More databases via: NUS Libraries > DATABASES > Subjects > Law
See also: Guide to Electronic Resources Collection.
Open access resources:
This guide is intended to be a quick reference for citing legal publications from selected common law jurisdictions (e.g. Singapore, United Kingdom).
It is to be used as a supplement to the McGill Guide and is not meant to be exhaustive. Only the more common scenarios are featured in this LibGuide.
Canadian guide to uniform legal citation (9th ed)Purposes of Citation
1. Helps the reader trace the source of the information you provide.
"The central function of a legal citation is to allow the reader to efficiently locate the cited source."
The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation, ed (Cambridge, MA: Published and distributed by the Harvard Law Review Association, 2010).
2. Lends credibility to your work. Providing authoritative and relevant sources shows that your work is well researched.
3. Avoids plagiarism. You must not present the ideas of others without attribution.
Purposes of Legal Citation
The following article may provide an understanding and appreciation of the values / norms that inform legal citation:-
Paul Axel-Lute, Legal Citation Form: Theory and Practice, 75 Law Libr. J. 148 1982. (Access via HeinOnline or NexisUni)
Abstract: "Citations are the cornerstone upon which judicial opinions and law review articles stand. Citations provide both authorial verification of the original source material at the moment they are used and the needed information for readers to later find the cited source."
