Style Guide to Academic Writing

Kathmandu School of Law

Submitted by
Kathmandu School of Law Review
Editorial Team

Submitted to
Kathmandu School of Law
 Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS ..................................................................................................................... II

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ................................................................................................................... IV

PART I STYLE AND FORMAT ............................................................................................................2

A. INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................2

B. OVERALL STYLE........................................................................................................................3

1. Title Page ............................................................................................................................3

2. Tables ..................................................................................................................................4
a. Table of Contents............................................................................................................4
b. Table of Abbreviations ...................................................................................................4
c. Table of Statutes .............................................................................................................5
b. Table of Cases ................................................................................................................5
e. Bibliography ...................................................................................................................5
Examples ............................................................................................................................6
3. Font, Margins ......................................................................................................................9
4. Miscellaneous .....................................................................................................................9

PART II CITATIONS .......................................................................................................................10

A. BASIC OF CITATION .................................................................................................................10

B. NON-TEXTUAL REPRESENTATIONS APPEARING IN THE BODY LEVELS ......................................11

C. QUOTATIONS ...........................................................................................................................11

D. ITALICS ...................................................................................................................................12

E. FOOTNOTING ...........................................................................................................................12

1. Subsequent Citation ..........................................................................................................13

2. Introductory Signal ...........................................................................................................14

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3. Pinpoints ...........................................................................................................................15
4. International Treaties ........................................................................................................15
5. Case Law of International Jurisdiction .............................................................................16
6. Legislations .......................................................................................................................16
7.General Rule for Case Law of National and Foreign Jurisdiction .....................................17
8. Nepali Cases......................................................................................................................18
9. Foreign Cases ....................................................................................................................18
10. Books ..............................................................................................................................19
11. Journal Articles ...............................................................................................................20
12. Parliamentary Committee Reports .................................................................................20
13. Theses and Dissertations .................................................................................................20
14. Conference Papers ..........................................................................................................21
15. Working Papers/ Discussion Papers ...............................................................................21
16. Newspapers and Magazine Articles ................................................................................21
17. Broadcast materials .........................................................................................................22
18. Interviews ........................................................................................................................22
19. Websites ..........................................................................................................................22
20. Further Reference and General Rule...............................................................................22

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

A debt of gratitude is owed to Dr. iur. Lukas Heckendorn, a KSL alumnus who drafted the first
edition of KSL Style Guide, our own comprehensible guideline for academic writing that we
used tirelessly for years. This edition of KSL Style Guide would be incomplete without
incorporating the succinct words he used in the first edition. Part I of the style guideline
noticeably retains most of Dr. Lukas’s contributions while part II features some of his prescribed
rules of citation that we considered superlative to other options. In a proper sense, the new style
guide is an amendment, albeit a necessary one.

This edition of style guide also owes significant acknowledgment to the newly formed young
editorial team of Kathmandu School of Law Review (KSLR). As the Editor-in-Chief of the
review I take all the limelight but I am just a small guidance to immensely talented and hard
working team members; Yugichha Sangroula, Prassidha Pandey, Poonam Kaphle, Sushma
Thapa, Saroj Pathak, Prakat Khati, Anish Bastola, Pushpa Palanchoke and Deepshikha Adhikari.
The tireless hard work put in by them cannot be expressed in few words instead the style guide
stands as a testament to it. This effort would not have been possible without the help and support
of Sushila Karki, Executive Editor of the review. I thank you all for your dedication and
professionalism.

Last but not least, I extend my sincere thanks to Executive Director, Prof. Geeta Pathak
Sangroula, for entrusting us with this responsibility. We couldn’t have carried through this
project successfully without her encouragement. Her constant guidance and valuable advice at
cannot be put in words.

