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McGill Guide to legal citation

Statutes

Statutes (E-2.1 in the McGill guide)

  • Provide the official short title
  • Italicize the title and place a non-italicized comma after the title
  • When a year is included as part of the title it would appear in italics; add the year after the jurisdiction even if it is also part of the title
  • Follow capitalization as it is in the title; do not use English capitalization rules on French statute titles
Format

Title (Italics), statute volume, jurisdiction, year, chapter, other indexing elements, (session or supplement), pinpoint.

Reference Example -
without a Session or Supp.

Criminal Code, RSC 1985, c C-46, s 745.

Reference Example -
with a Supp.

Income Tax Act, RSC 1985, c 1 (5th Supp), s 18(1)(m)(iv)(c).

Reference Example -
for the BC jurisdiction

Royal Roads University Act, RSBC 1996, c 409, s 3.
In-text Example

The McGill rules for in-text references differ slightly from APA citation style. The following is our best interpretation of how to adequately refer to the corresponding entry in your APA Reference list

("Criminal Code," 1985)

("Income Tax," 1985)

("Royal Roads," 1996)

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Indigenous Documents: Constitutional Statutes (E-2.2 in the McGill guide)

  • Include basic critical information
  • If the document is not in English or French, provide a description in parentheses OR a translation in square brackets
Format

Title (Italics), statute volume, jurisdiction, year, chapter, (session or supplement), pinpoint.

Reference Example

Nipissing Gichi-Naaknigewin [Nipissing First Nation Constitution], (2013), online (pdf): <https://www.nfn.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/ChiNaaknigewin.pdf> 
In-text Example

The McGill rules for in-text references differ slightly from APA citation style. The following is our best interpretation of how to adequately refer to the corresponding entry in your APA Reference list

("Nipissing Gichi-Naaknigewin," 2013)

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Guidance in the McGill guide for citing other Indigenous legal resources:

  • Indigenous Legislative Documents: Legislation 2.1.1
  • Indigenous Constitutions: Constitutional Statutes 2.2
  • Personal Communications: Secondary Sources & other materials 6.14
  • Physical Objects: Secondary Sources & other materials 6.19