Today we teach you how to cite a law in APA
It is very possible that you need to resort to the citation of a law or legal statute to complement the theoretical framework of your research. It is that, many times, you need to know the legal panorama that surrounds the situation on which you are doing a dissertation, so you need to learn how to cite a law in APA
If there is something that abounds in each system, it is the laws. Practically, everything you imagine is regulated and it is important that you know how the laws work so that you know how far you can go. Knowing about the laws related to your scientific project will give you a better perspective of what you have in your hands.
But APA does not talk about laws
Yes, this is how you read it. The great truth is that the standards of the American Psychological Association (American Psychological Association in English) they do not include specifications on how to cite laws and regulations.
This is because the APA uses The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation as a reference source for citations and bibliographic references to laws and other regulations of Roman law. This book contains the guidelines of the organization, which is the authorized entity to make legal appointments. It is also the reference that lawyers use as a style guide.
It is important that you know, unlike other items that are part of the bibliographical references, the citations made to the laws and regulations of Roman law do not change if they are taken from printed or digital sources. You just have to take into account some data.
How to cite a national law in APA?
If what you need is to make an appointment of an exclusive law of your country, you only have to be aware of the details, the most important being what you are citing.
Is it about the constitution of your country? Is it a law, a bill, a code? Once you have that clear, you can start doing your job.
To cite the constitution
Take into account the following data:
- Official name of the Constitution.
- Abbreviation of the constitution in square brackets.
- Number of the article you are citing. Article is written with abbreviations.
- Date of enactment of the law.
- Country to which the law belongs. It is written in parentheses.
Taking these details into account, the bibliographical reference would be as follows:
Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela [Const]. Art. 61. December 20, 1999. (Venezuela).
How to cite other laws
In the pyramid of Roman Law, after the constitution, laws follow. These are cited as follows:
- Law number.
- Year of the law.
- Matter of the law.
- Number of the law in the Official Gazette.
With these data, the bibliographic reference is constructed as follows:
Law 2013 of 1998. Law on vehicular traffic in the country. January 15, 1998. Official Gazette No. 19735.
How to Cite Codes
In the scale of laws, the codes continue. Now we show you how to cite a law of this type in APA. You should consider.
- Code name.
- Code abbreviation. It is written in square brackets.
- Law number.
- Year of enactment of the law.
- Number of the cited article.
- Exact date of promulgation.
- Country to which the code corresponds. It is written in parentheses.
With these data, the reference is built as follows.
Venezuelan Penal Code. [COP]. Law 135 of 2015. March 20, 2015. (Venezuela).
Decrees, agreements and resolutions
When it comes to these kinds of laws, here are the facts to watch out for:
- Number and year of the decree.
- Name of the entity that promulgated it. It is written in square brackets.
- Reason for the decree.
- Date of promulgation.
So, the reference is constructed as follows:
Decree 1850 of 2014. [Ministry of the Environment]. By which the parameters for leaving the country in times of emergency are established. May 16, 2014.
This is how case law is cited.
You must take into account the following data:
- Name of the court that makes the sentence.
- Room where the jurisprudence was decreed.
- Sentence number.
So the reference looks like this:
Supreme justice court. Criminal Court of Cassation. Judgment 32052, M.P. Manuel Gonzales Perez; August 23, 2002.
What if it is international law?
It is very possible that you should cite international laws or treaties, always considering how the scientific research you carry out is framed.
If you want to cite and, later, make a reference to an international treaty or agreement, take into account the following information:
- Name of the treaty.
- Reason for the treaty.
- Treaty participants.
- Article you are citing.
- Date on which it was enacted.
Thus, the reference is exposed like this:
Swiss Convention on the recycling of plastics and other waste. Article 15. February 18, 1967.
Let's learn how to make international case referrals
Let's say you want to discuss the resolution of a legal case that occurred outside the borders of your country. To talk about it, make the appointment and the reference, you must take into account the following information:
Case participants. It is usually the prosecution against someone in particular.
- Case number.
- Process type.
- Paragraph number.
- Enactment date written in parentheses.
With these data, the bibliographic reference is constructed as follows:
prosecution vs. OJ simpsons. Case No. ICTR 12-87-Y. Judgment. Paragraph 176 (September 19, 2018).
Why cite legal sources in the theses
Theses, scientific projects, dissertations and other research publications can use laws and other publications of Roman law to create their theoretical framework.
Knowing the laws involved in the object of investigation clarifies quite well the panorama in which the subject is developed, since they have a lot of weight in how the situation develops.
Obviously, it is not just a matter of mentioning these legal statutes and analyzing them; The research must end with the bibliographic references so that future researchers can understand where everything comes from and resort to those sources, in case they consider them necessary for their next theses.
In addition, you must always respect copyright, including that of the magistrates who enacted the laws that are now part of your research work.