Understanding case citations

A case citation refers to a specific case, the same way a title and author refers to a book. Understanding the meaning will help you to locate the case referred to.

Case citations are all structured similarly, but they vary depending on whether the case was unreported, or published in a report series.

Below are examples of common case citations with an explanation of what the citation means.

These are cases that have been published in a law report, which have a report abbreviation:

Round or square brackets?

As above, some reporters put the year in square, and some in round, brackets.

Square brackets mean you need the year to find the case. To find R v Par, you need to first find the section for 2015, then the first volume published that year.

Round brackets mean the year is not needed to find the case. To find Comcare v PVYW you just need to go to volume 250 - the year is only given for extra information about the case.

These are cases which have not been published in a law report.

Use the medium neutral citation to locate the unreported case: