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Define
a Neutral Citation System, Supreme Neutral Citation, High Court Neutral
Citation, Example & Elements of Neutral Citation.
A
neutral citation is a form of citation used by the High Court of India, and the Supreme Court of India. A neutral citation would assign a unique sequential
number to each judgment as a permanent identification. This provides ease of
citing judgments by providing a uniform and common citation mechanism.
Example of Neutral Citation:
a. Neutral Citation of Supreme Court of UK - [2017] UKSC #
b. Neutral Citation of the Supreme Court of India is "2023:INSC:1"
Where # is a Number representing the Unique case number.
"A
neutral citation is a unique court-assigned reference number for a judgment in
a common law jurisdiction". Neutral Citation System – A uniform, reliable,
and secure methodology to identify and cite Supreme Court judgments and orders
in a step-by-step manner.
In
other words, A neutral citation is a unique identifier assigned to a legal case
by a court, regardless of the law report or legal publication in which the case
is later published. The purpose of a neutral citation is to provide a
standardized and permanent way to reference and cite a case, making it easier
for legal professionals, researchers, and the public to locate and identify
legal decisions.
It
typically includes information such as the year the judgment was made, a
specific court abbreviation, and a sequential number. Neutral citations are
designed to provide a standardized way of referencing and locating legal
decisions.
Elements
of Neutral Citation: A typical neutral citation is composed of the following
three elements:
i. Year of judgment: The year in which the judgment was issued.
ii.
Jurisdiction and Court or Abbreviated title of the court: A code or
abbreviation representing the court that issued the judgment is typically
included. "INSC" means judgment by the Supreme Court of India, and
"UKSC" means judgment by the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom.
iii.
Unique case number#: It is a Decision number, not the court file number. A
sequential number is assigned to each judgment issued by a particular court in
a given year. This number ensures the uniqueness of the neutral citation and
distinguishes one case from another decided in the same year by the same court.
Note:
To which may sometimes be added a fourth element is "Division or List
(optional)"
Example
of Neutral Citation:
a.
Neutral Citation of Supreme Court of UK - [2017] UKSC #
b.
Neutral Citation of the Supreme Court of India is "2023:INSC:1"
Where
# is a Number representing the Unique case number.
Image Credit Supreme Court of India: https://main.sci. gov.in/pdf/LU/27042023_135802.pdf
In
the context of a library, a neutral citation refers to a unique identifier
assigned to a legal case or judgment by the court. This citation is neutral in
the sense that it is independent of any specific law report or legal
publication. Neutral citations are often used to facilitate precise and
standardized referencing of legal decisions.
Libraries
that curate legal collections typically organize materials, including cases, in
a way that makes them easily accessible to researchers, legal professionals,
and the general public. Neutral citations play a crucial role in this
organization by providing a consistent and unique label for each judgment.
Reference: https://main.sci.gov.in/pdf/LU/27042023_135802. pdf
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