Skip to Main Content
Berkeley Law Library logo

Basic & Background Sources for International & Foreign Legal Research: Citation and Abbreviations / Acronyms

Citing International & Foreign Legal Materials

Some citation guides are specific to a jurisdiction or a subject.  However, not every jurisdiction or subject will have a citation guide.  

Australian Guide to Legal Citation (4th ed. 2018).

The Bluebook (21st ed. 2020) [United States]. Table 2, Foreign Jurisdictions, is available on the web (without a subscription to the electronic Bluebook).

Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation = Manuel Canadien de la Référence Juridique (8th ed. 2014).

Guide to Foreign and International Legal Citations (2nd ed. 2009). 

International Citator and Research Guide: The Greenbook (2018-)
Six volumes covering international organizations and regions.

New Zealand Law Style Guide (23rd ed. 2018).

Oxford Citator (UCB only).
Provides "clear and authoritative citations for use by academics and practitioners" derived from Oxford electronic content.

Oxford University Standard for the Citation of Legal Authorities (OSCOLA) (4th ed. 2012).  PDF is also available.
Note: the 4th edition does not cover international law.  You will need to use the 2006 edition.

Jurisdiction-Specific Citation Guides.

Subject citations guides

Universal Citation in International Arbitration (UCIA) (2018).  Also available electronically.

"Inter-American Citator: A Guide to Uniform Citation of Inter-American Sources for Writers and Practitioners," 41 U. Miami Inter-Am L. Rev. 289 (2010).

Abbreviations / Acronyms

Many of the resources below are only available in print. 

See also the section on Citation Guides since these tools can provide some guidance on abbreviations and acronyms.

Research tip: Searching the web with the abbreviation and the word abbreviation or abbreviated may find your answer. For example, searching BGB abbreviated on Google retrieves sources explaining that BGB is the abbreviation of the German Civil Code.

Search at the Law Library

Law Library Catalog:

Books + Articles

Ask Us

Library Hours

Fall 2024

Monday-Friday: 8am-9pm

Saturday: 10am-6pm

Sunday: 10am-6pm

more hours…