Indian law students, academics launch Standard Indian Legal Citation; Citation format aimed to unify academic references

An interesting development in the world of Indian legal academia, the Standard Indian Legal Citation (SILC) was launched today at a number of institutes cross the country including four National Law Universities..According to the founders of SILC, the citation format has been specifically based on India’s legal resources and history, and seeks to provide the Indian legal community with a single citation methodology..Speaking to Bar & Bench, Founding Editor of SILC Rohit K Pothukuchi said that,.“It’s about time we had a citation system that is free and easy to access, that is tailored for India. We see SILC not only as a citation methodology, but as a movement to unify citation practices across the nation.”.In essence, the SILC aims to replicate models such as the Blue Book fomat followed in North America or the OSCOLA system followed in the UK. By doing so, the SILC seeks to remove the wide disparities prevalant in citations standards today. Furthermore, by keeping Indian legal resources in mind, the SILC covers legal sources that foreign sytems may not cover such as Parliamentary Committee Reports, Parliamentary Debates, Law Commission Reports, circulars and notifications by RBI and SEBI etc..Pothukuchi says that he and his team have been advised by a number of academics, professional lawyers and those with a practical insight into academic writing..Sachin Malhan, one of the co-founders of the CLAT coaching institute, Law School Tutorials, and a member of the SILC Advisory Panel, says,.“There’s a lot that can be done to standardise citation standards in India, and I think the answer has to be something that takes into account Indian legal sources, traditions and history.”.Noted academician Nicholas Robinson, also on the SILC Advisory Panel, is hopeful a uniform citation system like SILC will make things less difficult for those writing law-related documents as well as those reading them..“Citation may seem like a minor thing, but it does not feel inconsequential when you can’t find a source or you are wasting your time trying to figure out how to cite it. The creators of SILC should be congratulated for their efforts. What I think is particularly important is that SILC is a collaborative project that actively encourages feedback”, he added..More information about the SILC is available here..A Working Draft of the SILC is given below.