Ravi Prakash Vyas

Editor-in-Chief
Kathmandu School of Law Review

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 PART I

STYLE AND FORMAT

A. Introduction

Academic writing does not depend on the content alone. The form of an article, research report
or term paper is equally important. It gives a first impression to the reader about the care
and diligence with which the report was conducted. The opinion on a piece of writing
will be influenced consciously and unconsciously by the form. In addition, the form
allows verifying, at least to a certain extent, how far a work of research followed
scientific principles. The number and quality of referenced works will indicate the depth of the
scientific investigation. In addition, checking the references (whether they are correct) also
allows identifying flaws in a research. Thus, deficiencies in form alone make it possible to
disqualify academic writing at an early stage. Form is thus an essential component of all
academic writing.

In spite of the importance of form, there are different standards and models around the
world such as the Oxford Standard of Legal Citation and the Harvard scheme, the
Australian Guide to Legal Citation and the Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation,
the Bluebook, guidelines set up by the Association of Legal Writing Directors (ALWD), the
AALL (American Association of Law Libraries) Universal Citation Guide and others. For an
academic institution, it is essential that requirements of form are made clear and are
consistently applied. This is a demand of fairness and clarity towards the students, but also an
issue of clarity for all researchers involved. Consistency and clarity of form contribute to the
quality of the academic institution itself. The present style guide aims at achieving this purpose
for KSL.

The present draft style guide draws on observation and experience in different countries as
well as on existing material of the research department of KSL.

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B. Overall Style

1. Title Page

The title page should look as follows:

Topic (Title)

Level (Type of Paper: Dissertation/Seminar/Term Paper)

Program (LLM/LLB/B.A. LLB, year, specialization)

Date

Number of words, if requirements of words exist (term paper, dissertation)

Name of Student

P.U. Registration Number

Name of Institution

Name of University

Example:

The Difficulties of Case Reporting in Nepal

Dissertation / 1st Term Paper in the Subject of Legal Research

LLM 2nd Year

Criminal Law and Justice

July 15th 2012

3354 words

Ram Prasad

Kathmandu School of Law

Purbanchal University

Format: 2 inches heading gap, 1 inch on bottom

Font: Times New Roman: subject 16 points capital letters; rest 14 points normal

3
Word count: Required for term papers and for dissertation, but not for seminar papers. Word
count only includes text (not tables, title page, footnotes).

According to existing guidelines, the following are the existing requirements on

number of words:

Level Term Paper Dissertation

B.A. LLB/ LLB 1st Year Up to 1500 words n/a
B.A. LLB/ LLB 2nd Year Up to 1500 words n/a
B.A. LLB/ LLB 3rd Year Up to 2500 words n/a
B.A. LLB/ LLB 4th Year Up to 2500 words n/a
B.A. LLB/ LLB 5th Year Up to 2500 words 15,000-25,000 words
st
LLM 1 Year 2500-3500 words n/a
LLM 2nd Year 2500-3500 words 25,000-30,000 words

2. Tables

The following tables have to be included in the below specified order:

a. Table of Contents

 Containing all titles and subtitles and, on the right side, the respective page number
(page of relevant heading).
 In dissertations, an overview can go before the table of contents.
 Introduce subtitles only if you have at least 2 different subtitles.
 The numbering is left to the discretion of the author.

b. Table of Abbreviations

The table includes all (and only) abbreviations used in the text. It can also include
abbreviations of primary legal sources (e.g. ICCPR) which thereafter do not need to be
cited in full length. For abbreviations in languages different than English, either the
English meaning is directly given or a translation should be given in brackets.

4
Example:
eg for example
KSL Kathmandu School of Law
NCA Nepal Contract Act 2000 (Karaar Ain 2056)
NKP Nepal Kanoon Patrika (Nepal Law Journal)
WN Writ number

Note: Most recent English guidelines propose not using full stops (.) after
abbreviations.

c. Table of Statutes

Contains all statutes referred to in the paper/work and the respective page where the
statute is mentioned in the paper. Statutes should be ordered according to
jurisdiction and chronologically.

d. Table of Cases

The table of cases contains all cases cited, divided by jurisdiction, and in chronological
order. There also should be a reference to the page where the case is mentioned in the
paper.

e. Bibliography (at the end of the paper, after the main text)

Bibliography is a compilation of all the books and articles cited in the study. A work not
cited in the study should therefore not be included in the bibliography. If the author
wishes to refer to other works, she/he can add a separate list under the title "further
readings". The bibliography should not include primary legal sources such as acts,
regulations, etc. - those are included in separate tables (table of statutes, table of cases).

