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Harvard

Legal sources

General Notes

  • The in-text citation and reference list entry for legal sources are the same.
  • Legal sources are included separately from other sources in the reference list.

Bills

In-text citation and reference list

Format

(Author's surname Year).

Example

(Refugee Protection Bill 2019).

Australian Acts

In-text citations

Format

Short Title Year (Jurisdiction)

Example

. . . was convicted of federal offences under the Crimes Act 1914 (Cth). The Crimes Act specifies . . .

Tips

  • If you refer to the act again in your text, use the short title in roman type without the year.

In-text citations - Informal title

Format

Short Title Year (Jurisdiction) (Informal Title)

Example

. . . in the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (Cth) (PGPA Act) … Section 10 of the PGPA Act defines a Commonwealth entity as . . .

Tips

  • If you refer to the act again in your text, use only the informal title

Reference list

Format

Short Title Year (Jurisdiction)

Example

Crimes Act 1914 (Cth)

Tips

  • It is important to identify the jurisdiction for the act (e.g. Commonwealth versus state or territory). There are two ways to do this:
    • Identify the jurisdiction within the text, for example, The Tasmanian Local Government Act 1993 gave councils greater autonomy to act independently of the state government.
    • The first time you cite the act include a shortened form of the jurisdiction after the title, in parentheses without italics. For example Water Act 2007 (Cth), Water Management Act 2000 (NSW). The Style Manual includes the correct form of the jurisdictions for each state and territory.

Acts from other countries

In-text citation and reference list

Format

Title Year (Country abbreviation)

Example

Digital Economy Act 2017 (UK)

Cases

In-text citations

Format

Party v Party (abbreviated title)

Example

The State of New South Wales v The Commonwealth (Wheat Case). The Wheat Case

  • If the case has an abbreviated title, include this title in parentheses after the case name the first time you cite it, and then use the abbreviated title in subsequent citations.

Reference list

Format

Party v Party.

Example

Commonwealth v Tasmania.

  • The Style Manual contains advice in regards to including more details when citing cases, including the year of the decision and where the report is published. Please refer to the Cases section of the Style Manual.

Treaties

A treaty is an international agreement that is binding under international law. Treaties include conventions, international agreements, covenants, an exchange of letters, international instruments, charters, or protocols.

In-text citation and reference list

Format

Treaty Title (abbreviated title) (Year)

Example

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) (1966)

Use of separate reference lists for legislation and legal cases

The Style Manual states to include legal sources as a separate reference list and to separate legislation (bills, acts, and treaties) from legal cases. List the entries in alphabetical order in each list.

Reference list

Example

Legislation

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Act 2005 (Cth)

Children Youth and Families Amendment Bill 2013 (Vic)

Digital Economy Act 2017 (UK)

Legal cases

Dutton v Republic of South Africa [1999] FCA 2

Victorian Railways Commissioners v Brown (1906) 3 CLR 1132

While the Style Manual states that reference list entries are not always required when citing legislation and legal cases, we recommend you include all legal sources on a separate reference list for your assignments. Not all legal conventions are included in the Style Manual, and the advice provided by the authors is to refer to the AGLC style as an authoritative source. Check with your unit coordinator or supervisor if you are unsure of the conventions in your discipline.

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