Format and Style Guidelines

1. General Principles

SCRIPTed follows the Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (OSCOLA) and uses British English spelling and punctuation conventions.

Authors should use the appropriate SCRIPTed template and ensure that submissions are presented in a clear, consistent, and professional manner. The editorial team reserves the right to make minor stylistic and formatting amendments during the copyediting process.

 

2. Article Information

2.1 Title

The title should be concise and informative. Principal words should begin with a capital letter.

Example: Intellectual Property Law in Scotland

2.2 Author Information

Upon acceptance, authors should provide:

  • Full name
  • Institutional affiliation
  • Department or research centre (where applicable)
  • Email address.

Author information should not appear in manuscripts submitted for peer review.

2.3 Abstract

Authors should provide an abstract of no more than 250 words.

2.4 Keywords

Authors should provide between three and six keywords.

 

3. Structure and Formatting

3.1 Templates

Articles, Analysis Pieces, Case/Legislation Comments, and Conference Reports should be prepared using the SCRIPTed Article Template.

Book Reviews should be prepared using the SCRIPTed Book Review Template.

3.2 Headings

Authors are encouraged to use headings to improve readability. SCRIPTed recommends no more than three levels of headings:

1 Principal Heading

1.1 Second-Level Heading

1.1.1 Third-Level Heading

3.3 Paragraphs

Paragraphs following headings are not indented (“Paragraph Style” in SCRIPTed House Style), but continuing paragraphs are (“New Paragraph Style” in SCRIPTed House Style). Paragraph text should use 1.5 line spacing.

 

4. Language and Style

4.1 British English

SCRIPTed uses British English spelling and punctuation.

Examples:

  • analyse (not analyze)
  • organisation (not organization)
  • centre (not center)
  • licence (noun) / license (verb)

Official names should retain their original spelling. Therefore, A “z” can be used in official names of organisations (e.g. World Health Organization, World Intellectual Property Organization) and when quoting text that uses the American spelling.

Do not use conjunctions (e.g. use cannot, not can’t; do not, not don’t, etc). A single space should be used after full stops and other punctuation marks.

4.2 Oxford Comma

SCRIPTed uses the Oxford comma.

Example: Dove, Chen, and Diver

4.3  Capitalisation

Capitalise: names of individuals, institutions, legislation, courts and tribunals, recognised organisations.

Avoid unnecessary capitalisation.

4.4 Abbreviations and Acronyms

Terms should be written in full when first introduced, followed by the abbreviation in brackets.

Example: World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)

Thereafter, the abbreviation may be used throughout the manuscript.

4.5 Numbers

Numbers below ten should normally be written in words.

Examples: five authors; nine submissions

Use numerals for: percentages, dates, statistics or legal citations.

Examples: 25%, Article 17, 7 June 2026.

4.6 Dates

Dates should be presented in the form: 7 June 2026

4.7  Hyphens and Dashes

Use a hyphen (-) for compound words and an en dash (–) for parenthetical interruptions and number ranges.

Example: These remarks – made during the consultation process – were subsequently adopted.

4.8 Quotations

Short quotations (fewer than three lines) should appear in the text within double quotation marks.

Example: As Smith argues, "copyright law has always evolved alongside technology."

Long quotations should be presented as indented block quotations without quotation marks.

Quotes within quotations should use single quotation marks.

Omissions should be indicated by ellipses (...).

4.9 Latin Expressions

Common Latin expressions should be italicised.

Examples: prima facie, inter alia, mutatis mutandis, ratio decidendi.

 

5. Footnotes

SCRIPTed uses footnotes rather than in-text citations. Footnotes should primarily be used for references rather than substantive discussion. Ideally, footnotes should be generated using the automatic footnote function of the word processor. Footnote references should appear after punctuation.

Example: This approach has been widely criticised.^1

Use “ch.” when referring to a chapter and “vol.” for a volume. Page references should use the abbreviations “p.” or “pp.”, adopting the following style: “Supra (n. 24) p. 3″.

Please ensure there is a full stop at the end of every footnote.

