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APA Citation Guide (APA 7th Edition): Legal Resources

Legal Resources

Because of the complexity of legal citations, APA follows a legal citation style guide for citing legal sources including legislation and case law. Legal citations in your Reference List will look significantly different from other materials that you may cite since it follows a standard legal citation style. In-text citations still follow the standard APA format.

Always confirm assignment expectations with your instructor and follow their preferred citation format. If your instructor has not identified their preferred citation for legal resources, Seneca Libraries recommends consulting the Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation. 

For more information on interpreting legal citations, see the Law: Legal Citations & Research Guide.

Additional Resources

Legislation (e.g., Statutes, Bills)
 

 Note: Always confirm assignment expectations with your instructor and follow their preferred citation format. The following are Seneca Libraries recommendations. The examples have been adapted for APA Style based on the Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation.

 

Reference List


General Template: Title, Statute Volume Jurisdiction Year, Chapter, (Session or Supplement), Pinpoint. URL.

 

Title

This is the official short title of the statute. Include the year if it's part of the title.

For example, Treaties Recognition Week Act, 2016
Statute Volume Jurisdiction Year

Use the abbreviation for the statute source and volume year of the statute source. Don't include periods for the source abbreviation.

For example, RSC 1985
Chapter

Abbreviate chapter to "c" and write the chapter designation exactly as shown in the statute volume, including dashes and periods.

For example, c H-6
(Session or Supplement)

If indicated, include the session or supplement number.

For example, (2nd Supp), or (3rd Sess)
URL Although not a requirement for standard legal citations, APA recommends adding URLs, if available, to help others access your source.


In-text Citations

  • In-text Citations follow the standard APA format. For legal sources, it would generally include the title and year. 
  • Long titles can be shortened in the in-text citation. When shortening titles, provide enough information so that your reader can easily identify the source in your Reference List.
  • To indicate the location of a quote or paraphrase, you may use the section (s), paragraph (para.), or page (p.) number. 

 

Examples

Reference List Citation In-text Citation

Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, s 7, Part I of the Constitution Act, 1982, being Schedule B to the Canada Act 1982 (UK), 1982, c 11. https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/const/page-12.html

Paraphrase: (Canadian Charter, 1982)

Direct Quote: (Canadian Charter, 1982, s 2a)

Canadian Human Rights Act, RSC 1985, c H-6. https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/h-6/FullText.html

Paraphrase: (Canadian Human Rights, 1985)

Direct Quote: (Canadian Human Rights, 1985, s 9)

Treaties Recognition Week Act, 2016, SO 2016, c 18. https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/s16018

Paraphrase: (Treaties Recognition, 2016)

Direct Quote: (Treaties Recognition, 2016, s 1)

Example: Identifying Legal Citation Elements

Click on the slide to view the next page.

Cases & Court Decisions
 

 Note: Always confirm assignment expectations with your instructor and follow their preferred citation format. The following are Seneca Libraries recommendations. The examples have been adapted for APA Style based on the Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation.

 

Reference List


General Format: Style of Cause (Year of Decision, if not mentioned in main citation), Main Citation. URL

 

Style of Cause

This is the shortened version of official title of the case. It often lists the parties involved separated by the letter "v".

Note that there's no period when writing out "R" or "v" in the citation. For example, R v Jordan.
(Year of decision) Comes after the style of cause. You don't need to include the year if the main citation is a neutral citation, CanLII citation, or when the year of decision is the same as the year in the main citation.
Main citation

Where available, the neutral citation should always be the main citation. Where a neutral citation is unavailable, provide the Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII) citation.

  • Neutral citation - A standardized way to reference court decisions, which includes the year of the decision, the court identifier, and the decision number. For example, 2015 SCC 5.
  • CanLII citation - A way to reference Canadian legal decisions that are available on the CanLII website. It often includes the year, CanLII database identifier, and court. For example, 1973 CanLII 4 (SCC). 
URL Although not a requirement for standard legal citations, APA recommends adding URLs, if available, to help others access your source.

 

In-text Citations

  • In-text Citations follow the standard APA format. For legal sources, it would generally include the title and year. 
  • Long titles can be shortened in the in-text citation. When shortening titles, provide enough information so that your reader can easily identify the source in your Reference List.
  • To indicate the location of a quote or paraphrase, you may use the section (s), paragraph (para.), or page (p.) number.

 

Examples

Reference List Citation In-text Citation

Neutral citation example:

Carter v Canada (Attorney General), 2015 SCC 5. https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/14637/index.do

Paraphrase: (Carter, 2015)

Direct Quote: (Carter, 2015, s 104)

CanLII citation example:

Calder et al. v Attorney-General of British Columbia, 1973 CanLII 4 (SCC), [1973] SCR 313. https://canlii.ca/t/1nfn4

Paraphrase: (Calder et al., 1973)

Direct Quote: (Calder et al., 1973, p. 316)

Example: Identifying Legal Citation Elements

Click on the slide to view the next page.

Treaties & Agreements

 

 Note: Always confirm assignment expectations with your instructor and follow their preferred citation format. The following are Seneca Libraries recommendations. The examples have been adapted for APA Style based on the Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation.

 

Reference List

Reference List Citations generally include the following information. Please see the Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation for more guidelines and examples.

  • Name of Treaty or Agreement
  • Parties, if applicable
  • Date signed
  • Treaty series, if applicable
  • Other treaty information, if applicable
  • [Short Form of Treaty or Agreement, if applicable]
  • URL - Although not a requirement for standard legal citations, APA recommends adding URLs, if available, to help others access your source.

 

In-text Citations

  • In-text Citations follow the standard APA format. For legal sources, it would generally include the title and year. 
  • Long titles can be shortened in the in-text citation. When shortening titles, provide enough information so that your reader can easily identify the source in your Reference List.
  • To indicate the location of a quote or paraphrase, you may use the section (s), paragraph (para.), or page (p.) number.

 

Examples

Reference List Citation In-text Citation

Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement as amended by Protocol of Amendment to the Agreement between Canada, the United States of America, and the United Mexican States, 10 December 2019, Can TS 2020 No 6 [CUSMA]. https://www.international.gc.ca/trade-commerce/trade-agreements-accords-commerciaux/agr-acc/cusma-aceum/text-texte/toc-tdm.aspx?lang=eng

Paraphrase: (Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, 2019)

Direct Quote: (Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, 2019, article 20.10, para. 1)

Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled, 27 June 2013 (entered into force 30 September 2016). https://www.wipo.int/wipolex/en/text/301016

Paraphrase: (Marrakesh Treaty, 2013)

Direct Quote: (Marrakesh Treaty, 2013, article 4, para. 1)

Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, 18 April 1961, 500 UNTS 95, Can TS 1966 No 29 (entered into force 24 April 1964, accession by Canada 25 June 1966) at arts 7-9. https://legal.un.org/ilc/texts/instruments/english/conventions/9_1_1961.pdf

Paraphrase: (Vienna Convention, 1961)

Direct Quote: (Vienna Convention, 1961, p. 6)
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