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MLA Citation Guide (MLA 9th Edition): Legal Resources

Legal Resources


For students who are not required to use standard legal citation style, MLA recommends following the MLA format for citing legal resources including legislation and cases. Note that the MLA Style doesn't include guidelines on citing Canadian legal resources. The following examples have been adapted based on the MLA Handbook and Documenting Legal Works in MLA Style.

Always confirm assignment expectations with your instructor and follow their preferred citation format. If your instructor recommends using a standard legal citation style, please see the Law: Legal Citations & Research Guide for more information.

Legislation (e.g., Statutes, Bills)

Works Cited List Citation

Government Author. Title. Statute Volume Jurisdiction Year, Chapter. Website Name, Date of Last Update, URL. 


Example

Government of Canada. Canadian Human Rights Act. RSC 1985, c H-6. Justice Laws Website, 30 Oct. 2024, laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/h-6/FullText.html.
In-Text Citation

(Government Author Section Number) 

 

Example

(Government of Canada s. 2a)

Cases & Court Decisions

Works Cited List Citation

Name of Court. Title of Case or Court Decision. Day Month Year of Decision. Website Name, URL. 


Example

Supreme Court of Canada. Carter v. Canada (Attorney General). 6 Feb. 2015. Supreme Court of Canada, decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/14637/index.do.
In-Text Citation

(Name of Court Section Number) 

 

Example

(Supreme Court of Canada s. 104)

Treaties

Works Cited List Citation

Title of Treaty. Website Name, Date Signed or Last Updated, URL. Parties involved. 


Note: For Parties involved, provide some information on the countries who have signed the treaty or agreement. If there are multiple countries, use "Multilateral treaty". If there are two countries involved, you may use the format "Treaty between Country Name and Country Name".


Example

Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA). Government of Canada, 10 Dec. 2019, www.international.gc.ca/trade-commerce/trade-agreements-accords-commerciaux/agr-acc/cusma-aceum/text-texte/toc-tdm.aspx?lang=eng. Multilateral treaty.
In-Text Citation

(Name of Treaty Location of Quote or Paraphrase) 

 

Note: For Location of Quote or Paraphrase, provide the section number (e.g., s. 3), paragraph number (e.g., para. 7), or page number (e.g., 4).

 

Example

(Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement para. 1)
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