38 Citing Cases
Melanie Lovich and Theresa Buller
When citing a case, you will need to determine first:
- if your case has a neutral citation;
- if your case has been reported in a law report series.
Rule 3 of NZLSG covers how to cite cases.
Case citations include:
- the names of the parties involved;
- the year the case was heard (for neutral and unreported citations);
- the court the case was heard in;
- if it is a reported case: the year in which the case was reported, the volume, abbreviation of the law report series and starting page number of your case.
How you cite your case will depend on whether it has a neutral citation and whether it has been reported in a law report series.
All cases have a unique citation. It is important that you include all the components within your citation to help your reader find the case you are referring to. This is especially important if your case has been heard multiple times or in multiple courts.
If you are unsure whether your case has a neutral citation or whether it has been reported, use your citation or the information you have on your case to search within the legal databases and check the information available within the databases.
If a Case Has a Neutral Citation and Has Not Been Reported in a Law Report Series
When citing a case that has a neutral citation and has not been reported in a law report series, use the neutral citation to cite the case (rule 3.3).
Neutral citations were progressively introduced in New Zealand from 2005 onwards. They are a sequential numbering system used by each court to identify cases.
A case that has a neutral citation and has not been reported in a law report series will include the following:
- party names, in italics;
- the year the case was decided, inside square [ ] brackets;
- the court identifier;
- the unique sequential number given to the case by the court.
Format for Citing Cases With a Neutral Citation
| Case Name | Year | Court Identifier | Judgment Number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Macken v Jervis | [2014] | NZHC | 3408. |
Example: Macken v Jervis [2014] NZHC 3408.
Macken v Jervis was heard by the High Court in 2014. It was the 3408th case issued by the High Court in 2014. This case was never reported in a law report series.
If a Case Has a Neutral Citation and Has Also Been Reported in a Law Report Series
If a case has a neutral citation, include both the neutral citation and the reported citation (rule 3.2). This indicates to your reader that there is something significant enough for the case to have been reported in a law report series. Before online databases existed, only reported cases could be accessed by lawyers (in books) and so only the most significant cases were reported. Despite wider access today in online databases, the significance of reporting cases continues.
A case that has a neutral citation and has also been reported in a law report series will include the following:
- party names, in italics;
- the year the case was decided, inside square [ ] brackets;
- the court identifier;
- the unique sequential number given to the case by the court;
- the year the case was reported [this may be different from when it was heard by the court!];
- the volume number in which the case was reported;
- the abbreviation of the law report series in which the case was reported;
- the page on which the case starts.
Format for Citing Cases With Both a Neutral Citation and a Reported Citation
| Case Name | Neutral Citation | Year | Volume Number | Report Series | Starting Page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regal Castings Ltd v Lightbody | [2008] NZSC 87, | [2009] | 2 | NZLR | 433. |
Example: Regal Castings Ltd v Lightbody [2008] NZSC 87, [2009] 2 NZLR 433.
Regal Castings Ltd v Lightbody was heard by the Supreme Court in 2008. It was the 87th case heard by the Supreme Court in 2008. Then it was reported in the New Zealand Law Reports in 2009. It was reported in volume two and this case starts on page 433.
If a Case Does Not Have a Neutral Citation But Has Been Reported in a Law Report Series
If a case does not have a neutral citation (likely if it was heard by the courts before the mid-2000s) but it was reported in a law report series, include only the reported citation (rule 3.2).
A case that does not have a neutral citation but was reported in a law report series includes the following:
- party names, in italics;
- the year the case was reported [this may be different from when it was heard by the court!];
- the volume number in which the case was reported;
- the abbreviation of the law report series in which the case was reported;
- the page on which your case starts;
- a court identifier.
Court identifiers are used when it is not clear from the reported citation which court the case was heard in. If you have a neutral citation, you do not need to identify the court as the court is clear from the court identifier within the neutral citation. A court identifier helps your reader to identify quickly which court your case was heard in and is helpful when there are multiple iterations of a case in multiple courts.
Format for Citing Cases With a Reported Citation
| Case Name | Year | Volume Number | Report Series | Starting Page | Court Identifier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fitzgerald v Muldoon | [1976] | 2 | NZLR | 615 | (SC). |
Example: Fitzgerald v Muldoon [1976] 2 NZLR 615 (SC).
Fitzgerald v Muldoon is too early to have a neutral citation (it was heard by the then Supreme Court, now the High Court, in 1976) but it was reported in volume 2 of the New Zealand Law Reports in the same year, starting at page 615.
If a Case Does Not Have a Neutral Citation and Was Never Reported in a Law Report Series
Finally, if a case does not have a neutral citation and was never reported in a law report series, cite it as an unreported judgment using rule 3.4.
A case that does not have a neutral citation and is not reported in a law report series includes the following:
- party names, in italics;
- the court abbreviation;
- the registry location in which the case was heard (for cases in the High Court and below);
- the file number of the case;
- the date of the judgment.
For example, the case Potts v Anderson was heard in the High Court in Whanganui and the judgment was delivered on the 5th April 2005. The courts have numbered it (No 1) to differentiate another instance of the same parties with the same file number (CIV-2003-483-304).
Format for Citing Cases With an Unreported Citation
| Case Name | Court Abbreviation | Registry | File Number | Date of Judgment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Potts v Anderson (No 1) | HC | Wanganui | CIV-2003-483-304, | 5 April 2005. |
Example: Potts v Anderson (No 1) HC Wanganui CIV-2003-483-304, 5 April 2005.
Note: the spelling of Whanganui matches the name of Registry as recorded on the judgment.
Brackets
Case citations may use round ( ) or square [ ] brackets around the date. The shape of the brackets in a case citation is very important and can be a clue to help you find your case.
Reported cases can use round brackets to show the date on which the case was decided but that the date is not a key piece of information that you need in finding the case using the case citation. This usually occurs when law report volumes include cases over a number of years or if the volume numbers increase over time rather than resetting to volume 1 each year.
More frequently, square brackets are used to show the year in which the case was published in a law report and that the date is a key piece of information to help find the case using the case citation. Square brackets are also an indication that the law report series is primarily organised by year with individual volume numbers restarting from 1 each year.
Neutral citations also use square brackets to show the year in which the case was decided. This may be confusing at first; however, other elements of the neutral citation should readily differentiate it from a reported citation.
NZLSG gives more guidance on whether to use round or square brackets at rule 3.2.3(a).
