Legal Citation
McGill Guide: 10th Edition
In Canada, legal citation generally follows the Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation, commonly called the McGill Guide. Legal writing primarily uses footnotes for references.
U of A Library QuickGuide
The U of A Library's McGill QuickGuide, available in PDF and Google Doc formats, gives examples and concise explanations for common types of legal citations. For further details or for information on other aspects of citation, please consult the complete guide. If you don’t see an example of what you are looking to cite in the McGill Guide, please consult the Chicago Manual of Style, from which the McGill Guide is based.
More McGill Guides
- LAW Legal Citation (McGill Guide) Quick Reference (University of Calgary)Includes examples for common types of legal citations.
- Legal Citation with the 10th edition of the McGill Guide (Queen's University)Includes detailed instructions and examples for citing cases, statutes and regulations, Indigenous legislative documents, books, journal articles, and online resources.
Complete Manual
Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation / Manuel canadien de la référence juridique (10th edition; print)
Commonly known as the McGill Guide; includes rules for citing a variety of legal documents including legislation, jurisprudence, and government documents, in both English and French. This edition includes a wider variety of source types, especially online sources and court documents.
Additional Style Guides
- The Canadian Open Access Legal (COAL) Citation Guide/ Guide canadien de la référence juridique en accès libre (RJAL)COAL-RJAL is freely available on CanLII, allowing anyone requiring a Canadian legal citation guide to access it online. It includes detailed explanations and examples for citing secondary sources, government publications, cases, legislation, and international law sources.
Permanent Links
To prevent link rot (broken links or pages in the future) and to be able to continue accessing sources you cite online, you need to use an archived URL or permanent link in addition to the original URL. Place the archived URL in square brackets after the regular URL.
The McGill Guide strongly recommends the Perma.cc system to create permanent links where none is provided by the site you are citing.
- Perma.cc Account Request FormUse this form to request a Perma.cc account to create your own links. Please allow up to a week for your request to be processed.
“If the content of a website exists in another format (e.g. a published article or book), refer to the other format. It is nonetheless encouraged to mention the website as an additional reference because it is generally easier to access.” (Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation 10th edition, General Rules E-14)
Legal Abbreviations
- Cardiff Index to Legal AbbreviationsUse the Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations to search for abbreviation meanings for legal publications. Covers English language legal publications, from the British Isles, the Commonwealth and the United States. A wide selection of major foreign language law publications is also included.
Please note: the website is currently under construction and may not be up to date as you need it to be.
- UBC - Law Report AbbreviationsAbbreviations for law reports
- CanLII - Primary Law DatabasesThis page presents a list of CanLII databases with a set of details about their scope. It also includes explanations for abbreviations.
- McGill Guide Abbreviation InformationConsult the McGill guide/manual (Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation). It provides abbreviation information for a wide range of Canadian, foreign, and international legal materials in its appendices, which are located at the back.