Use these tools described below to help you decipher unfamiliar UK legal abbreviations and acronyms.
Index to Legal Citations and Abbreviations, (4th ed.), Call No. REF K85 .R3 2013
This index enables users to de-code the initial-letter-only system of most British legal citation. It also provides disambiguation for similar or identical abbreviations used in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, and other Commonwealth nations that were formerly part of the British Empire.
Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations
This free, Web-based resource covers legal abbreviations used in the UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, and other Commonwealth jurisdictions, as well as the United States. Search by abbreviation to locate the title of the corresponding publication or search by title to determine the correct abbreviation for a specific publication.
For guidance with U.S.-formatted citations to UK law, consult The Bluebook. For guidance with UK-formatted citations, consult the Oxford University Standard for the Citation of Legal Authorities (OSCOLA).
The Bluebook (20th ed.), Call No. KF245 .U5 2020
Rule 20 provides general guidelines for citing foreign legal materials. Tables 2.42 (UK as a whole), 2.42.1 (England & Wales), 2.42.2 (Scotland), and 2.42.3 (Northern Ireland) covers citations to cases, statutes, regulations, and parliamentary materials for the UK as a whole and for its component nations, as well as common abbreviations, journals, and electronic sources. Note that Table 2 of The Bluebook (covering foreign jurisdictions) is now free to access online. A subscription is required to access other Bluebook content online.
Oxford University Standard for the Citation of Legal Authorities (4th ed.), Call No. REF KD400 .083 2012.
OSCOLA is the most widely used system of legal citation in the UK It has been adopted by most UK law schools and by journals and book publishers in the UK and beyond. The current (4th) edition is available for download in PDF format. Consult this Quick Reference Guide for brief summaries of the most commonly used citation formats. For more detailed guidance, consult this webpage maintained by Oxford University and this online guide maintained by the library at the Institute for Advanced Legal Studies in London.