Legal Citation with the 10th edition of the McGill Guide

The case has a neutral citation: the citation pattern to use

CITATION ELEMENTS: style of cause, neutral citation, pinpoint [if required], judge [if required], short form [if required].

EXAMPLE: Radonna Investments Ltd v Rubin, 2012 ONCA 321.

Let's examine each part of the citation for a case with a neutral citation to understand how it is constructed:

1. Style of Cause

• a case is identified by the names of those who were parties to the litigation
• in general, one uses only the last name of the first mentioned party on each side. For example, Andrus Wilson v Ramzi Alharayeri becomes Wilson v Alharayeri
• "v" is an abbreviation for versus and is pronounced "and" in civil cases and "against" in criminal cases
• the names of the parties and the "v" are italicized
• for more information, consult section 3.3 of the McGill Guide

example: Radonna Investments Ltd v Rubin

Note:

"Indexed as": for recent cases, an "indexed as" title will appear at the beginning of a case. If you are ever in doubt as to what the style of cause for a case should be, this is a useful bit of information. Check the first page of the judgment and if the case has an "indexed as" reference, use it for citation purposes.

Reference to the Crown: As an element of constitutional monarchy, Canadian executive government authority is formally vested in the King, hence the use of R for the Latin word for king, rex, in legal citations (or, formerly, R meaning regina or queen). This is used mainly for criminal cases prosecuted by the state, although you may also see R as part of a citation for a civil case, in place of such terms as "The Queen", "The King", "The Queen in right of," etc.

Examples:

• R v Desautel (criminal case brought by the Crown)
• Laforet v R (a private case brought against the State)

2. Neutral Citation

Use the neutral citation as given by the court. If you do not know what a neutral citation looks like, see the explanation given here. 

example: Radonna Investments Ltd v Rubin, 2012 ONCA 321.

3. Pinpoint [if required]

Include a pinpoint if you are citing to a particular passage in the judgment. Since your case has a neutral citation, make sure you cite to the paragraph number.

example: Radonna Investments Ltd v Rubin, 2012 ONCA 321 at para 2.

4. Judge [if required]

If relevant, the judge's name may be included, followed by "J" for Justice, "JA" for Justice of Appeal, etc. (consult 3.10 of the McGill Guide).

example: Radonna Investments Ltd v Rubin, 2012 ONCA 321 at para 2, LaForme JA.

5. Short Form [if required]

A short form is required only when there are further references to the case in your work. If there are no further references to the case in your work, a short form should not be used. See Chapter 1.4 of the McGill Guide, 10th edition for the rules on establishing and using short forms.

example: Radonna Investments Ltd v Rubin, 2012 ONCA 321 [Radonna].