ASSIGNMENT TOPIC:

DISCUSS THE RELEVANCE OF CITATIONS

AND REFERENCES IN LEGAL WRITING

Submitted to: Submitted by:

Asst.Prof.Sushma George Joe Poly

BCOM LL. B 1st Semester
Roll no: 37
1. INTRODUCTION
THE ART OF LEGAL WRITING

The legal profession adheres to the motto verba volant, scripta manet, which means to
"spoken words fly, written words remain.1" The process of evaluating fact patterns and
articulating arguments in legal documents, briefs, papers, and memos is termed as legal
writing. Analysis of fact patterns, presenting of arguments, briefs, and memos, producing
balance analysis of an issue, and drafting contracts and wills are all examples of legal writing.
Perhaps no course in law school is more vital than legal writing. The method by which a
lawyer communicates his or her work is known as legal writing.

It is an essential and significant skill for young lawyers since it allows them to communicate
effectively and fluently in the language. Legal writing is a skill that many internships and
careers in the legal field demand.

Professionals that work in scenarios where client-based or impact litigation is the major focus
will write and file legal briefs that rationally explain their side's written arguments to the
court, according to Harvard Law School. Certain points of view may entail the drafting of
anticipating memos that foretell the arguments of the opposing counsel. Even non-litigation
jobs may require you to study a legal matter, analyse the relevant legal precedents, and
communicate your findings in a letter. Working in academia may entail not only writing for
academic journals, but also teaching law students how to write legal documents and
citations2.

An average lawyer writes more than an author in their lifetime. Lawyers who have a literary
bent will invariably draught and argue better. Judges frequently utilise literature to teach the
law to the general public. The late Justice VR Krishna Iyer, whose inimitable way of drafting
rulings showed literary excellence, is the best example. The alpha and omega of the legal
profession are, to varied degrees, legal writing and research. They are a must-have ability for
every lawyer or legal scholar who want to cultivate, compete, survive, and thrive in this field.
However, legal writing is an art form that may constantly be improved.3 The problem in legal
writing is to adhere to the foundations of good writing, which include straightforward, clear,
succinct, and precise text. Furthermore, for any type of legal writing, proofreading the text for
spelling, grammar, and syntax is a necessary. Reading, incidentally, can have a significant
impact on one's ability to write.

1
https://www.thehindu.com/education/master-the-art-of-legal-writing/article33258051.ece
2
https://hls.harvard.edu/dept/opia/what-is-public-interest-law/public-interest-work-types/legal-writing/
3
https://www.scconline.com/blog/post/2022/03/14/mastering-the-art-of-legal-writing/
2. WHAT IS LEGAL CITATION AND LEGAL REFERENCE?

The technique of referring to or crediting authoritative texts and sources is known as legal
citation. Court decisions, rules, statutes, treaties, government papers, and scholarly work are
the most prevalent sources of authority reference. The legal citation has the ability to bolster
the writer's arguments. In the legal world, a case citation is crucial. After all, all legal
decisions are based on what the law or a statutory law says, not on what the conclusion would
be. A legal citation allows a reader to locate and refer to a specific source. Simply defined, it
is a brief notation inside an intellectual work that refers to a longer notation at the bottom of
the page that provides full details of the source, i.e. all the authors or publications that have
been cited must be listed in the list of references4.

Citation is a way of giving credit to the author, editor, or publisher for their work while also
allowing readers to go back to the same source if they need additional information. When
acknowledging a source of information in a paper, you should include the author's last name
and the year of publication5.

Example: SR Bommai Vs. Union of India (1994) 2 SCR 644

The list of items you have read and considered in your piece of work is referred to as a
reference. The author really informs the reader about the type of source he or she used in the
text when providing references. Additionally, it aids readers in distinguishing between the
author's words, beliefs, and ideas and those of other authors. It also aids the reader in
referring to the source for further information in that area as needed.

References are listed alphabetically by the first or main author's last name at the end of the
document or article (before the bibliography). To provide support, credibility, and authority
for the information, thoughts, and arguments offered, one should always use a real, reputable,
and legitimate source of information. Books, journal articles, legal documents, webpages,
blogs, official reports of government departments and agencies, interview transcripts,
conference papers, newspaper stories, films, television, video, and other sources can be cited.

