LECTURE 3- Introduction to

Referencing-SAJHR

By GRACIOUS MHLABANE
ONLINE INTAKE 3&4

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GET TO KNOW YOUR TUTOR
GRACIOUS MHLABANE

➢ Holds an LLB Degree – University of

Johannesburg

➢ Currently Pursuing –Masters Degree

(LLM,Corporate Law),UNISA

➢ Candidate Attorney for 2 years

➢ Tutor for 3 years @ The University of

Johannesburg

graciousm@[Link]
011 669 1087
TAKE NOTE ...

• For technical difficulties email :

StudentsupportLLB@[Link]

• Classes are recorded and recordings will be available

on the Regenius portal

• Slides will be also be available on the Regenius portal

• Next ICE task is due on 12 JULY 2023

 ACTIVITY TIME FRAME
1. Importance of referencing

• [Link]

[Link], dates

[Link] ,quotations

[Link] research + Short quizz

[Link] to reference books

7. How to reference journals

[Link] to reference reported and unreported

cases
9. How to reference statues, parliamentary
debates
[Link] to reference thew constitution

11. How to reference websites

Introduction to Referencing
Topics which will be discussed

[Link] of Referencing

[Link] Legal Research

[Link] to reference Legal sources

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LEARNING
OUTCOMES:
Research a topic and write
a coherent academic essay
or report

Using different types of

legal authorities

Know where to locate and

access legal information,

Apply SAJHR referencing.

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Importance of Referencing
Referencing is important for the following reasons:
✓ It puts your work in context
✓ It acknowledges original author’s work
✓ It allows readers to trace the sources of information you have used
✓ It allows readers to locate the original source

✓Most importantly – it prevents plagiarism

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South African Journal
on Human Rights
Referencing “’SAJHR’’

9
Titles and Headings

When writing academically, headings and sub-headings are used

Example:
1. International Law
1.1 Public International Law
1.1.1 The definition of Public International Law
1.2 Private International Law
1.2.1 The definition of Private International Law

2. A comparison between public international law and private international law

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Spelling and Dictionary

Use British Spelling

In British • e.g. Realize is American English

spelling – Use • Realise is British English(Put your
the ‘S’ and not Z writing settings on this format)

• e.g. Favour, Colour = British

Use ‘ou’ and English
not o
• Favor, Color = American English

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Quotations
Quotations are used for direct quoting out of a source
• Use single quotation marks e.g. ‘I have a dream’.

• The full stop is always the last after quotation mark

• Quotations longer than 5 (five) lines, it should be in its own paragraph and
intended (text in the middle)
e.g:
Section 30 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa states
‘Everyone has the right to use the language and to participate in the
cultural life of their choice, but no one exercising these rights may do
so, in a manner inconsistent with any provision of the Bill of Rights’

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 • When mentioning the name first time, it must be written out fully and
then the abbreviation is followed in ( ) brackets
• E.g. The Council for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA)

• There are no full stops used in abbreviations

• NEVER ABBREVIATE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT!!

Abbreviations
• Plurals do not have an apostrophe s in academic writing – e.g. NGOs not
NGO’s

• The following abbreviations can be used in text and footnotes, however,

if it in the start of a sentence, it has to be written out
• E.g. Section s
Paragraph para
Regulation reg

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 Abbreviation continued

NUMBERS
• 1 – 20 are written out in words
e.g. : one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten
eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen etc

• 21 + are written numerically

e.g. :21, 22, 23 , 1500, 2999 etc

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Abbreviation Continued
Dates

• Format – Day month year

• E.g. : 5 March 2022
• When referring to a period of years , they must be separated by
a long hyphen
• E.g. : 2017-2022
• When referring to a decade – no apostrophe for the s
• E.g. : 1970s

15
QUESTION TIME

• 5 mins to ask your questions

• Raise your hand to ask
• Ask questions relevant to content
discussed
• You can type question on the chatbox

THERE IS NO STUPID QUESTION!

