The Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation
Establishing a uniform system of legal citation allows for the efficient and reliable recognition of legal sources, an important requirement for the advancement of legal scholarship. In an effort to achieve reliability in referencing, the editors of the McGill Law Journal released the first edition of the Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation—the McGill Guide—in 1986.
Today, the Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation, 10th Edition is published by Thomson/Carswell. Over the years, the McGill Law Journal has worked with jurists, scholars, and a variety of advisors to compile the McGill Guide. A new edition is released every four years in order to remain abreast with the dynamic and ever-evolving legal profession. In June 2023, the 10th Edition was released under Robyn Otto, Citations Editor, Volume 68.
The McGill Guide provides instructions on how to cite a variety of sources including:
- Indigenous Constitutions
- PDF Documents
- Online Video and Video Aggregators
- Arbitration Cases
- Various International Materials
The McGill Guide is an indispensable tool for legal writing and is widely used by practitioners, judges, academics, and law students across Canada. It is the standard reference guide for most Canadian law journals as well as for many courts (see list below). A large number of Canadian law faculties also use it as a primary tool in teaching legal methodology. The McGill Guide can be purchased either in hardbound format or in spiral bound format.
An online version of the McGill Guide is available at WestlawNext Canada here.
You may also visit our website at mcgill-guide.ca.
For McGill Students – Office Hours:
Do you feel overwhelmed when using the McGill Guide? Are you having difficulty citing a particular source? For these and other questions related to citations, please feel free to ask the MLJ Citations Committee during our office hours! (To be determined for the 2024-25 academic year.) Questions on both French and English citation styles are welcomed.
Citations questions can also be directed by email to mljcitationscommitee@gmail.com.
