Medium neutral citations - what are they and when did they start?
Fri Jul 12 2019Medium neutral citations are court assigned unreported citations in the format -
Case name [Year] Unique court identifier Case number
e.g.
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission v Colgate-Palmolive Pty Ltd [2019] FCAFC 83
The citation is constant irrespective of publishing medium.
Medium neutral citations should only be used where the citation was allocated by the court, otherwise citations should be in the format -
Case name Court Judge(s) Full date Pinpoint
e.g.
Rickard v Dunlop Olympic Limited and Anor (Supreme Court of New South Wales, Hunt J, 8 July 1983)
Medium neutral citations for most Australian courts have existed since the late 90s, see page 55 of the Australian guide to legal citation (4th ed) for specific details.