CONDUCTING
RESEARCH

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CONDUCTING LEGAL RESEARCH

[Link] discipline of law is based on legal authority therefore; it is imperative that you
know how to conduct legal research
[Link] conducting legal research, you will need to find primary and secondary
sources of law.
[Link] does not solely entail finding of primary and secondary sources and
the analysis of the material,
4.A big part of legal research is the way in which you present the material found with
academic integrity,
[Link] basis on which academic integrity is found is non-plagiarism,

[Link] and correct referencing (make use of footnotes) to authority and

compilation of a bibliography.

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D I F F E R E N C E B E T W E E N P R I M A RY A N D S E C O N D A RY
SOURCES

PRIMARY SOURCE SECONDARY SOURCE

• Where legal principles • Sources about law,

and rules originate • whereby primary sources
are repackaged into
digestible form(s)
• that provide commentary,
analysis, and debate
around the Law.
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 PRIMARY SOURCES
Primary sources of law in South Africa include the following:

• Court judgments (cases)

• Legislation (statutes or Acts of parliament)
• Old authorities( Voet , Hugo De Groot)
• International or foreign cases( Hein online)
• Treaties(The UN Charter )

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WHERE TO FIND PRIMARY SOURCES
SA CASES SA Legislation

• Juta, • Juta,
• LexisNexis, • LexisNexis,
• Sabinet, • Government Gazettes,
• Saflii, • Regulations,
court websites such as: • Free online SA national
• Constitutional Court website, legislation(University of
• Case annotations Pretoria)

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Secondary Sources
• Secondary sources are mostly
persuasive authority
• The origination of law is not derived
from secondary sources
• because authors express their own
opinions which can sometimes be
incorrect
• Secondary sources can be identified
as follows:
• Books
• Journal Articles
• South Africa law Journals
• Foreign law journals
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23
• National Director of Public Prosecutions v Acton 2018 (6) SA 393 (CC) PS
• D Brand ‘What is ‘academic legal writing?’ (2012) 6 Pretoria Student Law Review SS
• D Pillay ‘Writing a document Practice Management’ (2009) SS
• C Botha Statutory interpretation: An introduction for students 5 ed (2013) SS
• D Kleyn & F Viljoen Beginner’s guide for law students 4 ed (2002) SS
• Trump v International Assistance Refugee Project 582 US (2017) (Supreme Court of the United States decision) PS
• Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998. PS
• Consolidated Treaty Series (ConTS) 1648-1919 PS

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 BOOKS

Referencing Different
Sources - SAJHR

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How to Reference Books
1. Give author’s full name/initials and surname
2. If there are 2 authors – mention them all with full names
3. If there are more than 2 Authors mention initials only
4. For more than one author – they must be joined with “& “ symbol
5. In italics – the book’s full title
6. Edition of book
7. Year published in brackets
8. The page number – DO NOT use p or pp in bibliography (footnotes only)
9. All authors should be mentioned in 1st reference, thereafter, you use 1st
author’s name followed by ‘et al’(and others) 26
Bibliography -(comes at end of document ) Footnotes- (inserted on text appears at
bottom of the page )
Mention author’s full name Use initials of author with no full stops after the initials
e.g. Joe Author Soap e.g. JA Soap

Example: Cora Hoexter Administrative Law in South Africa Example: C Hoexter Administrative Law in South Africa
2nd ed (2012) 2nd ed (2012) 107.

Example 2 authors: Ian Curry & Johan de Waal The Bill of Example: I Curry & J de Waal The Bill of Rights Handbook
Rights Handbook 6th ed (2013) 6 ed (2013) 294.

