FIRST SEMESTER - LEGAL METHODS

A GUIDE TO FOOTNOTING
Books
A. Citation of a book authored:
(i) by a single writer:
Format: Name of the author, Title of the book (Publisher, Place of publication,
edition/year of publication), p. (if required).
Illustration:
Durga Das Basu, Administrative Law (Kamal Law House, Calcutta, 5 edn.,1998).
(ii) by two writers:
Format: Name of the authors, Title of the book (Publisher, Place of publication, edition
/year of publication), p. (if required).
Illustration:
M. P. Jain and S. N. Jain, Principles of Administrative Law, (Wadhawa, Nagpur,2001).
(iii) by multiple writers (more than two):
Format: Name of the authors,(the first two), et. al., Title (Publisher, Place of publication,
edition/year), p. (if required)
Illustration:
Book authored titled ‘Administrative Law: The American Public Law System- Cases and
Materials and authored by Jerry L. Mashaw, Richard A. Merrill, Peter M. Shane and
published by West Group, St. Paul, MN during 1992, be cited as:
Jerry L. Mashaw, Richard A. Merrill, et.al., Administrative Law: The American Public
Law System- Cases and Materials (West Group, St. Paul, MN, 1992).

B. Citation of a book edited:

(a)‘by a single editor:

Format: Name of the editor, (ed.), Title (Publisher, Place of publication, ednlyear), p (if
required).
Illustration: S. K. Agrawala (ed.), Legal Education in India (Tripathi, Bombay, 197.2):

(b) by two editors:

Format: Name of the editors, teds.), Title (Publisher, Place of Publication, edn/year), p. (if
required).
Illustration: Naveen Mishra & Sudhir Kumar Singh (eds.), Status of Minorities in South
Asia (Authors Press, Delhi, 2002).

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(iii) by more than two editors:
Format: Name of the editors, the first two only, et. al., Title, (Publisher, edn/year), p. (if
required).
Illustration: A book edited by Mike Magurie, Rod Morgan & Robert Reiner and titled as
‘The Oxford Handbook of Criminology’ and published in 2002 by Oxford University
Press located at New York may be cited as:
Mike Magurie and Rod Morgan, et al.(eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Criminology
(Oxford, New York, 2002).
(iv) by, or on auspices of, an organization/institution:
An anthology titled ‘Essays on the Indian Penal Code’ published by the Indian Law
Institute, New Delhi, in 1968 may be cited as:
Indian Law Institute, Essays on the Indian Penal Code, (Tripathi, Bombay, 1968).

ESSAYS
Note: You are advised to follow the mode of citation as suggested in the respective
journal. If the journal doesn’t suggest any mode of citation, then only the following mode
of citation may be followed.

(i) Citation of an essay published in a journal/periodical:

Format: Name of author of the article, title of the essay, volume number of journal, if
any, Name of the journal & page number (year).
Illustration: P. Somasundaram, Best Interests of Illegitimate Children, 31 J.LL.I. 172
(1999).

(ii) Citation of an article that is published in two volumes of a journal:

Julius Stone, The Equitable Rights and Liabilities of Strangers to a Contract, (pts. 1 &
2)18 Colum. L. Rev. 292 (1918), 19 Colum. L. Rev. 177 (1919).

(iii) Citation of a paper published in a case reporter:

1. K. I. Vibhute, ‘Adultery’ in the Indian Penal Code: Need for a Gender Equality
Perspective, (2001) 6 SCC 16 (J).
2. Justice D. M. Dharmadhikari, Environment-Problems and Solutions, AIR 2003
Jr.161

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(iv) Citation of an essay published in a book edited:
Format: Name of author of the essay, title of the essay, in Name of the editor(s), title of
the edited book (publisher, edition/year) page number.
1. K. I. Vibhute, Victims of Rape and their Right to Live with Human Dignity and to
be Compensated: Legislative and Judicial Responses in India, in K. D. Gaur (ed.),
Criminal Law and Criminology (Deep & Deep, New Delhi, 2002) 475.
2. David Garland, The Development of Criminology in Britain, in Mike Magurie
and Rod Morgan, et a!. (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Criminology (Oxford,
New York, 2002) 7
(v) Citation of an essay published as a part of a Survey of Law (e.g., Annual Survey of
Indian Law - [an annual publication of the Indian Law Institute, New Delhi]:
Format: Name of author of the essay, title of the essay, volume number, name of the
survey, page number (year).
Illustration: Sumbul Rizvi, Supreme Court on Hindu Law from 2000-02, 29 ASIL 702
(1998).