 

6. Citations

SCRIPTed follows OSCOLA. Authors unfamiliar with OSCOLA are strongly encouraged to consult the OSCOLA citation guide.

6.1 Subsequent Citations

Use ibid where appropriate. Ibid should:

  • be italicised
  • not be followed by a comma
  • only be used where the immediately preceding footnote contains a single source

Examples: Ibid. Ibid 215.

Where a source has already been cited, use a shortened citation.

Examples: Pelham I (n 12) para 37. GDPR, art 6.

6.2 Cases

Case names should be italicised.

Examples:

Case C-476/17 Pelham GmbH v Hütter ECLI:EU:C:2019:624.

Case C-265/16 VCAST Ltd v RTI SpA ECLI:EU:C:2017:913, para 32.

Where appropriate, a shortened case name may be introduced and used subsequently.

Example: Pelham I (n 12) para 37.

6.3 Legislation

Legislation should be cited in accordance with OSCOLA.

Examples:

Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, s 29A.

Directive 2001/29/EC on the harmonisation of certain aspects of copyright and related rights in the information society [2001] OJ L167/10 (InfoSoc Directive).

Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (General Data Protection Regulation) [2016] OJ L119/1 (GDPR), art 6.

6.4 Journal Articles

Include:

  • author name(s)
  • article title in single quotation marks
  • year
  • volume and issue
  • journal title
  • page reference.

Example: Mireille Hildebrandt, ‘Law as an Affordance: The Devil is in the Vanishing Point(s)’ (2017) 4(1) Critical Analysis of Law 116.

6.5 Books

Example: Frank Pasquale, The Black Box Society: The Secret Algorithms that Control Money and Information (Harvard University Press 2015).

6.6 Chapters in Edited Collections

Example: Bert-Jaap Koops, ‘Criteria for Normative Technology’ in Roger Brownsword and Karen Yeung (eds), Regulating Technologies (Hart Publishing 2008) 157.

6.7 Online Sources

When citing online materials, authors should provide the most stable and persistent form of reference available. Where possible, citations should include a DOI (Digital Object Identifier), ECLI (European Case Law Identifier), stable URL, or another persistent identifier that enables readers to locate the source reliably.

Authors are encouraged to use stable institutional or publisher webpages rather than temporary or session-specific links. Other useful identifiers may include ORCID identifiers for authors, SSRN identifiers, or permanent repository links.

Access dates should be included for webpages and other online materials that are likely to change over time or where no persistent identifier is available.

Examples:

  • Journal article with DOI: Mireille Hildebrandt, ‘Law as an Affordance: The Devil is in the Vanishing Point(s)’ (2017) 4(1) Critical Analysis of Law 116, DOI: 10.2307/j.ctv11smxw3.
  • CJEU judgment with ECLI: Case C-476/17 Pelham GmbH v Hütter ECLI:EU:C:2019:624.
  • Working paper with SSRN: Andres Guadamuz, ‘The Monkey Selfie: Copyright Lessons for Originality in Photographs and Internet Jurisdiction’ (2014) SSRN Working Paper https://ssrn.com/abstract=2449035 accessed 11 June 2026.
  • Webpage with access date: European Commission, ‘Artificial Intelligence Act’ (European Commission), available at https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/regulatory-framework-ai accessed 11 June 2026.

 

Use of generative AI or AI-assisted technologies

Any use of generative AI or AI-assisted technologies beyond routine spelling, grammar or formatting must be disclosed in accordance with the SCRIPTed AI Policy. Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy of all citations, references, quotations, and sources contained in their manuscript. The inclusion of hallucinated, fabricated, fictitious, or materially inaccurate references, whether generated by AI or otherwise, may result in rejection of the submission.

 

Before Submission

Authors should ensure that:

  • the manuscript follows the SCRIPTed template
  • all citations comply with OSCOLA
  • the manuscript has been anonymised for peer review
  • all references have been checked for accuracy
  • all hyperlinks and identifiers are functional
  • any use of generative AI has been appropriately disclosed.