What are Citations?
Commonly, a citation refers to when we refer to any book, paper, author, film, song, or anything for that matter, to give something we write more volume. A citation is a simple way in academic and scholarly writing that we use to let the readers know that the information we have used has been picked up from somewhere else - any one of the sources mentioned before. It not only adds volume and mass to our writing but also uses the help of other people’s viewpoints to make points or elaborate on them.
Let us now look at the citation meaning. In the field of law, it is also known as case citation and is slightly different from general citations.
Case Citation Explained
In the same way that citations are references to different authors in scholarly articles and writings, case citation meaning in law is a method of citation to refer to previous decisions made in the court of law. When writing a law paper, scholars must insert case citations wherever necessary to let the reader know which verdict in which case they were referring to in their writing. These case names in case citations are beneficial in understanding decisions of cases for professionals.
Structure of a Case Citation
Case citations provide the people reading legal documents with an idea about the case name, date of the case, report, volume and very importantly, the first page of the case. Let’s take the example of the Kesavananda Bharati case to make the structure of a case citation explained.
Case Name
Case name refers to the official name of the case — for example, Kesavananda Bharati v. The State of Kerala.
Date of The Case
The date refers to the date on which the verdict of the case was decided. For example, the verdict of the Kesavananda Bharati case was decided on 24th April 1973.
Report
The report refers to the report series under which the specific case is filed. When looking at how to find the citation of a case in India, first we have to look at the reports under which we file cases in India. The following are the three main reports in India:
SCC - Supreme Court Cases
AIR - All India Reporter
SCR - Supreme Court Reports
The case citation includes the name of the report in it. In India, cases can, and are often, cited in multiple report series. For example, the Kesavananda Bharati case is filed under SCC as well as AIR. Note that while SCR is the main body of reports, presently, we use SCC and AIR more commonly.
Volume
Reports come under several different volumes, and the number of the volume is also mentioned in the citation. This is except for AIR, which does not follow the volume system. The Kesavananda Bharati case comes under volume 4 of the SCC.
Page Number
This refers to the page number within the report from where the case report in the report series begins. It is marked clearly in the case citation. The Kesavananda Bharati starts from page number 225 of volume 4 of the SCC; and page number 1461 of the AIR.
Reading a Case Citation
According to whether the case citation law is in SCC, AIR or SCR report format, the reading of the citation becomes different.
Let’s look at these in detail to understand better how to find a citation of a case in India. To understand this, we can take a new example of the case of Sebastian Hongray v. Union of India, whose citation is available in both SCC as well as the AIR report series.
AIR
[Image to be added Soon]
The format for AIR citations is in the following order:
Case name (Sebastian Hongray v. Union of India)
AIR
Year (1984)
Court (SC for Supreme Court)
Page number (571)
Note that AIR documents both Supreme Court as well as High Court cases; High Court cases are documented as HC. As mentioned before, AIR does not include volumes.
SCC
[Image to be added Soon]
The format for SCC citation is as follows:
Case name (Sebastian Hongray v. Union of India)
Year (in brackets) [ (1984) ]
Volume (1)
SCC
Page number (339)
SCR
[Image to be added Soon]
The format for SCR citation is as follows:
Case name (Sebastian Hongray v. Union of India)
Year (in brackets) [ (1984) ]
Volume (1)
SCR
Page number (904)
Multiple Series Report
[Image to be added Soon]
In multiple series reports, all of the citations of the case are put together to read as one. This means that while it is one case, it is filed under different reports. Thus is the process of case citation explained.
FAQs on How to Understand Case Citations
1. What exactly is a case citation in the field of law?
A case citation is a special reference code used to locate a past legal case. Think of it as a unique address for a court's judgment. It provides all the necessary information, like the parties' names, the year of the decision, and the specific law report and page number where the full judgment can be found.
2. What are the main parts of a legal case citation?
A typical case citation is made up of several key components that help you find the case. These include:
- Case Name: This identifies the parties involved in the case (e.g., Donoghue v Stevenson).
- Year: The year the court's decision was published in the law report.
- Volume Number: The volume of the law report series containing the case.
- Report Abbreviation: The short name for the law report, such as AIR (All India Reporter) or SCC (Supreme Court Cases).
- Page Number: The page number on which the case report begins.
3. Could you provide an example of an Indian case citation and break it down?
Of course. Let's look at the citation: Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala, (1973) 4 SCC 225. Here’s what it means:
- Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala: This is the name of the case.
- (1973): This is the year the judgment was reported.
- 4: This is the volume number of the Supreme Court Cases report.
- SCC: This is the abbreviation for the law report series, Supreme Court Cases.
- 225: This indicates that the case report starts on page 225 of that volume.
4. Why do some important court cases have more than one citation?
It's common for a significant case to be published by multiple legal publishers. Each publisher has its own law report series (like AIR, SCC, SCR) and will assign its own unique citation to the same judgment. Therefore, a single case can have several valid citations, all pointing to the same decision but in different books or databases. It's like a popular song being on different albums; it's the same song, just found in multiple places.
5. How does understanding case citations actually help a student?
Understanding case citations is a crucial skill for anyone studying law. It is important because it helps you:
- Find legal precedents quickly and accurately for your research and assignments.
- Strengthen your arguments by correctly referencing authoritative cases.
- Read and understand complex legal articles and judgments, which are full of such references.
- Verify the sources you are using to ensure they are credible and authentic.
6. Is there a difference in how a civil case and a criminal case are cited?
The basic structure of the citation (volume, reporter, page number) stays the same for both. The most common difference appears in the case name. In criminal cases, the state is often the prosecuting party, so the name looks like 'State v. [Accused Name]'. In civil cases, which are disputes between private parties, the name will feature the individuals or companies involved, such as '[Plaintiff Name] v. [Defendant Name]'.
7. What are 'law reports' and why are they important for citations?
Law reports are official series of books or online databases that publish the full written judgments of courts. They are essential because they are the authoritative source for legal decisions. A case citation works by pointing to a specific volume and page number within a trusted law report, ensuring that lawyers, judges, and students can all refer to the exact same, verified text of a past judgment.