Bibliography should contain all the information mentioned below under citation.
However, differently than under footnotes, the author's last name comes first It should be
presented in alphabetical order, taking the author's last name is taken as reference. A
bibliography should consist of sources cited in text. Sources that were consulted but have

5
 not been incorporated within the text need not be mentioned. If the author wishes to refer
to other works, she/he can add a separate list under the title “further readings”. The
bibliography should not include primary legal sources such as acts, regulations, etc. since
they are supposed to be included in separate tables (table of statutes, table of cases).

The order of elements, punctuation and capitalization of the bibliography shall remain
constant to their footnotes, except the following three changes to be taken care of for
bibliography:

i. Family name of the author/s comes before initials; the family name and the initials
should be separated by a comma.
ii. All the entries should be categorized and if possible. For example: books and theses,
journal and review articles, newspaper articles etc. They should be alphabetically
arranged in ascending order. Books by the same author can either be put in
alphabetical order of their title or in chronological order – the latter is the more
common modality.
iii. The entries do not require a full stop at the end.

Please refer to these examples for Tables of Contents, Abbreviations, Statutes and Cases:

Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS ..................................................................................................................... I

TABLE OF ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................................................................... II

TABLE OF STATUTES .................................................................................................................... III

TABLE OF CASES .......................................................................................................................... IV

1. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................1

1.1. BACKGROUND ......................................................................................................................1

1.2. RESEARCH QUESTION ..........................................................................................................2

1.3. RATIONALE ..........................................................................................................................2

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 1.4. METHODOLOGY ...................................................................................................................3

2. THE RIGHT TO SILENCE ............................................................................................................4

2.1. LEGAL PROVISIONS ............................................................................................................4

2.1.1. INTERNATIONAL INSTRUMENTS .....................................................................................4

2.1.2. NEPALESE LEGAL PROVISIONS ......................................................................................5

2.2. RELEVANT CASE LAW.........................................................................................................6

CHAPTER 3: ANALYSIS AND CONCLUSION .....................................................................................9

ANNEX I .......................................................................................................................................10

Table of Abbreviations

eg for example

KSL Kathmandu School of Law

NCA Nepal Contract Act 2000 (Karaar Ain 2056)

NKP Nepal Kanoon Patrika (Nepal Law Journal)

WN Writ number

Table of Statutes

Nepal Contract Act 2000

Section 2..........................................................................................................................4

Section 4..................................................................................................................4, 6, 8

Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal 1990

Article 4..........................................................................................................................7

7
Table of Cases

Tirtha Raj Kumari Rana v Binod Shanker Shrestha, NKP 2049 (1992), 1......................3

HMG v Dhanamaya, NKP 2031 (1974), 123 ..................................................................5

Note: Enclosing the tables with a border is an optional style.

Bibliography

Acharya, Madhav Prasad, ‘The Adversarial v. Inquisitorial Models of Justice’, vol. 1, KSL
Journal 63, 2003

Graffeo, Elizabeth M., ‘Evaluating Human Rights INGOs’, Masters of Public and International
Affairs thesis, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 2010

Herby, Peter & Nuiten, Anna R., ‘Protecting civilians through an additional protocol to the 1980
Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons’, International Review of the Red Cross,
2001 available at http://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/misc/57jqyv.htm

Rahman, Mizanur (ed), Human Rights and Sovereignty Over Natural Resources, ELCOP,
Dhaka, 2010

Sanders, Chris C, ‘Contending With Explosive Remnants of War’, Arms Control Today
(September 2004) available at http://www.armscontrol.org/act/2004_09/Sanders

Sangroula, Yubaraj, Nepalese Legal System, Human Rights Perspective, Kathmandu School of
Law, Kathmandu, 2005

8
3. Font, Margins

Font: Times New Roman, 12 points.

