Legal Citations – Legal Encyclopedic Digests (McGill Guide, 6.5)

The general form for common law encyclopedic digests includes the following elements:

"Title of entry"
  • ItalicizeIf the section being cited has a title, include it in quotation marks, followed by a comma.
in
  • in
Title of Encyclopedia,
    Italicize the title of the legal encyclopedia, followed by a comma.
Volume
  • Indicate the volume in abbreviated form (e.g. vol 4), if one is provided.
Edition
  • Include the edition in abbreviated form (e.g. 2d ed), followed by a comma.
by
  • by
Editor
  • Include the name of the editor.
(Publication Information)
  • In parentheses, indicate the city of publication, followed by a colon, the publisher's name, a comma, the year of publication, and close your parentheses.
Pinpoint.
  • Wherever possible, cite to a paragraph or section number as opposed to a page number.

EXAMPLE:

"Title of the section," in Title of Encyclopedia Volume, Edition by Editor (Publication Information) Pinpoint Section or Paragraph.
"Contracts," in American Jurisprudence vol 17A 2nd ed by Jeanne Benioff (Rochester, NY: Lawyers's Cooperative, 1991) § 97.

"Contracts," in American Jurisprudence, vol 17A, 2nd ed by Jeanne Benioff (Rochester, NY: Lawyer'sCooperative, 1991) § 97.


NOTE: The rule for the Canadian Encyclopedic Digest (or CED) and Halisbury's Laws of Canada are different. For the CED, in addition to the edition, you should indicate the series (Ontario or Western), in parentheses after the title, when citing the print version or an online version that has been divided into Ontario or Western. Preference is given to the online version when citing the CED.

EXAMPLE: CED Print Edition

CED (Ont 4th), vol 1, title 2 at § 10.

EXAMPLE: CED Online Edition

CED 4th (online), Actions (Ont), "Forms and Classes of Action: Penal Actions: General" (II.5.(a)) at § 3.

EXAMPLE: Halisbury's Laws of Canada Print Edition

Halisbury's Laws of Canada, vol 2, Business Corporations (Markham, Ont: LexisNexis Canada, 2008) at HBC-298 "Focus on Interests" (Cum Supp Release 4).

EXAMPLE: Halisbury's Laws of Canada Online Edition

Halisbury's Laws of Canada (Online), Business Corporations, "Shareholder Remedies: The Oppression Remedy: Meaning of Oppression" (XIII.2.(2)) at HBC-298 "Focus on Interests" (Cum Supp Release 4).