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Chicago Referencing Guide

Notes-Bibliography Style

Citing legal resources

There is no specific guidance on citing New Zealand legal documents in the Chicago Style Manual, but we can use the guidance on United Kingdom and Canadian legal documents, due to certain similarities between our justice systems. The New Zealand Law Style Guide can also be a helpful resource.

Acts (Statutes)

Acts should usually only be cited in a note. Include them in your bibliography only if they are critical to your argument, or the main topic of your writing.

Note:

#. Title of Act, Year, part. xx (Jurisdiction if not New Zealand).
  • Identify Acts by title and year.
  • Include a section (sec.), schedule (sch.), or chapter (chap.) number to refer to a specific part of the Act.
  • If the Act is not a New Zealand Act, put the country of jurisdiction in brackets at the end of the citation.

10. Tohunga Suppression Act, 1908.

11. Treaty of Waitangi Act, 1975, sec. 6(3).

12. Resource Management Act, 1991, sch. 3.

13. Indigenous Languages Act, 2019, chap. 23, sec. 5 (Canada).

Bills

Bills should usually only be cited in a note. Include them in your bibliography only if they are critical to your argument, or the main topic of your writing.

Note:

#. Title of Bill, Year (Bill Number), part. xx.
  • Identify Bills by title, year, and number.
  • Include a clause (cl.) number to refer to a specific part of the Bill.

14. Ahuriri Hapū Claims Settlement Bill, 2020 (216-2), cl. 10.

Treaty of Waitangi

  • You can cite the Treaty of Waitangi by that name, or by the Māori name, Te Tiriti o Waitangi
  • Include an article (art.) number to refer to a specific part of te Tiriti.

15. Te Tiriti o Waitangi, 1840, art. 3.

16. Treaty of Waitangi, 1840.