Line gap: 1.5 lines

Margins: Top, right and below: 1 inch. Left side: 1.25-1.50 inches.

4. Miscellaneous

 Use a gender-inclusive language. Examples: reasonable person (not reasonable man), he

or she (not he)

 When using dates in the text, clarify with BS or AD what date you are referring
to. In English texts, always provide a conversion. Example: The Constituent Assembly
declared Nepal a Republic on 15 Jestha 2065 BS (28 May 2008 AD).

9
 PART II

CITATION

A. Basics of Citation

Citation has three main purposes: it gives authority to a statement, it gives clarity on the
authorship of a proposal (intellectual honesty: no citation = plagiarism, an academic theft) and it
enables the reader to find further literature.1

Caution: Plagiarism has ethical and legal implications. It is not limited to outright replication
of someone else’s work. Merely repeating facts and statements from various sources without
any substantial contribution of your own is not the spirit of an academic, it is simply a
patchwork. Furthermore, you might be unintentionally plagiarizing, that is, accrediting the
original source, but either heavily depending on or improperly citing it. Either way,
familiarizing oneself with the basics of plagiarism is prescribed. For a start, please visit
http://plagiarism.org/plagiarism-101/overview/.

There are several principles of citation, the most important ones to observe are:

i. The reference should be as short as possible.

ii. The reference should be long enough to find the cited source (full address principle).
iii. The reference should always mention the source actually consulted. Copying footnotes is
plagiarism. If citing a case referred to in a book without consulting it, the citation has to
contain the work which referred to the case (as per citation rule of the relevant jurisdiction),
followed by “cited from” and the consulted source according to guidelines below.
Example:
Peter Herby & Anna R. Nuiten, ‘Protecting civilians through an additional protocol to the
1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons’, International Review of the Red
Cross, 2001, p.841 available at
http://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/misc/57jqyv.htm, accessed on 16 January
2013.

1
Harvard Law Review Association, The Bluebook, A Uniform System of Citation, 16th edition (1996) [Bluebook],
4. (This is an example of the bluebook style of citation).

10
iv. A citation is always required when an idea expressed by another author is used. If the
literal wording is used, citation is incomplete without quotation.

B. References to non-textual representations appearing in the body levels

i. The source/s in the form of graphs, diagrams, tables and charts, that are not one’s original
work should be mentioned in following manner: Source: Name of the Source (year of
publication/dissemination)
ii. All the non-textual representations should be coded as numerical serials on the basis of
the sections where they appear. For example, if the table/s appears in section A, the
serials shall be Table A.1, (Table A.2, Table A.3 and so on). Subsequent references
should go by respective numbering. For example, See above/ below Table A.1 )

Example

Table B.1. Food security in South Asia in terms of availability of food

Indicator Assessment Bangladesh India Nepal Pakistan Sri Lanka

Parameter

Average food kcal/capita/day 2281 2353 2360 2293 2361

supply

Dependency Qualitative 0 1 1 1 1
on chronic assessment (0-
food aid 2)

Political (0-100) 70 25 65 65 45
stability risk

Source: Global Food Security Index, 2012

C. Quotations

i. Any sources cited a verbatim should duly acknowledged using quotation marks so as to
remain faithful to the original source.

11
 ii. Quotations not exceeding three lines should be enclosed in single quotation mark and
expressed in following manner: ‘text text text text text text text text text text text text text
text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text
text’.
iii. Quotations exceeding three lines should be expressed with a line break and shortened
indentation in both right and left, in following way:
text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text
text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text
text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text
text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text
text text text text text text text
iv. Omission of any part of the original text must be substituted by an ellipsis (…).
v. Alterations of words or letters much be recognized as [text] and where the text has been
changed, accept so with (altered for emphasis) after the text. Significant mistakes in
original text may be recognized as [sic].
vi. A quotation within the quotation may be supplied by double quotation mark in following
manner: ‘text text text “text text” text text text text’.

