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Legal Referencing

Legal referencing

Legal referencing at Deakin University

Correct referencing is critical when researching law and completing law assessments. Deakin University, School of Law requires that you comply with the Australian Guide to Legal Citation 4th edition (AGLC4) when citing references.

The AGLC4 legal referencing style will become very familiar to you, almost like a second language. Good legal referencing skills is a graduate expectation from prospective employers, as it is used in all courts and legal correspondence in Australia.

 

Referencing in legal practice

‘The Court uses the AGLC as the basis for citation formats in its publications and parties are invited to do the same to assist the Court.’ 1

1. Practice Note SC GEN 3 - Authorities and Legislation', Supreme Court of Victoria (Practice Note, 30 January 2017) [4.1] <https://www.supremecourt.vic.gov.au/law-and-practice/practice-notes/practice-note-sc-gen-3-authorities-and-legislation-0>. 

Getting access to AGLC4

 

Photograph of the AGLC4 book sitting on a bookshelf

You can access  a print version of the AGLC4 through the Library’s collection or purchase a copy for yourself.

 

 

 

Your Task

Read Part I thoroughly.

The best place to start with the AGLC4 is to read Part I in full before you refer to any other rule. This part provides comprehensive information on how, when and why to footnote. Your task is to read Part I and then read it again. That’s how important this information is.

AGLC4 How to and updates

Legal research skills AGLC4

Created specifically for Deakin University Law students, this video (16:09min) provides an introduction to the why and how of AGLC4 referencing style.

 

 

Video copyright: Deakin University Library 2024. Images reproduced with the permission of: Melbourne University Law Review.

 

Deakin University Study Support: AGLC4 referencing guide

Deakin Study Support has created their own guide to AGLC4 which is regularly updated. Select the AGLC4 option on the Referencing website. You can either download the PDF or use the dynamic reference tool on the page.

Key AGLC4 referencing resource

Legal Referencing by Anita Stuhmke is a LexisNexis text that outlines good practice guidelines and is a key text for using AGLC4. Correct legal referencing is an essential skill for students, academics and other legal writers. This guide explains the ‘hows and whys’ of good legal referencing and writing. In this fifth edition, the author discusses how to cite legal and non-legal sources. The citation requirements of the fourth edition of the Australian Guide to Legal Citation are clearly explained. Additionally, ‘how to’ examples are provided together with a discussion of citation management systems.

Australian Guide to Legal Citation (Twitter feed)

Checkout @AGLCTweets - a X (formerly Twitter) feed that is managed by editors of the Australian Guide to Legal Citation . It is useful to follow this feed to post any complex referencing questions or to be aware of any updates to the AGLC4.

Other legal referencing styles

 

  • Last Updated: Oct 25, 2024 9:26 AM
  • URL: https://deakin.libguides.com/legal-referencing
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Subjects: All guides, Law