2.1 IMPORTANCE OF CITATIONS AND REFERNCES IN LEGAL WRITING

The purpose of a citation is to give the reader enough bibliographic information to identify
and, if necessary, retrieve the original resources. References, on the other hand, refer to all of
the reading that has been done. The materials you haven't mentioned in your work are also
included in your references. Citations and references appreciate the work of others and
demonstrate how their ideas influenced your own work. It's also a good approach to show
that you've read and comprehended major books in the field you're writing about. Although
the terms reference and citation are frequently interchanged, a citation normally refers to the
part of your assignment's text where you identify the source, whilst a reference usually refers

4
https://keydifferences.com/difference-between-citation-and-reference
5
https://www.scconline.com/blog/post/2022/03/14/mastering-the-art-of-legal-writing/
to the bibliographic results at the end. In most cases, citations are written in the text, whereas
references are listed in the bibliography6. A citation is a route address for a book, journal,
web page, or other published material that includes enough information to uniquely identify
it. Citations refer to previous work in the same area of study and are frequently found in
scholarly writings, bibliographies, and indices. The practise of thanking and referring to
reputable documents and sources is known as legal citation. Court decisions, statutes,
regulations, government-related papers, treaties, and scholarly writings are the most often
cited authority. In the legal world, a case citation is crucial. After all, all legal decisions are
based on what the law or a statutory law says, not on what the conclusion would be. A legal
citation allows a reader to locate and refer to a specific source. It gives credit to the author
whose ideas or words are being incorporated into the judgment. It acknowledges the valuable
information given in the important sources like statues, regulations, treaties etc. It also makes
sure that the quoted words are not merely the choice of judges but that’s what prevails in the
constitution.7

3.FORMAT OF LEGAL CITATION IN INDIA

A "legal citation" identifies the text and the section to which the writer refers. It also gives the
reader enough information to locate the document section in the sources. Above all, it
provides more information on the material that has been referred. The first and most
important consideration for legal practitioners is that the legal source must be trustworthy.
They must rely on earlier judgements, statutes, regulations, scholarly writing, and other
official materials for guidance. The essential structure of a legal citation must be obeyed. It
contains the case name, the name of the law reporter, the name of the jurisdiction, and the
first page or section number. The year in which the final verdict was issued is also included in
the citation.

3.1 CITATION OF LAW REPORTS IN INDIA

In India, the frequency and numbering of publications of law reports varied. Some are
released weekly, nightly, monthly, and even half-yearly. Some are released in a single
volume, while others span multiple volumes over the course of a year. Because many
instances are published on a monthly or weekly basis, it is critical that they are cited
appropriately and consistently. Under Section 3 of the Indian Law Reports Act,1875, only
the Reports published under the authority of state are to be cited in Courts.

The examples provided below show the types of law reports that are released in India based
on their frequency:8

6
https://www.legitquest.com/legal-guide/guide-to-legal-citation
7
https://www.legitquest.com/legal-guide/guide-to-legal-citation
8
http://www.commonlii.org/in/journals/NLUDLRS/2010/2.pdf
(a) ALL INDIA REPORTER

It is an AIR Ltd Nagpur publication. It is a monthly publication. AIR monthly editions are
numbered sequentially, and loose sections are bound with an annual index at the end of the
year. Each year, ten volumes covering Supreme Court and various High Court cases are
published. The books are organised by state and by Supreme Court. However, for each year,
all volumes have the same volume number, i.e., Jan-Dec2009 Vol. 96.

Example: Kesavnanda Bharati v. State of Kerala, AIR 1962 SC 933.

(b) SUPREME COURT CASES

Supreme Court Cases, or SCC, is a fortnightly publication of the Eastern Book Company in
Lucknow, which has been publishing since 1969. In a year, there are eight volumes with four
or five supplements having the numbers 1 to 12 or 13; for example, volumes from 2004 carry
the numbers 1 to 13 including supplements, and volumes from 2005 bear the numbers 1 to 13
including supplements.

