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What's the difference between a neutral citation and a law report? (APA)

When providing a reference to a court case, you should give the party names in italics and either the neutral citation or the law report citation.  

Neutral citations

A neutral citation is a court assigned reference number that normally consists of: 

Case Name(s) [Year] | Jurisdiction and court | Running number assigned by the court  

For more information on neutral citations, see the Incorporated Council of Law Reporting for England and Wales website.

Law report citations 

A law report citation refers to the printed law report in which the case is reported.  A report citation normally consists of: 

Case name(s) [Year] or (Year) | Volume number if available | Abbreviation for law report | Page the report starts on 



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Last Updated: Aug 07, 2026    Views: 11

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