Wikipedia:Manual of Style (legal)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This page is part of the Manual of Style, and is considered a guideline for Wikipedia. The consensus of many editors formed the conventions described here. Wikipedia articles should heed these guidelines. Feel free to update this page as needed, but please use the discussion page to propose major changes.

Contents 1 Templates 2 General considerations 3 Article contents 3.1 Broad areas of law 3.2 Writing about particular cases 3.3 Writing about particular concepts 4 Citation

[edit] Templates

• Use the Project Law template (when its been created!)
• Use the {{law-stub}} template for law related stubs

For specific areas of law...

• {{Template:ContractLaw}}
• {{Template:TortLaw}}
• {{Template:PropertyLaw}}
• {{Template:CrimLaw}}
• {{Template:EvidenceLaw}}

[edit] General considerations

• Wikipedia is not a guide for law students - try wikibooks if you want to write a textbook
• Aim to provide an overview to an international lay audience
• Provide some depth and detail worthy of an encyclopedia
• Use plain language
• Keep in mind that there are several styles of legal system (civil law, sharia law, common law, customary law). No one style is more or less worthy of description than the others.
• Within a given style of legal system, the law may have evolved in divergent ways. No one development is more or less worthy of description than the others.
• Because the law differs between jurisdictions, when starting or making a big contribution to an article, state in the article's discussion page what jurisdiction you are writing about. Try to incorporate a comparative perspective, if possible.

[edit] Article contents

[edit] Broad areas of law

• Articles about broad areas of law, like Tort, should contain an overview of the law as it stands, its development.
• Avoid becoming overly technical

[edit] Writing about particular cases

• Start with a summary why the case is encyclopedic. What is its impact on society, what makes it stand out from all the other cases heard this year?
• Summary in fairly plain language, for a lay audience, possibly followed by a more detailed introduction. For those who do not read the whole decision, this is sufficient for a start.
• The legal details, for those who need to better understand the legal issues involved and how the court arrived at its decision.

[edit] Writing about particular concepts

• Provide a framework for the concept. E.g. - Contextualise Detinue as an intentional Tort against property.
• Link to landmark cases which define the concept

[edit] Citation

• Case names are italicised, as in the Kelly v. Arriba Soft Corporation article.
• Statutes are bolded, as in the Statute of Frauds 1677.
• Try to link to cases on Worldlii, Bailii, Austlii [1], or similar free resource (instead of a pay-to-use resource, or internet news articles).