Example: A.D.M. Jabalpur v. Shivkant Shukla, (1976) 2 SCC 521

(c) SUPREME COURT REPORTS

The Supreme Court Reporter (SCR) is the official reporter of Supreme Court decisions. The
Supreme Court (Council of Law Reporting) Rules, 1964 control Supreme Court Reports.
Editorial Officers draught the head notes for the judgements, which are then reviewed by the
Hon'ble Judges. The Supreme Court Reports are supervised by the Supreme Court Council of
Law Reporting, which consists of the Hon'ble Chief Justice of India, two Hon'ble Supreme
Court Judges, the Attorney General of India, and an Advocate selected by the Supreme Court
Bar Association's Executive Council. SCR has been released in running volumes since 2007,
each book containing four parts of around 300 pages each and a Volume Index5.

Mohd. Abdul Kadir & ors v. Director General of Police, Assam & Ors. (2009) 9 SCR 611

(d) SUPREME COURT JOURNAL

ALT Publication, based in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, publishes the Supreme Court
Journal, which was launched in 1938 under the name Federal Court Journal (1938–1949) and
renamed Supreme Court Journal in 1950. The Supreme Court Journal is a monthly journal
published by the Supreme Court.

M. Yogendra v. Leelamma n.2009 (7) SCJ 2

(e)DELHI LAW TIMES

The Delhi Law Times, a DLT journal based in Delhi, publishes all published and unreported
decisions of the Delhi High Court. It also publishes decisions of honourable supreme courts
on appeals from Delhi high court decisions.

Anang pal v. UOI & Ors. 164 (2009) DLT 10

3.2 CITATION OF CASE LAW

A case may be cited if it contains all of the necessary features to provide reliable information
about its publication in a Law Reporting Journal. When a case name is written in the body of
the text (e.g., Keshavananda Bharti v. State of Kerala), it should be italicised; nevertheless,
when it is placed in the footnote, it should not be italicised. Any procedural phrases

(e.g., in re) should be italicised, and only the first party should be named9. The case citation
should be written in the publisher's recommended format in the footnote. The format of citing
case law is given below10:

(i)Party names - the names of the parties to a case are generally written in italics. The 'v'
between party names is in roman type and lower case, however for the sake of typing
convenience, an italicised 'v' is often considered appropriate. If there are multiple parties on
either side, only mention the first one. The use of '& Ors,' which means 'and others,' may
suggest the omission.

(ii)Year - Following the party names is the year. It's surrounded by round or square brackets.

(iii)Volume number - If the report series title includes a volume number, it must be provided
directly after the year.

(iv)Abbreviated title of the report series - most law report series have standard abbreviations.
This standard is frequently stated at the start of each volume in the series.

(v)Page number - Give the page number in the series of reports listed where the case first
appears.

Example: SR Bommai Vs. Union of India (1994) 2 SCR 644

Cases resolved by India's high courts and supreme court are published in both official and
private publications for these reports. Official reports of cases determined by the high courts
are published monthly in the form of the INDIAN LAW REPORTS, followed by the name of
the high court, while cases decided by the supreme court are published monthly in the form
of SUPREME COURT REPORTS.

3.3 CITATION OF LEGISLATIVE MATERIALS

The primary source of citation for central law must be the Gazette of India, which is
published by the Government of India. State legislation is published in a separate gazette in
each state.11

(a) BILL

9
https://mgcl.ac.in//admin/pdf/Guidelines_for_Writing_Research_Project_for_LLM_Students.pdf
10
http://www.commonlii.org/in/journals/NLUDLRS/2010/2.pdf
11
https://www.legalbluebook.com/bluebook/v21/tables/t2-foreign-jurisdictions/t2-18-india
The following three items must be included in a Bill's citation.

Bill Title - The bill title identifies the bill's subject content. A bill's citation must begin with
the bill's name in bold type, for example, E.g.- Right to Information Bill

Year of Bill Introduction — The year of bill introduction should also be included in the
citation. The year must be immediately after the title.

The Right to Information bill 2004 is an example.

Date of Bill Introduction - The date of bill introduction should be included at the end for
citation purposes. It provides correct and relevant references to researchers, such as The
Right to Information bill of 2004 was "introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 22,
2004."

The main goal of this activity is to adhere to the citation rules, which include removing any
ambiguity and facilitating quick and easy access to the needed source.

