Australian Guide to Legal Citation
Encyclopedia
The Australian Guide to Legal Citation (AGLC) is published by the Melbourne University Law Review Association Inc
in collaboration with the Melbourne Journal of International Law Inc
, and seeks to provide the Australian legal community with a standard for citing legal sources. There is no single standard for legal citation in Australia but the AGLC is the most widely used
There was no major generally accepted Australian guide and law journals and law schools produced their own style guides. One of those guides was the Melbourne University Law Review Style Guide which, in 1997, had reached its third edition.
The first edition of the Australian Guide to Legal Citation ("AGLC1") was published in 1998, a year which saw the publication of three other general guides:
Fong's guide was prepared by Colin Fong, then Research Librarian with Sydney solicitors Allen Allen & Hemsley
. While one reviewer described it as a "remarkably useful and sensible book", another reviewer conducted a comparative review of Fong's guide and AGLC1 and found Fong's guide a "quixotic work". The Law Book Co. guide had a second edition in 2003 and the Butterworths Guide a third edition in 2005.
AGLC3 is over 300 pages but "much of its length is due to the clear format and useful examples".
Melbourne University Law Review
The Melbourne University Law Review is a triannual law journal published by a student group at Melbourne Law School. The journal publishes articles on all areas of law, as well as case notes, book reviews, and review essays.- Overview :...
in collaboration with the Melbourne Journal of International Law Inc
Melbourne Journal of International Law
The Melbourne Journal of International Law is a peer-reviewed law review associated with the Melbourne Law School which publishes articles in all areas of public and private international law. The journal was established in 2000 and is published twice annually with a particular focus on the...
, and seeks to provide the Australian legal community with a standard for citing legal sources. There is no single standard for legal citation in Australia but the AGLC is the most widely used
History
By 1998, there were very large number of competing styles for citing and referencing legal authorities. One study identified four major guides:- D French, How to Cite Legal Authorities (London: Blackstone Press, 1996);
- Harvard Law Review Association, The BluebookBluebookThe Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation, a style guide, prescribes the most widely used legal citation system in the United States. The Bluebook is compiled by the Harvard Law Review Association, the Columbia Law Review, the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, and the Yale Law Journal....
: A Uniform System of Citation (Cambridge: HLRA, 1996, 16th ed); - University of Chicago Manual of Legal Citation (Rochester: Lawyers Cooperative Publishing, 1989);
- McGill Law Review, Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal CitationMcGill GuideThe McGill Guide is the unofficial name for the Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation, which establishes the legal citation standard in Canada. It is published by the McGill Law Journal of the McGill University Faculty of Law and is used by law students and lawyers throughout Canada...
(Montreal: Carswell, 1998, 4th ed).
There was no major generally accepted Australian guide and law journals and law schools produced their own style guides. One of those guides was the Melbourne University Law Review Style Guide which, in 1997, had reached its third edition.
The first edition of the Australian Guide to Legal Citation ("AGLC1") was published in 1998, a year which saw the publication of three other general guides:
- Colin Fong, Australian Legal Citation - A Guide ("Fong's guide");
- Pearl Rozenberg, Australian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation ("Law Book Co.Thomson ReutersThomson Reuters Corporation is a provider of information for the world's businesses and professionals and is created by the Thomson Corporation's purchase of Reuters Group on 17 April 2008. Thomson Reuters is headquartered at 3 Times Square, New York City, USA...
guide"); and - Anita Stuhmcke, Legal Referencing ("ButterworthsLexisNexis ButterworthsLexisNexis Butterworths is a trading name of the British publisher specialising in legal, tax and regulatory publications that was founded in 1818 by Henry Butterworth. The Butterworths publishing business is now owned and operated in the UK by Reed Elsevier Ltd, a company in the Reed Elsevier Group...
guide").
Fong's guide was prepared by Colin Fong, then Research Librarian with Sydney solicitors Allen Allen & Hemsley
Allens Arthur Robinson
Allens Arthur Robinson is a commercial law firm that operates in the Asia-Pacific region. In Australia, and throughout the Asia-Pacific region generally, it is considered to be one of the top commercial law firms.- Offices :...
. While one reviewer described it as a "remarkably useful and sensible book", another reviewer conducted a comparative review of Fong's guide and AGLC1 and found Fong's guide a "quixotic work". The Law Book Co. guide had a second edition in 2003 and the Butterworths Guide a third edition in 2005.
AGLC1
The AGLC1 contained general rules and examples for legal citation and specific rules for Australian primary law (cases and legislation) and secondary sources (journal articles, books and other materials). Its coverage of international legal materials was limited to Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States and some other basic international sources. It also had two appendices: commonly used abbreviations and a table of law reports. It also featured a concise Quick Reference Guide. It was "comprehensive and easy to use".AGLC2
The second edition ("AGLC2") in 2002 expanded its rules to include more sources: transcripts (court, television and radio), explanatory memoranda to legislation, translations, parliamentary committee and royal commissions reports, the constitutional convention debates, speeches, and letters. It also addressed internet sources. It expanded its coverage of basic international sources: decisions of the European Court of Justice, the WTO and GATT. In its general rules, it added a rule on the use of biblographies. It also revised the AGLC1 rules to make them clearer and increased the number of examples.AGLC3
The third edition ("AGLC3") in 2010 added 14 chapters and divided the whole into 6 parts. The lists of information in AGLC2 were replaced with tables and all the AGLC2 examples were replaced with new examples and further examples given. The international legal materials (Part IV) were greatly expanded and the foreign jurisdictions (Part V) covered now include China, Hong Kong, France, Germany, Malaysia, Singapore and South Africa. Some rules were changed: for example, citations of books now require publisher information.AGLC3 is over 300 pages but "much of its length is due to the clear format and useful examples".