D. Italics

i. Word of foreign origin, including Latin and Greek expressions must be italicized.
ii. Nepali words and phrases should be italicized.
iii. Long names and popular name of cases, statutes, books, articles, reports and title and
name of other sources should be italicized, whether used in the main text or footnote.

E. Footnoting

Every citation takes the form of citation sentences. This implies that it should start with a capital
letter and end with a full stop. In this sense, a footnote is subject to certain rules on its
construction. Some of the most important rules not to be observed in every footnote are as
follows:
i. Full details for the source should be provided every time a new entry is made.

12
 ii. Superscripts should be provided to the referred part of the text which may be at the end
of the sentence or clause. The basic idea is to supply such superscript immediately after
the direct quote to clearly indicate exactly what part of the sentence or paragraph is not
one’s own words. Construct the sentences and paragraph in following way:
This information was obtained from a previous work1 and this idea has been supported
in other similar works2. This part of the paragraph represents my understanding of the
issue and need not be cited as I am its author and it cannot be traced to my previous
works.
iii. References to more than one work / case in the same footnote are set off from one
another with semi-colons. For example:
Coraline Affairs, United Kingdom v. United States, 1837, 2 Moore, p. 409; Ian
Brownlie, International Law and the Use of Force by States, Clarendon Press, Oxford,
1963, p. 429.
iv. Footnotes are usually used either for citation. However, they are also used to further
elucidate the expressions in the main text. In such case, it is suggested such elucidations
be as short as possible. Rules of citation shall be observed and while citing such
elucidations, the following style is suggested:
Text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text
ext text text text text text text text text text text text text. Citation.

1. Subsequent Citation

When a particular source is cited more than once in a paper, the full bibliographic details such
as edition, title of publication, publication year etc need not be provided each time in a footnote.
Such citation is referred as repeat/subsequent citation. Basically, there are two forms of
subsequent citations:

i. Immediately preceding footnote: if the former footnote mentions only one source, Ibid
(meaning ibidem or in the same place) should be used along with the referred page
number/s (if different), separated by a comma in between. For example:
Case Concerning Oil Platforms, Iran v United States, 2003, 42 ILM, p. 1334, paras 51,
57.
Ibid.

13
 Ibid, para 58.
ii. Not immediately preceding footnote: When there is a single publication by an author
being referred, the prescribed citation is: author’s last name, first citation number (n x),
pinpoint. In case of subsequent citation of legislations and directives, the popular or short
title of such legislation is prescribed. Similarly, subsequent citation of case law should be
indicated by the popular name or a short name of the case followed by the referred
page/paragraph number. For example:
Oil Platforms Case (n 3), para 59.
Brownlie (n 2), pp. 430-435.

Alternate forms of subsequent citation such as supra, infra, ante, id, op cit and loc cit, are to be
avoided since these are not widely understood. Contra and cf are also to be avoided. When such
forms are encountered in other publications, it is prescribed to find out their particular usages to
avoid incorrect citation. For further clarification consider consulting the explanation of latin
gadgets contained in Oxford Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (hereinafter
OSCOLA).

2. Introductory Signals

It is essential to indicate the nature in which a publication is taken into reference. Following are
the introductory signals that may be used for such purpose:

(no signal) Source directly supports the statement.

eg Other authorities (not cited) also support the stated.
See Source gives implicit or qualified support.
See generally Source provides background information on topic.
Contrasted with Source provides support by analogy (contrast).
(instead of cf)
Contradicts with Source is in direct contradiction with the) statement.
(instead of contra)
But see Source is in partial contradiction with the statement.