(b) STATUES / ACTS

The following elements must be included in the whole citation of a statute, in this order:

The Act's Title - The Act's Title identifies the act's subject matter. A citation for a statute or
act must begin with the act's name in bold type, for example, the Right to Information Act.

Short title - Modern legislation is usually given a short title that is used to cite it. This short
title is made up of the Act's name and the year it got assent, as mentioned in the relevant
section of the Act. Any reference to an Act should include the brief title in italics, exactly and
completely.

Year of the Act – The year of the act is equally important when citing it. The year must
appear immediately after the title, for example, Right to Information Act, 2005.

Number of the Act - Acts passed in India are assigned numbers for the year in which they
were passed. To cite, the act number must also be given. Right to Information Act,2005
(No. 22 of 2005), for example.

The date on which a piece of law was passed must also be included in the citation. For
example, the Right to Information Act, 2005 (No. 22 of 2005, issued May 15, 2005)

Example: Act name, Act No., Acts of Parliament, Year of Volume (India, if not evident from
context).

The Copyright (Amendment) Act, 1992, No. 13, Acts of Parliament, 1992 (India).

3.4 CITATION OF SUBORDINATE LEGISLATION

The title of the act under which these are issued is repeated in subordinate legislation, but
instead of the word 'Act,' phrases like 'Rules,' 'Order,' or 'Regulation,' etc. are mentioned. As a
result, they must be mentioned. Except for rules, every subordinate statute has a number that
should be given in brackets directly after the title or specified in the footnote. The phone
number should always be included so that finding them is simple.

For e.g.- rules made under THE ENVIRONMENT (PROTECTION) ACT, 1986 (29th of
1986) must be cited as THE ENVIRONMENT (PROTECTION) FIRST AMENDMENT
RULES, 2006. Similarly, a notification under these rules may be called as THE
ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION ORDER, followed by the year12.

4. INDIA'S METHODS FOR LEGAL CITATION AND REFERENCE

Although India's legal system does not have a standardised approach for citation and
reference writing, there are two widely used methods:

(A) JILI CITAION METHOD-13

Although India's legal system does not have a standardised approach for citation and
reference writing, there are two widely used methods: This institution has developed a
specific method for citing legal materials.

CITATION METHOD FOR BOOKS

AUTHORED BOOKS

BY A SINGLE AUTHOR-

In the initial citation of a book, the author's entire name, as it appears on the title page, must
always be mentioned. Last name, given name or initials, comma, last name, given name or
initials, last name, given name or initials, last name, given name or initials, last name, given
name or initials, last name, given name Include any designations or suffixes, such as Jr or III,
precisely as they appear on the title page, including punctuation. The name included directly
after the title (rather than in the author field) in the library catalogue is always taken from the
title page.

Name of the author, Title of the book p.no. (if referring to specific page or pages) (Publisher,
Place of publication, edition/year of publication).

12
http://www.commonlii.org/in/journals/NLUDLRS/2010/2.pdf
13
https://www.ili.ac.in/cstyle.pdf
E.g., M.P. Jain, Indian Constitutional Law 98 (Kamal Law House, Calcutta, 5th edn.,
1998).

BY TWO AUTHORS-

When two authors collaborate on a work, their names should appear in the order that they
appear on the title page of the publication. Authors' names are separated by an ampersand
(&). When citing a book with more than two authors, use the first author's name followed by
"et al" before the comma.

Name of the authors, Title of the book p.no. (if referring to specific page or pages) (Publisher,
Place of publication, edition/year of publication).

E.g., M.P. Jain and S.N. Jain, Principles of Administrative Law 38 (Wadhawa, Nagpur,
2001).

BY MULTIPLE AUTHORS (MORE THAN TWO)-

Name of the first two authors, et.al., Title of the book p.no. (if referring to specific page or
pages) (Publisher, Place of publication, edition/year of publication).

E.g., Jerry L. Mashaw, Richard A. Merrill, et.al., The American Public Law System –
Cases and Materials 50 (West Group, St. Paul, MN, 1992).

