C I T A T I O N IN LAW

HELLO!

In university, you will need to know how to reference / cite what you are writing and researching! The official reasoning behind citation is to give the original authors credit for their own original thoughts. Not citing someone else’s work means you run the risk of being reprimanded for plagiarism and academic misconduct!

At law school we use a system called the Australian Guide to Legal Citation (‘AGLC4’). Not using AGLC4 in your assignment may mean you miss out on gaining marks (or lose them)!9 AGLC4 is completely different to any other form of referencing. When referencing, we recommend you search up the QUT CiteWrite website (an encyclopaedia for citation styles), directly check the AGLC4 Guide andif you can’t figure out how to reference something - consult the law librarians.10

QUT CITEWRITE SITE CITEWRITE: AGLC4

Law Research Guides

The Biggest Things To Keep In Mind When Using Aglc4

• Footnotes, footnotes, footnotes! Instead of using ‘in-text’ referencing like you might use in APA referencing, you will used footnotes whenever you need to provide an authority for your point or give credit for an idea (see AGLC4 rule 1.1.1).

• You will need to provide ‘pin-point’ references to refer to the specific section of a source. There are often used to refer to page numbers or paragraphs (1.1.6).

• Your first reference of a source will be different to your subsequent reference of that source (see rule 1.4.1).

• You can use short titles to make your footnotes and writing clearer with long case or legislation titles (see rule 1.4.4).

9 QUT Law Society (n 2) 20.

10 See ibid.

13 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, opened for signature 16 December 1996, 999 UNTS 171 (entered into force 23 March 1976) (‘ICCPR’).

14 Ibid 24.

15 Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) (‘FLA’).

16 Donoghue v Stevenson [1932] AC 562.

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AGLC4 QUICK REFERENCE

Below is a quick introduction to what your citations for cases, legislation and journals in footnotes using AGLC4 might look like, using the QUT CiteWrite page. There are MANY different types of sources, so make sure to double check the citation!

FOOTNOTE SUBSEQUENT REFERENCES

CASES (REPPORTED DESCISIONS)

AGLC4 Rules 2.1 to 2.2

Acts And Regulations

AGLC4 Rules 3.1.1 to 3.1.7

Case Name (Year)/ [Volume] Law Report Series Starting Page, Pinpoint (‘Short Title’).

Elle v Emmett Pty Ltd (2001) 81 CLR 522, 525 (‘Elle’).

Title Year (Jurisdiction) Pinpoint (‘Short Title’).

Bruiser’s Law Against Animal Testing Act 2003 (Qld) (‘BLAAT Act’).

JOURNAL ARTICLES

AGCL4 Rule 5.1 to 5.7

Author, ‘Title’ (Year) Volume(Issue) Journal Starting page, Pinpoint.

Elle Woods, ‘Pooches and Poison: Animal Testing in Queensland’ (2002) 28(2) Paws for Thought Law Journal 100, 104.

Short Title (n Footnote Number) Pinpoint.

Elle (n 2) 527.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Elle v Emmett Pty Ltd (2001) 81 CLR 522, 525 (‘Elle’)

Short Title (n Footnote Number) Pinpoint.

BLAAT Act (n 4) s 23.

Author Surname (n Footnote Number) Pinpoint.

Woods (n 20) 101.

Bruiser’s Law Against Animal Testing Act 2003 (Qld)

Woods, Elle, ‘Pooches and Poison: Animal Testing in Queensland’ (2002) 28(2) Paws for Thought Animal Law Journal 100.

WRITTEN ASSESSMENT IN LAW SCHOOL (WALS)

• WALS is the document that sets out how all of your written assessment should be formatted. It also contains important guidance on correct usage of grammar and punctuaton. It’s super important to get into the habit of formatting your assignments according to WALS (soon it will be second nature, we promise!). The name of the game here is compliance; if you format your essays in size 24 Comic

Sans

your work will stick out like a sore thumb to your markers (which is not a good thing).