Neutral citation is a system of legal citation that identifies a legal authority by a standardized legal citation, rather than by the name of the reporter in which the authority was published. The purpose of neutral citation is to provide a consistent and reliable way to locate legal authorities, regardless of the source in which they were published.
The use of neutral citation has become increasingly widespread in common law jurisdictions, particularly in Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom. In these jurisdictions, neutral citation is often used in conjunction with traditional legal citation, which identifies legal authorities by the name of the reporter in which they were published, as well as the volume and page number.
One of the main advantages of neutral citation is that it allows legal authorities to be located more easily and efficiently. Because the neutral citation does not change, regardless of the source in which the authority is published, it is much easier for lawyers and legal researchers to find and cite legal authorities. This can save time and resources, and make it easier for lawyers to stay up-to-date on the latest legal developments.
Another advantage of neutral citation is that it promotes the use of electronic legal resources. With traditional legal citation, it can be difficult to locate legal authorities in electronic databases, because the citations are not standardized. With neutral citation, it is much easier to search for legal authorities using electronic legal resources, because the citations are consistent and standardized.
Despite the benefits of neutral citation, there are some criticisms of the system. Some argue that it is too rigid and inflexible, and that it does not adequately account for the different ways in which legal authorities are cited in different jurisdictions. Others argue that it is too costly and time-consuming to implement, and that it is not worth the effort given the benefits it provides.
Overall, neutral citation is a valuable tool for legal citation that has become increasingly popular in common law jurisdictions. It provides a consistent and reliable way to locate legal authorities, and promotes the use of electronic legal resources. While there are criticisms of the system, it is generally seen as a useful tool that can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of legal research and citation.
What is a neutral citation?
The volume number follows the year, after the square brackets. Put the comma before the date of the volume. If the source does not use page numbers, do not include a number in the parenthetical citation: Smith. Board of Education, 1954. Since the late 1990s, courts in England and Wales, Canada, New Zealand and Australia have adopted neutral citation. The APA Manual suggests adding URLs where it will aid retrieval. Example R v Latimer 1995 , 126 DLR 4th 203 Sask CA.
This is to explain the parties involved. The most important law series The Law Reports, Weekly Law Reports, Lloyds Law Reports, All England Law Reports all have more than one volume per year so they will always need square brackets. Generally, there are two names given for a case. For example, if there is no plaintiff who has been injured in a car accident with a defendant, then the court cannot exercise jurisdiction over the case because there is nothing for it to decide. However, a neutral citation does not provide the information required to actually locate the case i.
If those citations are omitted from the official record, then others will not be able to use them when developing legal analysis or writing briefs before future proceedings. The courts now take charge of their own decisions. When citing an electronic version of a decision, such as through Quicklaw or another database, it is necessary to include the name of the database or online source. The abbreviation for the legal series usually appears as a number followed by the abbreviated name of the series and ends in another number. Apology Act, SBC 2006, c 19. Federal statutes passed after 1985 are cited as SC for the Statutes of Canada.
Neutral citations in other jurisdictions Most other common law jurisdictions have adopted neutral citations in their senior courts. Tribunals and commissions also issue neutral citations. Give the full citation of the case in the body of the essay. Instead, the abbreviation indicates the court in which the case was heard and the number indicates the case number. The following list, compiled for reference by ICLR law reporters, is not intended to be comprehensive, but deals with the main jurisdictions that tend to be cited in our law reports. Éconauto , 2006QCCP1 from Jugements.
For legislationone may "include the URL from which you retrieved the statute after the year. Party or case names The names of the parties in a judgment should be in italic or underlined. A neutral citation is a unique court-assigned reference number for a judgment in a common law jurisdiction. The body of In order for a court to render a judgment, it must have jurisdiction over the subject matter of the lawsuit and over the parties. Judgment Citation Unreported When a court issues a decision, the language of the ruling is generally posted on the court's website relatively promptly. In this British Columbia Supreme Court case, Rutledge v Jimmie is the case name, 2014 is the year of decision, BCSC is the court identifier, and 41 is the case number.
All Australian jurisdictions now use medium neutral citation. Below are examples of how to reference a case with neutral citations as a footnote and in the bibliography. Case law citation relies essentially on the reference to judicial decisions in paper format. This can happen if there is a technical problem with the court's website or if the judge has directed that the judgement be kept confidential. Neutral citations from the High Court include the division in brackets after the judgment number. The neutral citation is only a case identifier and does not indicate where a case can be found.
This is called a parallel citation. You need to use your own judgment. Citations that are neutral 2001- A citation is considered "neutral" if it does not refer to a specific law report series; it is unrelated to the law report system. How do you do a legal citation? Generally, there are two names given for a case. Annual volume numbers rarely go above 5. Abhishek Choudhary is Advocate, Supreme Court of India; Academic Author; Gold medalist in B. If you quote or paraphrase from a judgment you also need to provide a pinpoint.
In general, to cite a PDF in APA format, use the same formula as you would to cite a website in APA format: Last name of author, First name initials. The court has the power to decide such matters as arise between students at a public school. Therefore, we pick out the citation from this list that has that abbreviation: 2019 SCC 65. The term 'neutral' is used to indicate that it is independent of any published report 'media neutral'. This citation is based on the second edition of the American Association of Law Libraries Note: this media-neutral citation is not necessarily the official citation, the latter which should be used when citing to primary and secondary legal materials in court filings, scholarly publications, etc. Because they have not been published in a law report series, these judgements are referred to as "unreported judgments.
The House of Lords has also adopted the practice — its abbreviation is UKHL, reflecting its wider jurisdiction. To cite a court case or decision, list the name of the case, the volume and abbreviated name of the reporter, the page number, the name of the court, the year, and optionally the URL. What is an unreported case citation? What is a neutral citation number? Information about the neutral citation system from BAILII. Medium neutral citation was endorsed by the Council of Chief Justices in 1997. What does R mean in court? As the weight of electronic media continues to grow, it is important, and in the best interests of the Indian legal community and the general public, to have a citation method that will reflect this development.
