A Note on Foot Noting and Citations

Foot notes are meant to validate a point or to explain an idea incorporated in the body of the
work. Therefore, one must take necessary steps to use a footnote for the purposes of explanation
or to acknowledge the source of information. The appearance of footnotes at the end of each
page is a reader friendly approach. Care must be taken in keeping footnotes relevant to the
subject. The following is the suggested footnote methodology for the students at the Faculty of
Law, University of Allahabad:

I. Text Book:

1. Citation of a text book : Singh, Avatar, Law of Contracts, 90, (Lucknow: Eastern Book
Company, 2001)
2. Citation of a book edited and revised by another author: Shukla, V.N., Constitution of India,
201, (M.P.Singh Ed., Lucknow: Eastern Book Company, vol.2, 1999)
3. Citation of a book written by two authors: Tripathi, P.C, & Reddy, P.N, Principles of
Management, 39, (New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Co., Ltd., 1991)
4. Citation of a book written by multiple authors (more than two): Beale, H,G, et al., Contract
Cases and Materials, 245, (London: Butterworths, 1995)

II. Journal (Follow the mode of citation as suggested in the respective journal. If the journal
doesnt suggest any mode of citation, then only the following mode of citation must be
followed).

1. Article: Somasundaram, P, Best Interests of Illegitimate Children, 31 J.I.L.I 172 (1999)

2. Note/Comment: Anti trust and Non Profit entities, 94 Har. L. Rev. 802 (1991)
3. Book Review: West, Robbin, Relativism, Objectivity and Law, 99 Yale. L. J. 1473 (reviewing
Smith, Barbara, Contingencies of Value, (1988)
4. Secondary reference: Novel, Bannet, The Rise and Fall of IBM 650, cited by Jonathan,
Anderson, Efficient Reading A Practical Guide, 68-80, (Sydney: McGraw-Hill, 1968)
5. Citation of an essay published in a book: Maitland & Kenneth, The Mystery of Seism in Select
Essays in Anglo American Legal History, 591, (1990)
6. Citation of an article from a book edited: Lambert, A, Effectiveness of Psycho therapy,
(Bergin, A E, Ed., Psychotherapy and Behaviour, New York, Willey Publishers, 1998)7. Citation
of an Article, which is a part of a survey of law (e.g., Annual Survey of India, March of Law
etc.): Rizvi, Sumbul, Supreme Court on Hindu Law from 2000-02, 29 A.S.I. 702 (1998).
8. Citation of an article that is published in two volumes of a journal: Stone, Julius, The
Equitable Rights and Liabilities of Strangers to a Contract, (pts 1 & 2) 18 Colum. L. Rev. 292
(1918), 19 Colum. L. Rev. 177 (1919)
III Case laws reported in Journals/Reporters: Please Note: Mode of citation as suggested
by the respective journal is first standard.

1. If the case name and citation together are to be written in the text of the article in itself: State
of Rajasthan v. Vidyavathi (AIR 1962 SC 933).
2. Same rule applies if the Name of the Case as well as citation together are written in the
footnote itself. State of Rajasthan v. Vidyavathi (AIR 1962 SC 933)
3. If the case title is written in the body of the research paper and citation is to be written in the
footnote as AIR 1962 SC 933.
4. For cases reported from the Supreme Court Cases In this case, irrespective of whether case
title is in the body or the footnote, citation would remain same. Indra Sawhney v. Union of India
(1993) 1 SCC 1.
3. Phillips Products Ltd. v. Hyland [1987] 2 All. E. R. 620, Court of Appeal.

IV. Newspapers/ Dictionaries/ Encyclopedias

1.Newspapers/Magazines are completely reliable sources for quoting case laws. Therefore,
cross verification from the original journal is required and the case must be cited accordingly.
(a) Seth, Padma, Women Still Waiting, The Times of India, New Delhi, July 27, 1998 at 10.
(b) Gandhi, Krishna, B, Triumphs and Failures, The Hindu, Chennai, July 26, 1998 (Magazine,
III)
(c) Bidwai, Praful, Seeking a Paradigm Shift, Frontline, April 24, 1998 at 17.
(d) Damages for a Deadly Disaster: The Bhopal Tragedy will cost Union Carbide $ 470 Million,
Time, February 27, 1989 at 53.
2. Dictionary It must be cited like that of an edited text book.
3. Encyclopedia: Fredrick, Pollock & Daniel, Maitland, W, 2 The History of English Law, 539,
(London: Sweet & Maxwell, 1895)

V. Websites If the website gives information as to when it was last modified, that must be
cited, if not one must cite the date of visiting the website.

1. Fuller, Lon, Morality of Law, (Last modified July 29, 1998)

<http://rtfm.mit.edn/pub/usenet/alt.usuage/English>
2. Fuller, Lon, Morality of Law, (Visited on July 29, 1998) <www.unitedmedia.com/comics>
3. Fuller, Lon, Morality of Law, 91 Harv. L. Rev. 129, (July 29, 1998)
<www.unitedmedia.com/comics>

VI. Unpublished Research Work

1.Dissertation/Thesis: Simmons, Rebecca, J, Philosophy and Narrative Form, (1990)
(Unpublished Ph.D dissertation, Cambridge University)
2. Interviews: Interview with Medha Patkar, Leader of NBA in Mumbai (July 25, 1998)
3.Forthcoming publication of a book: West, Rebecca, Consent and Democracy, 107, Yale L. J.
(forthcoming 1999)
4.Forthcoming publication of an article: Baxi, Upendra, From Human Rights to Right to be
human, In Human Rights and Wrongs, (Parekh, Bhiku & Baxi, Upendra Ed., Forthcoming 1991)

VII. Use of Supra/Infra/Ibid/Id/Cf.: If one complete entry of a citation is made once in the
research paper, that can be cited again by using the following:

1.Supra & Infra: Supra means above and Infra means below
(a) Supra note 1 at 410
(b) See Supra Pp. 10-11
(c) Infra note 20 at 360
(d) See Infra p.25

2. Ibid must be used immediately after citation. If the citation is in the previous page last, the
first foot note of the next page can be Id or Ibid. Difference between Id and Ibid: If all that one
wants to cite is identical including page., Ibid must be used. If page no. is different, Id. At.
must be used.
(a) Ibid.
(b) Id at 16.

3. Cf. (Compare): Cf. Sen, Amartya, Political Economy of Hunger, (Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 1981). It is used to suggest that another work might also be consulted in relation to that
argument. Cf. is used when the cited authority supports a proposition different from the main
proposition but sufficiently analogous to lend support.