Citations to law reports and cases are almost always given in abbreviated form. In order to understand what the abbreviations mean, you may need to consult one of the following:
Online: Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations - see link on left
Print: Raistrick, Donald. Index to legal citations and abbreviations. 2nd ed. Bowker Saur, 1993.
Shelved on BJL 2nd floor at K 20 R1 (second copy kept at BJL Service Desk on the Ground Floor)
Most law report citations follow the same pattern, as in the example below:
Example: Judd v Brown [1998] 2 FLR 360
| Judd v Brown | [1998] | 2 | FLR | 360 |
| ^ | ^ | ^ | ^ | ^ |
| Parties involved | Date of case | Volume number | Report series | Page number |
In 2001 (updated in 2002) a new method of case citation was introduced for most of the higher courts in England and Wales.
Example: Avis v Turner [2007] EWCA Civ 748
| Avis v Turner | [2007] | EWCA Civ | 327 |
| ^ | ^ | ^ | ^ |
| Case name | Year of judgement | Court abbreviation | Case number |
Often, the neutral citation will be followed by a reference to one or more law reports series.
Example: GW v RW [2003] EWHC 611 [2003] 2 FCR 289