This document provides an overview of the 20th edition of the Bluebook, which prescribes the widely used legal citation system. It discusses the purpose of legal citations and provides examples of how to cite various sources like cases, statutes, constitutions, periodical materials, books, international documents, and online sources. It also covers topics like short forms, quotations, and international legal sources.

1. 20TH
EDITION
BLUEBOOK
A Uniform System of Citation, a style guide, prescribes the most widely
used legal citation system
Published in 2015

2. Purpose of citation
•To show your reader you've done proper research by listing sources
you used to get your information
•To be a responsible scholar by giving credit to other researchers and
acknowledging their ideas
•To avoid plagiarism by quoting words and ideas used by other authors
•To allow your reader to track down the sources you used by citing
them accurately in your paper by way of footnotes, a bibliography or
reference list

3. Various sources that are cited
•Cases – Indian / Foreign
•Statutes
•Constitutions
•Periodical Materials – journals, newspapers
•Books
•International documents – UN, Treaties etc.
•Internet (restricted use)

4. CASES
•Meritor Sav. Bank v. Vinson, 477, U.S. 57, 60 (1986).
• First party v. Second Party, reporter volume number, reporter abbreviation (U S Reports), first
page of the case, specific page referred to, date of decision
❖ If the name of the court is clear from the reporter, then you do not need to specify the court’s name
again.
Indian case:
• Charan Lal Sahu v. Union Carbide, (1989) 1 SCC 674 (India).
• Name of the parties, (year of reporter) volume number, reporter abbreviation, first page, year of
decision if different from year of reporter, country if not evident from context

5. STATUTES
•Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and
Liability Act 42 U.S.C §§ 9601 – 9675 (2012).
• Official name of the act, U.S.C Title number, abbreviation of code cited, section symbol and span
of sections containing part referred to, date of code edition cited
• § - insert – symbol – special characters.
Example of Indian cases:
• Industrial Disputes Act, No. 14 of 1947, INDIA CODE (1993), VOL. 15.
Official name of the Act, act no., code, year of reporter, volume number.

6. CONSTITUTION
• U.S. CONST. art. I, § 9, cl. 2.
• Abbreviation of the constitution cited, article number, section, clause.
•U.S. CONST. pmbl.
•U.S. CONST. amend. XIV, § 2.
• U.S. CONST. amend. XVIII (repealed 1933).
Indian constitution example:
•INDIA CONST. art. 1, cl. 2.

7. PERIODICAL MATERIALS
• JOURNAL:
• Charles Reich, The new property, 73 YALE L.J. 733, 737-38 (1964).
• Author’s full name, title of the article, journal volume number, abbreviation of journal in
small caps, page on which the article begins, pages cited, date of publication.
• BOOKS:
• FRANCIS A CAREY, ORGANIC CHEMISTRY 310 (Kent A Peterson et al. eds., 6th
ed,
2006).
• Author’s full name (small caps), title of the book (small caps), page cited editor(s) name(s)
eds- abbreviation for editors, edition cited, year of publication.
• NEWSPAPER:
• Scott Martelle, ID Law keeps Nuns, Students from Polls, L.A. TIMES, May 7,
2008, at A14.
• Author, title of article (italicised), newspaper (small caps), date, at page.

8. SHORT FORMS
• Id. – used for immediately preceding authority, but only when preceding
authority contains only one authority cited
• Example:
1. Nixon v. United States, 506 U.S. 224, 230 (1993).
2. Id. at 363.
• Supra – when authority has been cited fully previously
• Example: Reich, supra note 16, at 6.
❖ Supra should not refer to cases, statutes, constitutions, legislative
materials.

9. ONLINE SOURCES
• URL must be appended to the end of the citation
• For online sources with print characteristics, citation must be made as if it
were a print source with an attached URL
• Eg: Tim Ganser & Stan Veuger, Strategic Voting in Proportional
Representation Systems 28-29 (Am.Enter. Inst. Working Paper No. 2014-02,
2014), http://www.aei.org/wp-contentpaper_05874658974.pdf.
• An internet source which cannot be cited according to another rule in the
bluebook -
Andrew Morse, Credit Suisse Is Latest Swiss Bank Humbled by U.S. Tax
Evasion Crackdown, WALL ST. J.: L. BLOG (May 19, 2014, 5:04 PM),
http://blog.wsj.com/law/2014/05/19/credit-Suisse-is-latest-swiss--bank-humbl
ed-by-u-s-tax-evasion-crackdown/
❖ Date – the date on which the content was published online.

10. INTERNATIONAL SOURCES
•Treaties –
Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, art.3,
Aug. 12, 1949, 6 U.S.T 3316, 75 U.N.T.S 135.
Full name of treaty, article referred to, date of treaty coming into force, UST and UNTS number.
• Cases –
Military and Paramilitary Activities in and Against Nicaragua (Nicar. V.
US.), Judgement, 1986 I.C.J 14 (June 27).
Full name of the case (case in abbreviation), judgement, year, court, relevant page, date of judgement.

11. QUOTATIONS
•Quotations of fifty or more words:
Indented on both sides and without quotation marks and quotation
marks within a block quotation must appear as in the original.
•Quotations of forty nine or fewer words:
Quotation marks required, must not be set off from the rest of the para.