Example 2+ authors : S Peté, D Hulme, M du Plessis, R Example: S Peté, D Hulme, M du Plessis, R Palmer & O
Palmer & O Sibanda Civil Procedure A Practical Guide 2nd Sibanda Civil Procedure A Practical Guide 2 ed (2015) 228.
ed (2015) For subsequent reference:
I Curry & J de Waal (note 7 above) 294

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Example of a footnote

How to insert insert a footnote

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QUESTION TIME

• 5 mins to ask your question

• Raise your hand to ask
• Ask questions relevant to content
discussed
• You can type question on the chatbox

THERE IS NO STUPID QUESTION!

What do we do with
translated books?
1. Initial and surname of original author
2. In italics the book title
3. Year in brackets of the original
published year
4. In brackets initial and surname of
translator and year
5. Finish with page number

E.G
K Marx Capital (1867) (trans J Mander,
1976) 121.

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How to – Reference Chapters in Books

1. Give author’s initials and surname

2. Full book title in single quotation marks
3. Initial and surname of editor
4. Followed by ed
5. Full title of article/chapter in italics
6. Year in brackets
7. First page of the article/chapter and then
8. Page referenced

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EXAMPLES:

M Ramose ‘Ubuntu: Affirming a right and seeking remedies in

South Africa’ in L Praeg & S Magadla (eds) Ubuntu: Curating the
Archive (2014) 121, 136.

E Colvin & J Chella ‘Multinational corporate complicity: A challenge

for international criminal justice in Africa’ in V Nmehielle (ed) Africa
and the Future of International Criminal Justice (2012) 297, 315.

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QUESTION TIME

• 5 mins to ask your question

• Raise your hand to ask
• Ask questions relevant to content
discussed
• You can type question on the chatbox

THERE IS NO STUPID QUESTION!

H o w t o – Refe r t o
Journals
HOW TO REFER TO JOURNAL ARTICLES

1. Give author’s initial and surname

2. Full title in single quotation marks ‘Rights and

their critics’

3. Year in brackets

4. Volume Number

5. Name of Journal in italics

6. First page of article and

7. The page referenced – DO NOT use p or pp

(footnotes only)
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EXAMPLES

D Chirwa ‘In search of philosophical justifications and suitable models for the
horizontal application of human rights’ (2008) 8 African Human Rights Law
Journal 294, 299

M Addo ‘The reality of the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and
Human Rights’ (2014) 14 Human Rights Law Review 133, 147

C Sunstein ‘Rights and their critics’ (1995) 70 Notre Dame Law Review 727

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How to –Cross reference books, chapters & Journals
• In subsequent references to the same book, chapter or article use : Ibid -ibid is
an abbreviation of the Latin “ibidem,” meaning “in the same place.” It's used in
citations to quickly cite a source that you've already cited in full in a previous
footnote
E.G Ibid 290.
• Where the reference is not to an immediately preceding footnote, use the
following:
➢ Addo (note 10 above) 138.
➢ Sibanda et al (note 26 above) 8.
➢ Alston & Goodman (note 15 above) 238.

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QUESTION TIME

• 5 mins to ask your question

• Raise your hand to ask
• Ask questions relevant to content
discussed
• You can type question on the chatbox

THERE IS NO STUPID QUESTION!

REFERENCING A REPORTED SA
CASE LAW
Reported cases –
• judgments published in law reports.
• Only those cases which deal with
significant points of law
• Are considered as valuable precedents

Unreported cases –______________

• judgments either too recent to be
reported or
• considered not sufficiently important to
report.

