Citation of specific provisions within an act or other instrument[edit]
Primary legislation[edit]
Each distinct "enactment" within an Act of Parliament is called a section (abbreviated "s.", plural "ss."). Each section has a distinct number, in continual sequence from "s. 1" (section one) onwards. If a section is subdivided or has subordinate elements, then these are known as subsections, each of which has a bracketed number; e.g., "s. 1(4)" is subsection 4 of section 1. Subsections are subdivided in turn into paragraphs, which are identified by an italicised letter; e.g., "s. 1(4)(c)". Subparagraphs are identified with lower-case Roman numerals; e.g., "s. 1(4)(c)(viii)". The section sign is not used in citation.
In schedules to an Act of Parliament, each distinct numbered element is called a paragraph (abbreviated "para."), which is subdivided in turn into subparagraphs.
The sections within a lengthy or complex Act are sometimes grouped together for convenience to form a Part. A "Part" may in turn be subdivided into "chapters". Other groupings are occasionally found as well.
When an amendment to an Act requires the insertion of a new section part of the way through a numerical sequence, then sequential capital letters are used following the appropriate number; thus, a new section inserted between s. 1 and s. 2 will be numbered "s. 1A".
The terminology for the structure of Acts and Measures of the devolved parliaments and assemblies follows that used for Westminster legislation.
Numbering of bills
("OSCOLA")
Oxford Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities
The , for American citations
Bluebook
Case citation § England and Wales
Case citation § Scotland
. Fourth Edition. Hart Publishing. 2012.
Oxford Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities
George Chowdharay-Best, "The Citation of Acts of Parliament" (2000) 21 Statute Law Review 126 to 141. .
OUP
C T Carr. "Citation of Statutes: The Mansfield Park Standard". Cambridge Legal Essays. W Heffer & Sons. 1926. Pages 71 to 81.
Carr. "The Present Method of Citation of Statutes". Reviewed at (1926) Law Notes 124.
45
B, "Correct Mode of Describing a Statute" (1842) 6(2) The Jurist (No 273, 2 April 1842).
111
Owen Hood Phillips. "Citation" in "Statutes". A First Book of English Law. Fourth Edition. Sweet & Maxwell Limited. New Fetter Lane, London. 1960. Pages 98 to 101.
Theodore F T Plucknett. "The Citation of Statutes". A Concise History of the Common Law. Fifth Edition. 1956. Reprinted. Lawbook Exchange. 2001. Pages and 327. See further page 423.
326
Craies and Hardcastle. "Citation". Treatise on the Construction and Effect of Statute Law. 2nd Ed. 1892. Chapter 3. Section 6. Pages to 61.
57
Dane and Thomas. "Citation of Statutes". How to Use a Law Library. . Sweet & Maxwell. 1979. Section 3-3. Page 44 et seq.
2nd Ed
Moys. "Citation of statutes". Manual of Law Librarianship. . 1987. p 97.
2nd Ed
Colquhoun. "Citation of Statutes". Finding the Law: A Handbook for Scots Lawyers. T & T Clark. 1999. Chapter 5.3. Page 52.
"Proof and Citation of Statutes". Halsbury's Laws of England. 3rd Ed. 1952. . Section 5. Page 379 et seq.
Volume 36
Halsbury's Statutes of England. 2nd Ed. 1950. . p 186.
Vol 17
Cairns, Pugh and Mustoe; assisted by Holland. "Citation" in "Statutes". Chitty (ed). The English and Empire Digest. Butterworth & Co (Publishers) Limited. London. 1929. Volume 42. Part 10. Section 2. Page 779. Numbers 2090 to 2093.
(1927) The Law Times 568 (25 June 1927)
163
Cheney (ed). A Handbook of Dates: For Students of British History. New Edition. Revised by Jones. Cambridge University Press. 2000. Pages to 109. [Citation of statutes by date, session and chapter].
107
Byron D Cooper, "Anglo-American Legal Citation: Historical Development and Library Implications" (1982) Law Library Journal 3 at 6, 7, 9, 14, 16, 17 and 28. Maurer School of Law.
75
Edgar Stewart Fay. Discoveries in the Statute-Book. Sweet & Maxwell. 1939. pp 62 & 63. [Hanged by a Comma: The Discovery of the Statute Book. Lovat Dixon. 1937.]
Glanville William. "Statutes". Learning the Law. . Stevens. 1945. pp 30 & 32.
1st Ed
Derek J Way. The Student's Guide to Law Libraries. Oyez Publications. 1967. Pages 15 to 17.
[1]
D J Way, "The Lawyer in the Library: A Short Account of English Legal Literature" (1961) Library Association Record 236 at 237 (No 7, July 1961)
63
"Books of the Month" (1964) The Journal of the Law Society of Scotland 181
9
Peter Meijes Tiersma. Parchment, Paper, Pixels: Law and the Technologies of Communication. University of Chicago Press. 2010. . [Medieval citation].
Page 155
Peter Butt. "Citation of Legislation". The Lawyer's Style Guide: A Student and Practitioner Guide. Hart Publishing. 2021. Pages to 133.
131
Webb, Maughan, Maughan, Keppel-Palmer and Boon. "Citing Legislation". Lawyers' Skills. Oxford University Press. 20th Ed. 2015. Section 5.8.1.1. pp & 91. 21st Ed. 2017. pp 90 & 91.
90
Elkington, Holtam, Shield and Verlander. "How do I cite Legislation?". Skills for Lawyers 2021/2022. CLP Legal Practice Guides. .
Section 6.2
Hanson, Kliem and Waters. "How to understand citations for domestic legislation". Learning Legal Skills and Reasoning. 5th Ed. Routledge. 2022.
[2]
Askey and McLeod. "Citing statutes". Studying Law. Macmillan Study Skills. Red Globe Press. 2014. 2019. pp & 93.
92
Denman. "Citing Statutes". A Digest of the Law, Practice and Procedure Relating to Indictable Offences. Sweet and Maxwell. 1912. pp 108 & 109.
[3]
Watt and Johns. Concise Legal Research. 6th Ed. Federation Press. 2009. Chapter 1. Section 5(d). .
p 24
Woods, G D. "A Note on Citations of Statutes". A History of Criminal Law in New South Wales: The Colonial Period, 1788–1900. Federation Press. 2002. .
p xiii
"2.0 Legislation" in "United Kingdom". Guide to Foreign and International Legal Citation. 2nd Ed. Aspen Publishing. 2009.
[4]
. OPSI website. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office. November 2006. p. 23–24 (s. 2.7) and 25–28 (s. 2.11). Retrieved 17 October 2009.