BOOKS WITH VOLUME NO-

If appropriate, the volume number appears after the title and before the publishing details.
The volume number is cited in Arabic numerals, and the title and the volume number are
separated by a comma. "Volume" is abbreviated to "vol." and "volumes" to "vols." The
volume number is cited in Arabic numerals, and the title and the volume number are
separated by a comma.

Name of the author(s), Volume no. Title of the book p.no. (if referring to specific page or
pages) (Publisher, Place of publication, edition/year of publication).

E.g., Charles Robert Norberg, III General Introduction to Inter-American Commercial

Arbitration Yearbook- Commercial Arbitration 30 (1978)

FOR EDITED BOOKS

BY A SINGLE EDITOR

The editor(s) of a collection of essays are cited in the same way as authors and joint authors,
but with the abbreviation "(ed.)" or "(eds.)" before the comma.

Name of the editor (ed.), Title of the book p.no. (if referring to specific page or pages)

(Publisher, Place of publication, edn/year).

E.g., Susan A. Bandes (ed.), The Passions of Law 180 (New York University Press, New
York, 1999).

BY TWO EDITORS-

Name of the editors (eds.), Title of the book p.no. (if referring to specific page or

pages) (Publisher, Place of publication, edn/year).

E.g., S.K. Verma and Raman Mittal (eds.), Intellectual Property Rights: A Global

Vision 38-42 (ILI, Delhi, 2004).

BY TWO OR MORE EDITORS-

Name of the editors, the first two only, et.al. (eds.), Title of the book p.no. (if referring to

specific page or pages) (Publisher, Place of publication, edn/year).

E.g., Chhatrapati Singh, P.K. Choudhary, et.al. (eds.), Towards Energy Conservation

Law 78 (ILI, Delhi, 1989).

BY, OR AN AUSPICES OF, AN ORGANIZATION/INSTITUTION-

E.g.- Indian Law Institute, Index to Indian Legal Periodicals (ILI, Delhi, 2002).

MORE OF CITATION FOR CASE LAW

Only the name of the case shall be written in the text if the case title is included in the body
of the text. For example, in Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala, the citation is given as
AIR 1973 SC 1461 in the footnote. - Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala, AIR 1962
SC 933, if the name and citation are to be written in the footnote itself. If there are many
parties to a case, such as State of Punjab v. Union of India and others, the case is cited as
State of Punjab v. Union of India and others (1977) 3 SCC 592. Foreign cases must be
cited in the same way that Indian cases are, following the guidelines outlined above.

ACTS/ CONSTITUTION

The Complete name of statute/act, year (citation)

E.g.- The Information Technology Act, 2000 (Act 21 of 2000).

Constitution to be cite as: - The Constitution of India.

SECTION(S) IN A STATUTE/CONSTITUTION

The complete name of the statute (citation), section/articles in abbreviation (s./art.)

E.g.
The Constitution of India, acts. 14, 15, 16.

The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Act 45 of 1860), s.300.

Foreign legislations (Constitution/Acts/Codes)

(B) SILC14

Standard Indian Legal Citation (SILC) is an India-centric reference framework designed to

provide the Indian legal community with a single reference method that takes into account the
country's rich legal traditions and history.

CASES

A case citation for a published judgment includes the full name of the case, the citation as per
the reporter in which it is published and the first page of the case15.

Citing Method: Names of the Parties, Citation.

Example: Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala, AIR 1973 SC 1461, 1480

LEGISLATIVE MATERIALS

Statutes:

To cite primary legislation, start with the section/order/rule number, then the statute's name
and the year it was passed. An uppercase letter 'S.' should be used to signify a section. 'Ss'
should be used to indicate several parts.

Citing Method: S. | Section number/Order Number/ Rule Number, Name of the statute, Year.

Example: S. 376(2) (g), The Indian Penal Code, 1960.

Bills:

To cite a Bill first mention the name of the Bill, then the year it was drafted, and the status of
the Bill, if available, in parenthesis. If it is unavailable, the author can say so.

Example: The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2012 (draft bill, Sep 2012)

The Indian Constitution:

To cite any Article/Schedule of the Constitution, first mention the criterion followed by its
number and the phrase ‘the Constitution of India’. To indicate an article, ‘Art.’ should be
used.

Citing Method: Art. Schedule Article/Schedule number, the Constitution of India.

