Q. Can I cite a case which is mentioned in a law textbook, even if I haven't read the case itself?

Sometimes you’ll read a textbook which refers to a case, and you want to cite the case. This is called secondary referencing and should be avoided; you should always try to read the original source – in other words, find and read the case report. However sometimes this isn’t possible, so you can use ‘citing’ for cases cited within cases and ‘as cited in’ for sources cited in secondary sources such as books and journal articles. For example, see the bold highlights below:

¹⁰ Barrett v Enfield LBC [2001] 2 AC 550 (HL) citing Miles v Wakefield Borough Council [1987] AC 539.

¹⁶ Hentrich v France (1994) 18 EHRR 40 as cited in Peter Aldridge, Money Laundering Law (Hart Publishing 2003) 64.

In the bibliography, cite only the source you have actually read. In the examples above, you would cite the Barrett v Enfield LBC [2001] 2 AC 550 (HL) case and the book by Aldridge. This conforms to the OSCOLA referencing style.

See the OSCOLA referencing page for more guidance.

Please note you should always refer to any departmental/school guidelines you’ve been given.