Legal Citation:

Is the style of crediting and referencing other

documents or sources of authority in legal writing
(Wikipedia).

Is a standard language that allows one writer to refer
to legal authorities with sufficient precision and
generality that others can follow the references
(Cornell Library 2005).

Purposes of Legal Citation:
When the right words are used, they serve as gems that
give luster to a message or idea. Otherwise, it may take
away the vigor of a message (Chief Justice Hilario
Davide).
To provide sufficient information to the reader of a brief or
memorandum to aid a decision about which authorities to
check as well as in what order to consult them and to
permit efficient and precise retrieval all of that, without
consuming any more space or creating any more
distraction than is absolutely necessary.
Full Address Principles
Other Minimum Content
Principles
Compacting Principles Format Principles



Full Address
Principles
Principles that specify
completeness of the address
or identification of a cited
document or document portion
in terms that will allow the
reader to retrieves it.
Other Minimum
Content Principles
Principles that call for the
inclusion in a citation of
additional information items
beyond a retrieval address
(the full name of the author of
a journal article, the year a
decision was rendered or a
statutory codification last
updated).



Compacting Principles
Principles that reduce the
space taken up by the
information items included in a
citation.
It includes standard
abbreviation (Supreme Court
to S.C.) and principles that
eliminate redundancy.
Format Principles
Principles about punctuation,
typography, order of items within
a citation, and the like.
Such principles apply to the
optional elements in a citation
as well as the mandatory ones.
One need not report to the
reader that a cited Supreme
Court case was decided 5-4; but
if one does, there is a standard
form.
Constitutional Text
In the footnote, the Constitution is cited by reference to the
article, section and paragraph. When the Constitution is no
longer in force, enclose the year when it took effect in
parentheses.
Examples:
CONSTITUTION, Art. VII, Sec. 2.
CONSTITUTION, (1935), Art. III, Sec. 1 par. (3)

Constitutional Proceedings
In the footnote, cite the constitutional record and journal by
reference to the volume in roman; followed by the words
RECORD, CONSTITUTIONAL COMMISSION or JOURNAL,
CONSTITUTIONAL COMMISSION; page number; and the
date of deliberation in parentheses.
Example:
II RECORD, CONSTITUTIONAL COMMISSION 24 (June 24, 1986

Session Laws
In the footnote, cite session laws by referring to the law
followed by the year of effectivity in parentheses, and the
specific article or section.
Example:
Republic Acts, 1946-1972, July 27, 1987 to date
Republic Act No. 4723 (1966), Sec. 2.

Codes
In the footnote, cite the name of the particular code and either (1) the specific article
or section, if the provisions in the code are numbered continuously; or (2) the
headings, from general to specific, followed by the particular article or section, if the
provisions are not numbered continuously.
When the code is no longer in force or has been subsequently revised, put the year
of effectivity in parentheses after the name of the code.
Examples:
CIVIL CODE, Art. 297
CIVIL CODE (1899), Art. 67.
ADMINISTRATIVE CODE, Book IV, Title 1, Chapter 9, Sec. 29.

Legislative Proceedings
In the footnote, cite the legislative record and journal by
reference to the volume in roman numerals; followed by the
words RECORD or JOURNAL, HOUSE or SENATE; the
specific Congress; the session number; the page number;
and the date of deliberation in parentheses.
Example:
II RECORD, HOUSE 6
TH
CONGRESS 1
ST
SESSION 24 (June 24, 1966)

Treaties
Should include the name of the treaty or agreement, the
date of signing, the parties, the subdivisions referred to (if
applicable), and the source.
Other relevant dates and their significance may be added at
the end of the citation.
Example:
International Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination, opened for signature December 21, 1965, 660 UNTS 195
(effective January 4, 1969).
Executive and Administrative Issuances
In the footnote, cite executive and administrative issuances
by referring to the issuance followed by the year of
effectivity in parentheses, and the specific article or section.
Examples:
Executive Order No. 329 (1950).
Proclamation No. 784 (1961).
Administrative Order No. 21 (1966).
Decisions and Resolutions
CASE TITLE: Cite cases by giving the surname of the
opposing parties first mentioned.
Exceptions: Cite Islamic and Chinese names in full.
Examples:
Lim Sian Tek v. Ladislao
Una Kibad v. COMELEC
Decisions and Resolutions
CASE TITLE: Cite compound names in full
Example:
People v. De Guzman
Lagman v. Del Rosario
Decisions and Resolutions
CASE TITLE: Cite names of corporations, associations,
business firms, and partnerships in full. Words forming part
of such names may be abbreviated, except the first word.
Examples:
Mata v. Rita Legarda, Inc.
Allied Workers Ass.n of the Phils. V. Republic Trading
Corp.
Decisions and Resolutions
CASE TITLE: Cite cases involving the Government of the
Philippines and criminal cases as follows:
Examples:
U.S. v. Jaranilla
Government v. Abadinas
Commonwealth v. Corominas
People v. Santos
Decisions and Resolutions
CASE TITLE: Cite cases involving public officers as follows:
1. Where the person is named in an official capacity, use the
name of the person only.
Examples:
City of Manila v. Subido
Gonzales v. Hechanova
Decisions and Resolutions
2. Where the office is named, use the complete title of the
office:
Examples:
College of Internal Revenue v. Tan Eng Hong
Chief of the Phil. Constabulory v. Sabung Bagong
Silangan
Decisions and Resolutions
3. Cite local government units by their level, followed by their
official name.
Examples:
Province of Rizal v. RTC
City of Cebu v. Ledesma
Decisions and Resolutions
4. Cite case names beginning with procedural terms like In re.
as they appear in the decisions.
Example:
In re Elpidio Z. Magsaysay

Supra
Use the word .supra. to identify a material previously cited
on the same or preceding page. It should not be used to
refer to statutes or constitutions.
Examples:
1 Concepcion v. Paredes, 42 Phil. 599 (1921).
2 Concepcion v. Paredes, supra at 601.
Id
Use .Id.. When citing the immediately preceding footnote that has
only one authority. Indicate any particular such as paragraph,
section, or page numbers in which the subsequent citation varies
from the former.
Examples:
1 Concepcion v. Paredes, 42 Phil. 599 (1921).
2 Id.
2 Id. at 601.

Introductory Signals
(Signals that indicate support)
No signal. Cited authority identifies the source of a
quotation, or identifies an authority referred to in text.
See. Cited authority directly states or clearly supports the
proposition.
See also. Cite authority constitutes additional source
material that supports the proposition.
Cf. Cited authority supports a proposition different from the
main proposition but sufficiently analogous to lend support.
It literally means .compare..
Introductory Signals
(Signals that suggests a useful comparison)
Compare xxx (and) xxx with xxx (and) xxx. Comparison of
the authorities cited will offer support for or illustrate the
proposition. The relevance of the comparison will usually be
clear to the reader only if it is explained.
Introductory Signals
(Signals that indicate contradiction)
But see. Cited authority directly states or clearly support a
proposition contrary to the main proposition.
But cf. Cited authority supports a proposition analogous to
the contrary of the main proposition.
Introductory Signals
(Signals that indicate background material)
See generally. Cited authority presents helpful background
material related to the proposition. The use of a
parenthetical explanation of the source materials relevance
following each authority introduced by See generally is
encouraged.
Order of Signals
When more than one signal is used, the signals (together
with the authorities they introduce) should appear in the the
order in which they are listed. Signal of the same basic type
. Supportive, comparative, contradictory, or background .
must be strung together with a single citation sentence and
separated by semicolons. Signals of different types,
however, must be grouped in different citation sentences.