(vi) Citation of a write-up published in a news paper/periodical:

V.R. Krishna Iyer, A Judicial Excess?, The Hindu, Delhi, September 2, 2003 (12).
Praful Bidwai, Seeking a Paradigm Shift, Frontline, April 24, 1998 (17).

(vii) citation of an editorial from a newspaper:

Editorial, For Liberty Sake, POTA Must Go, The Hindu, Delhi, September 29, 2003.

(viii) Citing a reference from Encyclopedia:

Fredrick, Pollock & Daniel, Maitland, W, 2 The History of English Law, (Sweet &
Maxwell, London, 1895), 539.

(ix) Websites:
If the website gives information as to when it was last modified, that must be cited, if not
one must cite the date of visiting the website.
Illustrations:
(i) Lon Fuller, Morality of Law, (Last modified July 29, 1998)
<http://rtfm.mit.edn/pub/usenet/alt.usuage/English>
(ii) Lon Fuller,Morality of Law, www.unitedmedia.com/comics, visited on September 29,
2003.

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(x) Unpublished Research Work:

i. Dissertation/Thesis:
Rebecca, J, Simmons, Philosophy and Narrative Form, (1990) (Unpublished Ph.D
dissertation, Cambridge University).

ii. Interviews:
Interview with Medha Patkar, Leader of NBA in Mumbai (July 25, 1998).

iii. Forthcoming publication of a book:

Rebecca West, Consent and Democracy (In Press, 2003)

(iv) Forthcoming publication of an article:

Upendra Baxi, From Human Rights to Right to be Human, in Bhiku Parekh & Upendra
Baxi, (eds.), Human Rights and Wrongs (In Press, 2003).

REPORTED CASES

Note: A mode of citation, if suggested in the respective journal, must be followed. If not,
the following style may be adopted.

General Tips:

(i) Omit the’ (except the King/Queen is a party).

(ii) Do not omit ‘the’ in an established popular name, e.g., The Sunday Case.
(iii) Omit business firms, like, Inc., Ltd., Bros., Assn., etc. in the case title.

(A) If parties to a case are singular [State of Rajasthan versus Vidyavathi]

(a) reported in All India Reporter (AIR):

i. If the case name and citation together are to be written in the text of the article in
itself:
State of Rajasthan v. Vidyavathi, (AIR 1962 SC 933)
ii. If the name and citation are to be written in the footnote itself:
State of Rajasthan v. Vidyavathi, AIR 1962 SC 933.
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 iii. If the case title is written in the body of the research paper [State of Rajasthan v.
Vidyavathi] and citation is to be written in the footnote:
AIR 1962 SC933.

(b) reported in Supreme court cases (SCC):

i. If the case name End citation together are to be written in the text of the article in
itself:
Indra Sawhney v. Union of India, [(1993) 1 SCC 1].
ii. If the name and citation are to be written in the footnote itself:
Indra Sawhney v. Union of India, (1993) 1 SCC 1.
iii. If the case title is written in the body of the research paper [Indra Sawhney v.
Union of India] and citation is to be written in the footnote:
Indra Sawhney v. Union of India, (1993) 1 SCC 1.

(c) reported in Criminal Law Journal (Cri.L.J.):

i. Lakhwinder Singh & Ors. v. State of Punjab, 2003 Cri.L.J. 3058 (SC).
ii. Ujjagar Singh v. State of Haryana, 2003 Cri.L.J. 1691 (P&H).

