you have many sources, you may want to distinguish between jurisdictions, too (e.g. having separate tables for ‘UK Cases’ and ‘EU Cases’). Rules for listing sources include:

• The table of cases should come before the table of legislation.
• List statutory instruments separately at the end of the table of legislation.
• Case names are not italicised, unlike elsewhere in the document.
• List sources alphabetically by the first significant word (e.g. ‘Re Farquar’s Estate’ becomes ‘Farquar’s Estate, Re’).

Some versions of this system include all legal sources under a ‘Table of Authorities’. If you take this approach, divide the table into separate sections for cases, legislation and statutory instruments.

How to Format an OSCOLA Bibliography

An OSCOLA bibliography lists all secondary sources, including books, articles and online resources, alphabetically by author surname. Entries in the bibliography are similar to footnotes, but  the format differs slightly:

• Give the author’s surname first, followed by an initial.
• No first names or pinpoint references are given.
• No full stop is required at the end of bibliography entries.

As such, if the footnote citation for a book looked like the following:

^1. Bill O’Rights, Constitutional Protection (2^nd edn, Hodder & Fouslon 1998) 245.

The equivalent entry in the bibliography would be:

O’Rights, B, Constitutional Protection (2^nd edn, Hodder & Fouslon 1998)

Sources with no named author, meanwhile, go at the start of the bibliography, with a double em dash (i.e. ‘——’) in place of the author’s name.

It’s good to keep a working bibliography as you write, adding an entry each time you cite something new. This will ensure you don’t miss any sources.

Australian Legal Referencing

While OSCOLA is used in the UK, it is not the standard referencing system in Australia. Thus, if you’re writing about Australian law, check out our posts on AGLC referencing. And if you need anyone to check the referencing in a document, try our proofreading today.