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H o w t o – R E F E R E N C E R E P O R T E D S A C A S E L AW

Main Text Footnotes/Bibliography

First time Reference – specify all parties

Do not include ‘and others’ in case name E.G Brown v White 2011 (3) SA 347 (CC)

Case must be in italics

E.G Brown v White

Subsequent references – refer to main party in italics

E.G Brown it was argued that…

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H o w t o – R E F E R E N C E U N R E P O R T E D S A C A S E L AW
Fisher v Unlawful Occupiers, Erf 150, Philippi High Court Cape Division: Cape Town
(unreported case numbers 9443/2014; 11705/15; 14422/14) [2017] ZAWCHC (30 August
2017)

1. Case Name
2. Court Division
3. In brackets the unreported case numbers
4. [2017] the year of the judgment
5. Court type
6. In brackets (the specific date of the court order)

Decisions of all South African Superior Courts and some specialist

courts are available as unreported judgments on SAFLII.
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 How to – Reference SA Case Law

When referring to specific PAGES in cases :

Example Firstrand Bank Limited v Kruger 2017 (1) SA 533 (SCA) 536-8

When referring to specific PARAGRAPH in cases:

Example Firstrand Bank Limited v Kruger 2017 (1) SA 533 (SCA) para 35 -40

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How to – Referencing of Foreign Case
Law
Trump v International Assistance Refugee Project 582 US
(2017) (Supreme Court of the United States decision)

International Assistance Refugee Project v Trump 857 F.

3d 554 (2017) (United States Federal decision)

TAKE NOTE
the rules for SA case law applies to
foreign case law

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How to – Cross Reference cases

You can use Ibid -ibid is an abbreviation of the Latin “ibidem,”

meaning “in the same place.” It's used in citations to quickly cite
a source that you've already cited in full in a previous footnote

➢ Ibid. [where the case and the page reference is the same as that in the
immediately preceding footnote]

➢ Ibid 136. [where the case is cited in the immediately preceding footnote but
with a different page or paragraph number]

➢ Note 8 above 137 [where the case is not in the immediately preceding
footnote and where the footnote refers to a case named in the text]

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QUESTION TIME

• 5 mins to ask your question

• Raise your hand to ask
• Ask questions relevant to content
discussed
• You can type question on the chatbox

THERE IS NO STUPID QUESTION!

REFERENCING THE
CONSTITUTION

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HOW TO REFER TO THE CONSTITUTION

CURRENT – 1st reference ‘’The Constitution Repealed -1st reference ‘’Constitution of

of the Republic of South Africa, 1996’’ Republic of South Africa, Act 200 of 1993’’

• For Subsequent reference ‘’The • For subsequent Reference – ‘’ the

Constitution’’ interim Constitution’’
• NEVER EVER refer to the Constitution as • When referring to the interim
“the 1996 Constitution’’ or the ‘’Final Constitution, it must have a footnote
Constitution’’
• If you mention the Constitution in the
text, you do not need to mention it in a
footnote
NO FOOTNOTE USE FOOTNOTE

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REFERENCING
STATUTES

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 H O W TO – R E F E R E N C E S TAT U T E S

REFERENCING IN BIBLIOGRAPHY FOOTNOTE

AND TEXT
• First reference – give full name, number • First reference – give full name only
and text
• Do not add number and year of Act

• Example: Employment Equity Act 55 of • Example: Employment Equity Act

1998

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H O W T O – R E F E R E N C E G O V E R N M E N T,
PA R L I A M E N TA RY A N D O F F I C I A L S O U R C E S

1. Full name of entitle

2. Title of document in italics
3. Date in brackets
4. Page number

Examples:

South African Law Reform Commission Discussion Paper 108 Stalking (November 2004) 34

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HOW TO – REFERENCE
PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES
[Link] of debate

[Link]

[Link]

[Link] in brackets
Example:
NCOP Debates col 125 (24 February 1999))

Where do you find debates:

[Link]
 HOW TO – REFERENCE
WEBSITES

• Include the protocol name and format ([Link] etc)

• in brackets < >.

• There is no need to record the date the site was last

visited

• It is not necessary to use the phrase ‘available at’

Example:
<[Link]
QUESTION TIME

• 10 mins to ask your question

• Raise your hand to ask
• Ask questions relevant to content
discussed
• You can type question on the chatbox

THERE IS NO STUPID QUESTION!

NEXT CLASS - TUES 11 JULY 2023

• Introduction to Legal
writing
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