OSCOLA, the Oxford University Standard for the Citation of Legal Authorities, is the footnote style used in UK law. STEM students meet it in modules on health and safety, engineering law, data protection, environmental regulation and professional practice.
This page explains how OSCOLA works and shows how to cite the legal sources engineers and scientists use most, following the fourth edition. Personal names and book titles in the examples are illustrative; the laws and the case are real.
How OSCOLA Citations Work
OSCOLA uses footnotes, not in-text author-date citations. Put a footnote marker after the punctuation at the end of the relevant clause or sentence, give the full citation in the footnote, and end every footnote with a full stop.
Abbreviations such as s (section), reg (regulation) and art (article) take no full stops. A bibliography at the end lists cases, legislation and secondary sources separately.
Core OSCOLA Rules
| Rule | What it means in practice |
|---|---|
| Footnotes | Every citation goes in a numbered footnote ending with a full stop |
| Minimal punctuation | No full stops in abbreviations: s 2, reg 4, art 5, edn |
| Italics | Case names and book titles are italic; legislation is not |
| Pinpoints | Give the section, paragraph or page you rely on, without "p" |
| Later citations | Use a short form, "ibid" for the footnote immediately before, or a cross-reference such as (n 3) |
Citing UK Legislation
Cite an Act of Parliament by its short title and year, then the provision you rely on. Statutory instruments add their SI number.
Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, s 2(1).
Data Protection Act 2018, s 3.
Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, SI 1989/635, reg 4.
Legislation is never italicized in OSCOLA. Give the specific section, subsection or regulation whenever your point rests on it; "the Act says" without a provision is a common gap.
Citing EU Legislation
EU regulations and directives are cited with their full title, the Official Journal year in square brackets, the series, the issue number and the first page.
Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) [2016] OJ L119/1, art 5.
After this first full citation, you can use a short form such as "GDPR, art 5", as long as you introduce it, for example by adding "(GDPR)" at the end of the first footnote.
Citing Cases
A case citation gives the case name in italics, the year, the law report series and the first page, with the court in brackets when the report series does not make it clear.
Donoghue v Stevenson [1932] AC 562 (HL).
Pinpoint to a page: Donoghue v Stevenson [1932] AC 562 (HL) 580.
Square brackets around the year mean the year identifies the volume. For recent cases with a neutral citation, such as [2017] UKSC 5, give the neutral citation first, followed by the law report if there is one.
Books, Articles and Websites
Book: Lena Okafor, Engineering Law in Practice (2nd edn, Example Press 2021) 45.
Journal article: Ravi Patel, 'Liability for Autonomous Systems' (2023) 18 Journal of Example Technology Law 112, 118.
Website: Example Safety Authority, 'Working Safely with Electricity' (Example Safety Authority, 2 March 2025) <https://www.example.gov/electricity> accessed 6 October 2026.
In footnotes, give the author's name as it appears in the source. Book titles are italic, with edition, publisher and year in brackets and the pinpoint page after them. Article titles go in single quotation marks, and the journal name is not italicized. Web addresses go in angle brackets, followed by the access date.
Mixing Legal and Technical Sources
OSCOLA was designed for law, so its guidance on technical material is limited. Standards, datasheets and technical reports can be cited as secondary sources, with the issuing body as author, a title and a date.
Some STEM modules ask you to use OSCOLA for legal sources and keep your usual technical style for the rest. Follow your module's instructions, and never mix two styles without being told to.
A Worked Example
"The design team must assess the risk of electrical injury before installation begins.¹ Personal data collected by the monitoring system falls under the UK data protection regime,² and must be processed lawfully, fairly and transparently.³"
¹ Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, SI 1989/635, reg 4.
² Data Protection Act 2018, s 3.
³ GDPR, art 5(1)(a).
The third footnote uses a short form. That is acceptable only if the full citation of the Regulation, with the short form introduced, appeared in an earlier footnote. Markers check this.
Common OSCOLA Mistakes
- Using in-text author-date citations instead of footnotes.
- Adding full stops to abbreviations such as s, reg and art.
- Italicizing the names of Acts of Parliament.
- Missing the closing full stop at the end of a footnote.
- Leaving out the section or regulation number.
- Citing a website's summary of a law instead of the legislation itself.
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Frequently Asked Questions
In modules on professional practice, health and safety, engineering law, data protection or environmental regulation, where legal sources are central and the department asks for it.
Give the short title and year, followed by the provision, for example: Data Protection Act 2018, s 3.
Yes. Footnotes give citations as you write, and the bibliography lists cases, legislation and secondary sources in separate sections. In the bibliography, authors are listed surname first with initials.
It means "in the same place" and refers to the source in the footnote immediately before. Add a pinpoint if it differs, such as "ibid 50."
OSCOLA can cite them as secondary sources, but many STEM modules prefer your usual technical style for those. Follow your module's guidance.
The fourth edition is the current full guide most universities follow. Check your module handbook in case your department specifies a variation.