The APA, 7th ed. only includes examples for legal material from the United States and the United Nations. APA suggests following The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (2015). These guidelines adopt the style outlined in the Canadian equivalent, the Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation, 9th ed. (also known as "The McGill Guide."). This is available in the Library's Reference collection at KE 259 C264 2018.
The APA Manual suggests adding URLs where it will aid retrieval. When citing cases or court decisions to include the "URL from which you retrieved the case information (optional: this is not strictly required for legal citations but may aid readers in retrieval). (p. 358). For legislation, one may "include the URL from which you retrieved the statute after the year. This is not strictly required for legal citations but may aid readers in retrieval." (p. 361)
Publication manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th ed., 2020.
For a more detailed explanation of legal citation, see the Douglas College Library Legal Citation Online Guide
"Most in-text citations consist of the title and the year (e.g. Americans with Disabilities Act, 1990; Brown v. Board of Education, 1954). If the title is long...shorten it for the in-text citation, but give enough information in the in-text citation to enable readers to locate the entry in the reference list." (Publication manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th ed., 2020, p. 357)
Statutes
Cite the name of the statute and the year:
Parenthetical citation: (Library Act, 1996)
Narrative citation: Library Act (1996)
Case Law
To cite the reference in text, give the case name, in italics, and the year:
Parenthetical citation: (R v Kirkland, 2005)
Narrative citation: R v Kirkland (2005)
Traditional Citation
The traditional form of citation requires these elements:
* the case name, or "style of cause" (in italics)
* the year of the decision (in parentheses, followed by a comma)
* the volume number
* the abbreviated title of the reporter (e.g. - DLR for Dominion Law Reports)
* the series number, if included (in parentheses)
* the starting page number
* the abbreviated name of the court, if not included in the reporter name (in parentheses)
Example: R v Latimer (1995), 126 DLR (4th) 203 (Sask CA).
In the next example, the name of the court is not required because the name of the reporter, the Supreme Court Reports (SCR), includes this information.
Example: R v Chaisson, [2006] 1 SCR 415.
Neutral Citation
Many courts assign a neutral citation when a decision has been rendered. It is independent of any printed reporter or online database. When citing an electronic version of a decision, such as through Quicklaw or another database, it is not necessary to include the name of the database or online source.
If a judgment is published in a reporter, list the neutral citation first, followed by the printed reporter. List at least one parallel citation, whenever possible. The following example cites the case reported online through the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) first, followed by the report of the case published in the printed Dominion Law Reports (DLR).
Example: R v Latimer, 2001 SCC 1, 193 DLR (4th) 577.
Neutral citations include these elements:
* the "style of cause" or case name (in italics, followed by a comma)
* the year of the decision
* the court identifier (e.g. - BCSC for British Columbia Supreme Court)
* the decision number
Example: R v Coulson, 2003 BCSC 144.
Statutes
Statutes are published at the end of each parliamentary session. Every so often, all of the sessional volumes are pulled together, along with all existing statutes, into one complete set of statutes in alphabetical order, called the Revised Statutes.
The Statutes of Canada were last revised in 1985. Statutes in effect at that time will thus be cited as RSC 1985, for the Revised Statutes of Canada, 1985. The chapter number of the statute includes the initial letter of the name of the act.
Examples: Criminal Code, RSC 1985, c C - 46.
Privacy Act, RSC 1985, c P- 21.
Federal statutes passed after 1985 are cited as SC for the Statutes of Canada. In this case, chapters are indicated by numbers only, with no initial letters.
Examples: Youth Criminal Justice Act, SC 2002, c 1.
Nunavut Act, SC 1993, c 28.
If citing a specific section or subsection of an act, add the section/subsection numbers at the end of the citation.
Example: Youth Criminal Justice Act, SC 2002, c 1, s 38(2).
The Statutes of British Columbia were last revised in 1996. Statutes in effect at that time are cited as RSBC 1996, for the Revised Statutes of British Columbia, 1996.
Example: Motor Vehicle Act, RSBC 1996, c 318.
BC provincial statutes passed after 1996 are cited as SBC for the Statutes of British Columbia.
Example: Parental Responsibility Act, SBC 2001, c 45.
Bills
When citing bills, include the bill number, the title of the bill, the session of Parliament, the number of the Parliament, and the year.
Example:
Bill C-27, An Act to Amend the Canadian Human Rights Act, 2nd Session, 39th Parliament, 2007.
When citing provincial bills, include the jurisdiction.
Example:
Bill 16, Police Amendment Act, 1997, 2nd Session, 36th Parliament, British Columbia, 1997.
Regulations
Federal regulations were last consolidated in 1978. Regulations in effect in 1978 are cited to the Consolidated Regulations of Canada (CRC).
Example:
Air Cushion Vehicle Regulations, CRC, c 4.
After 1978, federal regulations are cited by the year and number.
Example:
Trade-marks Regulations (1996), SOR/96-195.
SOR stands for Statutory Orders and Regulations, 96 is the year and 195 is the number of the regulation.
Provincial regulations are also cited by year and number, but include the jurisdiction. In the following example, 74 is the year and 181 is the number of the regulation.
Example: BC Reg 181/74.
The APA Manual suggests adding URLS where it will aid retrieval. When citing cases or court decisions to include the "URL from which you retrieved the case information (optional: this is not strictly required for legal citations but may aid readers in retrieval)." (p. 358). For legislation one may "include the URL from which you retrieved the statute after the year. This is not strictly required for legal citations but may aid readers in retrieval." (p. 361) Publication manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th ed., 2020.
The following examples were created by a Douglas College librarian. You need to use your own judgment. We suggest you check with your instructor first.
Apology Act, SBC 2006, c 19. http://www.bclaws.ca/civix/
document/id/complete/statreg/06019_01
In Text
(Apology Act, 2006)
-----------------------------------------------------
Nunavut Act, SC 1993, c 28. http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/
eng/acts/N-28.6/index.html
In Text
(Nunavut Act, 1993)
------------------------------------------------------
R v Villaroman, 2016 SCC 33, [2016] 1 SCR 1000. https://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/16078/index.do
In Text
(R v Villaroman, 2016)