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3. Pinpoints

Abbreviated forms of pinpoints shall be used only when list or table of abbreviation is provided.
Usage of pinpoints should be consistent. Following abbreviations maybe used as pinpoint for all
the prescribed forms of citations in this style guide:

p. when a particular page number is referred

pp. when multiple pages are referred
s section
ss sections
chp chapter
art article
arts articles
sub-s sub-section
sub-ss sub-sections
para paragraph
paras paragraphs
sch schedule
part pt
division div

4. International Treaties

International treaties should be generally cited as Treaty Title, official treaty series or other
authoritative source, date of signature/accession/adoption/ratification (at least one of the above),
pinpoint, date of entry into force (if possible). Abbreviations for the source such as United
Nations Treaty Series may be used if the full name is enlisted in the table of abbreviations. For
example: International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 999 UNTS 171, adopted on 16
December 1966), art 14.

Constitutive documents of UN and other major international organizations need not be described
in detail. For example:
Charter of the United Nations, art 100.

15
5. Case law of International Jurisdiction

Case law of international jurisdiction shall be cited in this format: Popular name (if any), parties’
name, phase and/or nature of case, year, volume and name of publication, starting page. For
example:
Fisheries Case, United Kingdom v. Norway, Merits, 1951, ICJ Rep, p. 116.

If there is additional information, for example, dissenting opinion of a particular judge, they
should be put right after name of publication separated by a comma.

6. Legislations

Legislations shall be generally cited in this format: Title (the short title whenever possible), year,
jurisdiction (further jurisdiction if applicable), pinpoint. If information on a formal publication
organ is available, it should be mentioned right after jurisdiction. For example:

Aboriginal Lands Act, 1995, Australia (Tasmania).

Constitutions shall be cited as: Title, year, pinpoint. Same format shall be applied to cite
delegated legislations too. Bills will also follow the same format but the title of the bill shall not
be italicized.

Interim Constitution of Nepal, 2007, arts 12-32.

With regard to the year, reference should be made to the principal act instead of the amending act
unless the latter is relevant to the matter for which such reference was made. In such case, both
the principle and amending act may be mentioned in this format: Title (principle act), year,
amended by Title amending act), year. Similarly, if the cited act has been repealed, the repealing
act should be mentioned in this manner: Title (repealed act), year, repealed by Title (repealing
act), year.

Some specific rules have been mentioned below:

i. Nepalese legislations should be accorded both their English and Nepali titles.
Similarly, the year of enactment should be provided in both A.D. and B.S. The format
for citation shall be: English Title, Year in A.D. (Nepali Title, Year in B.S.), pinpoint.

16
 ii. Foreign legislations should be cited in this way: Title, jurisdiction, year, pinpoint.

Examples:

National Code, 1963 (Muluki Ain 2020).

Contract Act, Nepal, 2000 (Karaar Ain 2056), s 4.

Contract Act, India, 1872.

7. General Rule for Case Law of National and Foreign Jurisdiction

The general format for citing case law of national and foreign jurisdiction shall be: Popular
Name (if present), parties’ name, year, name of publication, volume number, page number of the
first page, pinpoint (if applicable).

Some important rules for consideration are as follows:

i. All the abbreviations used for citing foreign cases shall be put under table of
abbreviations. For example, AIR stands for All India Report.
ii. If the jurisdiction is not indicated or does not follow from the text, a corresponding
reference should be used. For example:
Koop v Beb (1951) CLR, vol. 84, p. 629 (Australia).
iii. The source actually consulted for extraction of the portion of the case referred, especially
if the original text has not been consulted shall be mentioned. For example:
Prakash Mani Sharma v Nepal Government et al., WN 3179, 2057 (2000) cited at
Supreme Court of Nepal, Some Landmark Decisions of Supreme Court of Nepal,
Supreme Court of Nepal, Kathmandu, 2010, p. 239.
iv. If a case is consulted online, the web link in which such is available should follow the
above prescribed rules. Rules of citation for internet materials will be applicable.

