*Important note: The 2020 Revised Edition of Acts came into force on 31 December 2021.
Refer to this webpage for changes to citation format for legislation: https://www.agc.gov.sg/our-roles/drafter-of-laws/legislation-and-revisions.
"When the 2020 Revised Edition comes into force, it will generally be sufficient to cite the short title of a revised Act without its chapter number. Citing the chapter number (together with the year of the Revised Edition) will only be necessary when citing a repealed Act or a specific historical version of an Act." -- Guide to the 2020 Revised Edition of Acts, xii.
Example. Penal Code 1871 (refer to Infographic)
Citations to statutes as recommended in the McGill Guide below will need to take into account these recent changes.
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References for this section are taken from E-220 to E-222 of the McGill Guide (8th ed).
A) Revised Editions
B) Constitutional Documents
Constitution of the Republic of Singapore (1999 Rev Ed), art 12(1).
Independence of Singapore Agreement 1965 (1985 Rev Ed).
Republic of Singapore Independence Act (1985 Rev Ed), No 9 of 1965, s 2.
C) Statutes*
i. Statutes from the Revised Edition of the Statutes of the Republic of Singapore:
Currency Act (Cap 69, 2002 Rev Ed Sing).
ii. Statutes not yet assigned a Revised Edition chapter number:
Deep Seabed Mining Act 2015 (No 6 of 2015, Sing), s 3.
COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act 2020 (No 14 of 2020, Sing), s 3.
D) Subsidiary Legislation
For legislation type, use Reg for regulation, R for rule, N for notification or O for order, followed by the number.
Pinpoint using reg for regulation, r for rule, n for notification or o for order. Note that the type of pinpoint may differ from the type of instrument (e.g. a rule may contain orders).
Revised |
|
Unrevised |
|
E) Parliamentary Debates
i. Where the Parliamentary Debate has been published in the Official Reports
Parliamentary Debates Singapore: Official Report, vol 73 at col 2436 (15 October 2001) (Professor S Jayakumar).
ii. Where only the online version of the debate is available, refer to
F) SAL Style Guide (2015)
Where the McGill Guide does not provide guidance, it may be helpful to refer to the Style Guide for the Singapore Law Reports (2015 ed.) published by Academy Publishing.
References for this section are taken from E-166 to 170 and E-177 to 178 of the McGill Guide (8th ed).
Note: Only the more common examples for legislation that apply to the UK as a whole are presented.
A) Statutes
The main website for UK legislation is Legislation.gov.uk.
Before 1963 | Statute of Westminster, 1931 (UK), 22 & 23 Geo V, c 4, s 2. |
1 Jan 1963 and after | Design Copyright Act 1968 (UK), c 68, s 5. |
B) Bills
The latest Parliamentary Bills are available via the UK Parliament website.
Example: Animal Welfare (Sentience) Bill [HL], 2021-2022 sess, 2021, s3.
C) Statutory Instruments
UK secondary legislation is available via Legislation.gov.uk.
Before 1948 | The Gas Cylinders (Conveyance) Regulations 1947, SR & O, 1947/1594. |
1948 and after | The Air Navigation (Restriction of Flying) (Wembley Stadium) Regulations 2021, SI 2021/580. |
D) Parliamentary Debates/Hansard
Hansards are available via the UK Parliament website.
Example: UK, HL, Parliamentary Debates, 5th ser, vol 446, col 803 (21 December 1983) (Lord John-Mackie).
Note: Inclusion of speaker is optional.
E) OSCOLA (4th ed.)
Where the McGill Guide does not provide guidance on a specific area, you may wish to refer to pages 23 to 28 of the OSCOLA Guide. See also Quick Reference Guide.
More databases via: NUS Libraries > DATABASES > Subjects > Law
See also: Guide to Electronic Resources Collection.
Open access resources: