Tribal, foreign and international law
How to cite foreign cases and statutes
Cite a foreign case or statute in the form its home jurisdiction uses, such as a neutral citation for an English judgment, and add the country in parentheses when the citation does not make it clear.
The book’s Table G gives the country labels and each legal system’s forms.
12 real examples
Each citation is printed as the book prints it, from an authority the book checked against its source.
Hadley v. Baxendale, 156 Eng. Rep. 145 (Exch. 1854).
- Case name
- Hadley v. Baxendale
- Volume, reporter and first page
- 156 Eng. Rep. 145
- Court and date
- (Exch. 1854)
The authority
- Hadley v. Baxendale (Court of Exchequer, Feb. 23, 1854)Copy (law.justia.com)Find it on CourtListener
Where the book teaches this
Mallon v. Minister for Justice, [2024] IESC 20 (Ir.).
- Case name
- Mallon v. Minister for Justice
The authority
- Mallon v. Minister for Justice (Supreme Court of Ireland, May 15, 2024)Source (courts.ie)
Where the book teaches this
Thomson v. Thomson, [1994] 3 S.C.R. 551 (Can.).
- Case name
- Thomson v. Thomson
The authority
- Thomson v. Thomson (Supreme Court of Canada, Oct. 20, 1994)Source (decisions.scc-csc.ca)
Where the book teaches this
LK v. Director-General, Dep’t of Cmty. Servs., [2009] HCA 9, ¶ 35, 237 C.L.R. 582 (Austl.).
- Case name
- LK v. Director-General, Dep’t of Cmty. Servs.
- Volume, reporter and first page
- 237 C.L.R. 582
The authority
- LK v. Director-General, Dep’t of Cmty. Servs. (High Court of Australia, Mar. 11, 2009)Source (hcourt.gov.au)
Where the book teaches this
Ellis v. R, [2022] NZSC 114 (N.Z.).
- Case name
- Ellis v. R
The authority
- Ellis v. R (Supreme Court of New Zealand, Oct. 7, 2022)Source (courtsofnz.govt.nz)
Where the book teaches this
Supriyo v. Union of India, 2023 INSC 920 (India).
- Case name
- Supriyo v. Union of India
- Year, court and opinion number
- 2023 INSC 920
The authority
- Supriyo v. Union of India (Supreme Court of India, Oct. 17, 2023)Source (api.sci.gov.in)
Where the book teaches this
Bundesverfassungsgericht [Federal Constitutional Court], Mar. 24, 2021, 1 BvR 2656/18, ECLI:DE:BVerfG:2021:rs20210324.1bvr265618, ¶ 198, BVerfGE 157, 30 (Ger.).
The authority
- Bundesverfassungsgericht [Federal Constitutional Court] (Bundesverfassungsgericht, First Senate, Mar. 24, 2021)Source (bundesverfassungsgericht.de)
Where the book teaches this
Human Rights Act 1998, c. 42, § 3(1) (U.K.).
- Name of the act
- Human Rights Act 1998
- Code
- c. 42
- Section
- § 3
- Subsection
- (1)
The authority
- Human Rights Act 1998Source (legislation.gov.uk)
Where the book teaches this
Citizenship Act, R.S.C., 1985, c. C-29, § 3(2)(a) (Can.) (version in force on Dec. 19, 2019).
- Name of the act
- Citizenship Act, R.S.C., 1985
- Code
- c. C-29
- Section
- § 3
- Subsection
- (2)(a)
- Version
- (version in force on Dec. 19, 2019)
The authority
- Citizenship ActSource (laws-lois.justice.gc.ca)
Where the book teaches this
Code civil [Civil Code] art. 1240 (Fr.).
The authority
- Code civilSource (legifrance.gouv.fr)
Where the book teaches this
Grundgesetz für die Bundesrepublik Deutschland [Basic Law] art. 20a (Ger.).
The authority
- Grundgesetz für die Bundesrepublik DeutschlandSource (gesetze-im-internet.de)
Where the book teaches this
Supreme Court of Japan, Grand Bench, May 25, 2022, No. 2020(Gyo-Tsu)255 (English translation).
- Docket number
- No. 2020
The authority
- Supreme Court of Japan (Supreme Court of Japan, Grand Bench, May 25, 2022)Source (courts.go.jp)
Where the book teaches this
Where the book teaches this
The full rule, its exceptions and the reasons for it are in these sections.