17
8. Nepali Cases

i. Published Supreme Court cases shall be cited as Parties’ name, NKP, year in B.S. (year
in A.D.), page number of the first page, pinpoint (if any). For example:
HMG v Dhanamaya, NKP, 2031 (1974), p. 123.

ii. Unpublished Supreme Court cases shall be cited as Parties’ name, Writ Number (WN),
year in B.S. (year in AD), pinpoint. For example:
Ashish Adhikari v HMG, WN 3391, 2057 (2000).

iii. Decisions of lower courts shall be cited as Name of Court, parties’ name, Decision
Number (DN), year in B.S (year in A.D) For example:
Lalitpur District Court, HMG v Bhisma Bahadur Rsaiju, DN 427, 2062 (2005).

9. Foreign Cases

The following are examples of the most common form of citation in some foreign systems:

i. Australia: Parties’ name (year) name of report series, first page number of the case,
volume number, pinpoint. For example:
Koop v Bebb (1951) CLR, vol. 84, p. 629.
ii. England: Parties’ name [year] series of law report page, first page number of the case,
pinpoint. For example:
Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Co. Ltd v Selfridge & Co [1915] AC, p. 847.
iii. India: Parties’ name, reporter, year, court, pinpoint. For example:
Gopalan v State of Madras, AIR, 1950, SC, p. 27.
iv. United States: Parties name, name of report series, volume, first page number of the
case, pinpoint (Court, year). For example:
New York Times Co v Sullivan, US, vol. 376, p. 254 (SC 1964); Atwater v City of Lago
Vista, F 3d, vol. 195, p. 242 (5th Cir 1999).

18
10. Books

The general rule for citing books shall be: Author’s name, Title of the book, edition, name of
publication house, place of publication, year, pinpoint. For example:
Yubaraj Sangroula, Nepalese Legal System, Human Rights Perspective, Kathmandu School of
Law, Kathmandu, 2005, pp. 110-112.

Titles and academic degrees should be omitted while mentioning the author/s. Middle names can
be mentioned if they are commonly used. Also, full name should be preferred over abbreviated
names unless such are commonly used.

Some specific rules are as follows:

i. When there are two authors, both the authors should be mentioned, their names separated
by ampersand (&).
ii. When there are three authors, all of them should be mentioned using comma and
ampersand. For example, First Author, Second Author & Third Author.
iii. When there are more than three authors, name of the first author should be mentioned,
followed by et al.
iv. While referring to books having editor or translator instead of author/s, they should be
cited similarly to an author, adding brackets (ed/s) for editor and (tr/s) for translator. For
example, First Editor & Second Editor (eds).
v. If the book has both author and editor/translator, add a bracket right after acknowledging
the author stating name of the editor along with ed. For example, name of the author
(name of the editor ed).
vi. Contributions to a compilation/chapters in an edited book should be cited in this way:
author’s name, ‘title’, in editor (ed), Title of book, name of publication house, place of
publication, year, pinpoint. For example:
Abdullah Al Faruque, ‘Permanent Sovereignty Over Natural Resources: Past, Present and
Future Trends’, in Mizanur Rahman (ed), Human Rights and Sovereignty Over Natural
Resources, ELCOP, Dhaka, 2010, p. 22.

19
11. Journal Articles

i. Hard copy journal articles are to be cited as, author’s name, ‘title’, volume (to be
indicated as vol.), issue number (if present) (to be indicated as no.), full name or
abbreviation for the journal/review first page of the article, year of publication, pinpoint.
Madhav Prasad Acharya, ‘The Adversarial v. Inquisitorial Models of Justice’, vol. 1, KSL
Journal p.63, 2003, p.68.

ii. Electronic journal articles are to be cited as, author’s name, ‘title’, full name or
abbreviation of journal, year of publication (full date if possible) available at web
address, date of access. For example:
James Boyle, ‘A Manifesto on WIPO and the Future of Intellectual Property’, Duke Law
& Tech Review, 2004 available at
http://www.law.duke.edu/journals/dltr/articles/2004dltr0009.html, accessed on 18
November 2009.

