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 Cite Guide – in 1986.

Today, the Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation, 10^th 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 Cite 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 10^th Edition was released under Robyn Otto, Citations Editor, Volume 68.

The Cite 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 Cite 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 Guide can be purchased either in hardbound format or in spiral bound format.

An online version of the 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 Cite Guide? Are you having difficulty citing a particular source? For these and other questions related to citations, please feel free to MLJ Citations Committee our virtual office hours! Questions on both French and English citation styles are welcomed.

Fall 2021 Hours of Operation (via Zoom): Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm

During these times, you can speak with a member of the Citations Committee about any questions you may have about citing your work. Zoom links can be found each week in the ASC THE SAO newsletter.

Citations questions can also be directed by email to mljcitationscommitee@gmail.com.