(d) reported in All England Reports (All E.R.):

i. decided by the Court of Appeal:
Phillips Products Ltd. v. Hyland, [2 All E.R. 620 (CA).
ii. decided by the House of Lords:
D.P.P. v. Morgan, [2 All E.R. 347 (HL).

(B) If parties to a case are numerous, for e g

State of Rajasthan and others v. Union of India and others
State of Madhya Pradesh and others v. Union of India and others
State of Punjab and others v. Union of India and others State of Bihar and others v.
Union of India and others State of Himachal Pradesh and others v. Union of India and
others
State of Orissa and others v. Union of India and others Mrs. Sajida Begum and others v.
Union of India and others

This case is to be cited as:

State of Rajasthan and others v. Union of India, (1977) 3 SCC 592.

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 ACTS

The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 (Act No. 29 of 1986)

REPORTS

(1) Law Commission of India, Forty- Second Report: The Indian Penal Code
(Government of India, 1971).
(ii) Government of India, Report: Committee on Reforms of Criminal Justice System
(Ministry of Home Affairs, 2003)
(in) HMSO, Legislating the Criminal Code: Involuntary Manslaughter (Law Commission
No. 237, Cmnd. 7844, 1995).
[HMSO stands for Her Majesty’s Stationery Office and Cmnd. (command) stands for
serial number of the publication in the year mentioned i e 1995]

INTRODUCTORY SIGNALS

A. Signals that indicate support:

a. no signals
Cited authority (i) states the proposition, or (ii) identifies the sources of quotation, or (iii)
identifies the authority referred to in the text.
b. e.g.:
Cited authority states the proposition
c. See:
Cited authority directly supports the proposition
d. See also:
(i) Cited authority constitutes additional sources material that supports the proposition.
(ii) It is also commonly used to cite an authority supporting a proposition when
authorities that state or directly support the proposition that has already been cited.
e. cf.: (Literally cf. means compare)
Cited authority supports a proposition different from the main proposition but sufficiently
analogous to lend support.
f. Accord.:
Cited authority directly supports the proposition but in a different way than the
authorities first cited.

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B. Signal that suggests a profitable comparison:
Compare:

C. Signal that indicate contradiction

a. Contra:
Cited authority states the contrary of the proposition

b. But see:
Cited authority directly contradicts the proposition ‘But see’ is used where ‘see’ is used
for support.
c But cf:
Cited authority supports a proposition analogous to the contrary of the main proposition

D Signal that indicate background material:

a See generally,
(i) Cited authority presents helpful background material referred to the proposition.

ITALICS- GENERAL RULES

• Common expressions (such as ‘i.e.’ and ‘e.g.’) are no longer italicized for stylistic
purposes. However, ‘e.g.’ when used as a signal is still italicized.
• Cross references:
Italicizes or underline ‘supra’, ‘infra’, and ‘id.’ But not ‘hereinafter’
• Only the following are italicized:
a. case name, except ‘V.’
b. all procedural phrases such as: ‘In re’ and ‘exparte’.
c. Titles of books, speeches and journals, and newspapers & periodicals.
d. words requiring emphasis.
e. words or phrases in languages other than English that have been
incorporated into common English usage, for example, ‘stare decisis’,
‘droit adminstrat ‘locus standi’, etc.

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 SHORT CITATION FORMS

a. supra: Supra is used to indicate a source material cited by you earlier.

Illustrations:
(i)Supra note 1 at 410 [or Supra n.1at 410]
(ii) See supra note l at pp. 10-11 [or Supra n.l at pp. 10-11]

b. infra: Infra means below. It is used to indicate that a referred point is discussed in
detail in the subsequent pages/paragraphs or the specified heading/sub-heading;
See Infra p.25.
For details see, infra, pp. xx.
For details see, infra, History of Criminal Law.
Infra note 20 at 360. [or Infra n. 20 at 360.]