12. Parliamentary Committee Reports

Parliamentary Committee Reports should be generally cited in this format: Name of Committee
(jurisdiction), name of Parliament (jurisdiction), title, full date, pinpoint. For example:
Committee on State Restructuring and Distribution of State Power, Constituent Assembly
(Nepal), State Restructuring Higher Commission Report, 5 February 2012, p.2.
Other parliamentary materials such as parliamentary debate, parliamentary papers etc. should be
cited as: Name of Parliament (jurisdiction), title (nature of the material, additional information if
necessary), full date, pinpoint.

13. Theses and Dissertations

Theses and dissertations should be cited as, name of author, ‘title’, type of thesis/dissertation,
institution/university, year, pinpoint. For example:
Elizabeth M. Graffeo, ‘Evaluating Human Rights INGOs’, Masters of Public and International
Affairs thesis, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 2010, p.38.

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14. Conference Papers

Conference papers which are published and publicly available can be cited in following manner:
name of author, ‘title’, name of conference, place, date, pinpoint. For example:

Ben Osu, ‘Local community projects to create opportunities and tackle problems’, FIHRM
Conference, Liverpool, 9-10 October 2012.

15. Working Papers /Discussion Papers

Working papers and discussion papers made available by various institutions can be cited as:
Name of author, ‘title’, working paper/discussion paper number, institution, year of publication,
pinpoint. For example:
Roehlano M. Briones, ‘Regional Cooperation for Food Security: The Case of Emergency Rice
Reserves in the ASEAN Plus Three’, Sustainable Development working paper no.18, Asian
Development Bank, 2011.

16. Newspaper and Magazine Articles

i. Articles found in print versions should be cited as, author (if mentioned), ‘title’, name
of the newspaper/magazine, place of publication, full date of publication, pinpoint.
For example:
‘SAARC leaders urged for food security’, The Kathmandu Post, Kathmandu, 27 April
2010.
ii. Articles found in electronic versions should be cited as, author, ‘title’, name of
newspaper/magazine (additional information) available at web address, accessed on
date of retrieval. For example:
Chris C Sanders, ‘Contending With Explosive Remnants of War’, Arms Control
Today (September 2004) available at
http://www.armscontrol.org/act/2004_09/Sanders, accessed on 12 June 2012.
iii. Editorials can be cited by mentioning “editorial” instead of “name of the author”.

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17. Broadcast materials

Broadcast materials such as television programs, radio transcripts, movies, documentaries etc can
be cited in this format: broadcaster, ‘title’, name of program (if applicable), full date of
dissemination or release, pinpoint.

18. Interviews

i. Self conducted interviews should be cited as, name of interviewee, position of

interviewee, location of interview, form of interview (optional), date.
ii. If the interview is not self conducted, name of interviewer should be put before the name
and position of interviewee.
Example:
Interview with Stephen Robinson, Program Manager, Kathmandu, 22 Febraury 2010.

19. Websites

Any information, for which a web link is traceable, should be indicated. The general rule for
citing web contents shall be: name of author, ‘title’, full date of dissemination, name of website,
pinpoint (if applicable) available at web address, date of access. For example:
Tampere European Council, ‘Presidency Conclusions’, 16 October 1999, European Parliament
Official Website available at http://www.europarl.europa.eu/summits/tam_en.htm, accessed on
15 November 2012.

20. Further reference and General Rule

If the rules and formats prescribed in this style guide do not particularly cover a citaton,
consultation of the latest edition of OSCOLA is prescribed. You may access it at
http://www.law.ox.ac.uk/published/OSCOLA_4th_edn_Hart_2012.pdf . If no specific rule is found
within OSCOLA, please refer to this general rule: type of source, name of author, title, location
of dissemination, place of dissemination, further details (if applicable), year, pinpoint.

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