14
https://www.cnlu.ac.in/2016/Notices/MOOTS/SILC%20Format.pdf
15
http://silcmanual.com/about.html
Examples: Schedule 9, the Constitution of India

BOOKS:

Authored Books: - The name of the author(s), the title of the book in italics, the page number
containing the essential information, the name of the editor(s), edition number, and the year
of publication in parenthesis are used to cite authored works. The author's first and middle
names should be condensed to initials, with only the last name in its entirety being used.

Citation Method: Name of Author(s), Title of Book, Page Number (Editors(s), edition, Year).

Examples: P.C. Markenda, Law Relating to Arbitration & Conciliation, 98 (6th ed.,
2006).

Edited Books: -

Citation Method: Title of Book, Page Number (Editors(s), Edition, Year).

Example: V.N. Shukla’s Constitution of India, 219 (M.P. Singh, 12th ed., 2013).

Edited Books with Articles: -

Citation Method: Name of Author(s), Title of the Article, first page, cited page number in
Name of the Book (Editors(s), Edition, Year).

Example: - S. Sen, The Principle of Common Heritage of Mankind in Outer Space: A

Framework of Ambiguity and Ineffectiveness? 26, 39 in Outer Space Law: From
Theory to Practice (Sandeepa Bhat B., 1st ed., 2009).

5. CITATION OF ONLINE SOURCES16

http://indiancourts.nic provides the most up-to-date information on court matters that are
either pending or closed, as well as decisions and orders made by the Supreme Court or any
state High Court.

At http://164.100.79.153/judis, the Supreme Court of India's Judgment Information System

gives free access to all Supreme Court and select High Court judgments, as well as the SCR
journal, from 1950 to the present.

The text of primary and delegated legislation pending or passed by Parliament, state
legislatures, and the federal and state governments is available online. At
http://egazette.nic.in, you may read the Indian Gazette as well as gazettes for various states.
Several states also have their own e-gazette websites.

16
https://www.legalbluebook.com/bluebook/v21/tables/t2-foreign-jurisdictions/t2-18-india
6. CONCLUSION

Legal writing is a mirror that reflects back at the author, who learns about their own thoughts
and ideas as a result. Improving legal writing skills allows the author to track the progression
of their ideas. Legal writing could be done for personal consumption rather than for an
audience. It is a test of the author's patience to communicate himself or herself in written
words with skill and clarity. Legal writing is one of the most significant abilities in the legal
profession today, and it can be a reflection of the author's ideology17. The purpose of
reference and citation is to provide the user or reader with the source of data, photos,
statistics, charts, tables, and diagrams that are included in the article or assignment. It can
also be used to refer to a theory, approach, or model that was discovered by or is associated
with a specific person or writer. The author acknowledges those scholars whose work or
ideas were utilised in the article or assignment with the help of these two18.

7. BIBLIOGRAPHY

https://www.thehindu.com/education/master-the-art-of-legal-writing/article33258051.ece

https://hls.harvard.edu/dept/opia/what-is-public-interest-law/public-interest-work-types/legal-
writing/

https://www.scconline.com/blog/post/2022/03/14/mastering-the-art-of-legal-writing/

https://www.legitquest.com/legal-guide/guide-to-legal-citation

http://www.commonlii.org/in/journals/NLUDLRS/2010/2.pdf

https://mgcl.ac.in//admin/pdf/Guidelines_for_Writing_Research_Project_for_LLM_Students.pdf

https://www.legalbluebook.com/bluebook/v21/tables/t2-foreign-jurisdictions/t2-18-india

https://www.ili.ac.in/cstyle.pdf

https://keydifferences.com/difference-between-citation-and-reference.html

https://www.cnlu.ac.in/2016/Notices/MOOTS/SILC%20Format.pdf

http://silcmanual.com/about.html

17
https://www.scconline.com/blog/post/2022/03/14/mastering-the-art-of-legal-writing/
18
https://keydifferences.com/difference-between-citation-and-
reference.html#:~:text=Citation%20is%20a%20way%20of,writing%20the%20article%20or%20assignment.&tex
t=It%20informs%20the%20readers%2C%20the%20basic%20source%20of%20information.