c. Ibid.: Ibid is used to indicate a source material cited in the immediately preceding note.
In other words, if another citation has intervened between the earlier citation and the
citation to be made, the use of ibid is not desirable.
Illustrations:
(i) 5. State of Rajasthan v. Vidyavathi, AIR 1962 SC 933.
6.Id.at 935.
(ii) 5. State of Rajasthan v. Vidyavathi, AIR 1962 SC 933.
6. Indra Sawhney v. Union of India, (1993) 1 SCC 1.
7. Supra note 5, at 935. [i.e. the use of ibid., is not allowed here]. If in footnote 5,
there is more than one case mentioned, the case title is required to be given followed by
supra note 5.

d. Id.: Id is used to indicate the exact source indicated in the immediately preceding note.
If the preceding note is a multi-source material, ibid is not advisable. It is required to be
used after a detailed reference of the source material.
Illustrations:
5. State of Rajasthan v. Vidyavathi, AIR 1962 SC 933.
6. Id. at. 935
7. Ibid

e. et. seq.: er.seq. is used to indicate continuity of pages of notes of a referred citation
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Illustrations:
5. State of Rajasthan v. Vidyavathi, AIR 1962 SC 933.
6. Id. at. 935 et.seq. [ It may also be cited as Ibid., pp. 935-40]

f. op. cit.: op. cit. is used to avoid repetition of details of the source material cited earlier.
It is generally used to indicate source material other than cases cited.
Illustrations:
5. Indian Law Institute, Essays on the Indian Penal Code (Tripathi, Bombay, 1968).
6. Law Commission of India, Forty-. Second Report: The Indian Penal Code,
(Government of India, 1971).
7. Indian Law Institute, Essays on the Indian Penal Code, op. cit. [ may also be cited as:
Supra note 5].

g. As there is more than one title of the same author, title of the reference is to be given
along with the author’s name before using supra. For instance:
I. Andrew Ashworth, Principles of Criminal Law (Oxford, 3 edn., 1999); Andrew
Ashworth, Sentencing and Criminal Justice (Oxford, 2 edn., 1995), and Andrew
Ashworth, The Criminal Processes: an Evaluative Study (Oxford, 2 edn., 1995).
II. Supra note 5.
III. Andrew Ashworth, Principles of Criminal Law, supra note 1.

h. Mimeo: This term is used to indicate an unpublished or cyclostyled source material.

i. ‘hereinafter’ [should not be used unless the title of the authority is very long]

j. short forms for cases: Use short forms that clearly identifies the case, for example, The
Habeas corpus case, the Dissolution case, and the Bhagalpur Blinding case.

k. short forms for statues: Use short forms that clearly identifies the statutes, for example,
EPA for the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.

l. cf (Compare): cf. Sen, Amartya, Political Economy of Hunger, (Oxford, 1981).

m. Cited from is to be written in full form if you are referring to a source material from
where the reference is relied upon. In no case cf. is to be used for cited from as it is meant
for indicating comparison.

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 QUOTATIONS

a. Quotation of fifty or more words:

Should be identified by left and right indent without “ “ (“xxx”) mark

b. Quotation of less than fifty words:

Should be identified by left and right” “(“xxx”) mark

c. Alterations in the quotation:

Unless contextually or otherwise required, you are not supposed to alter the borrowed
quotation. However, if alterations are required, follow the style.

(i) when you want to borrow a quote from middle of the sentence, the first letter of the
broken sentence (after using ‘---‘the sign) required to be bracketed, e. g. --- [P]ublic
xxxx.

(ii) when significant mistake is noticed in the quotation, use ‘sic’ after the identified
mistake in the quotation. For example ‘Judges of the Supreme Court of India is very
innovative in their interpretative skills’. This sentence needs to be quoted as: ‘Judges of
the Supreme Court of India is (sic) innovative in their interpretative skills’.

(iii) Omissions of words or sentences in the quotation are required to be indicated by

‘---‘. For example, “ Public memory is --- short.” “Public memory is very short.----They
are---”.
(iv) whenever possible, a quotation within a quotation should be adhered to the source
from which you are quoting.

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