How to read legal citations in the European Union
EU judgments are cited by the case number, the parties, and an ECLI. The case number shows the court and the year. EU legislation is cited by type, year and number.
Updated October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
Style guide: The Court of Justice's own conventions (and OSCOLA for English-language writing). The EU courts publish an ECLI for every judgment. Older cases are cited to the European Court Reports (ECR).
Real citations, decoded
Click or hover over any underlined piece to see what it means.
A Court of Justice case Case
,
- Case number Case C-131/12
C- means a case before the Court of Justice (T- is the General Court). 131 is the number and 12 is the year (2012). - Case name Google Spain and Google
A short form of the parties' names. This is the right-to-be-forgotten case. - ECLI EU:C:2014:317
The European Case Law Identifier, in its short form. C means the Court of Justice, 2014 is the year of the judgment and 317 is the number.
A case in the European Court Reports Case
- Case number Case 26/62
No C- prefix on the oldest cases. 26 is the number and 62 is the year (1962). - Case name Van Gend en Loos
The parties' names shortened. The case that established direct effect of EU law. - Year [1963]
The year of the report. - Series ECR
European Court Reports, the official printed series until 2011. - First page 1
The page where the report begins.
A regulation Legislation
,
- Act Regulation (EU) 2016/679
The type of act, then the year and number. This is the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). - Article art 17
Article 17, the right to erasure.
Things to remember
- A Directive is written, for example, as Directive 93/13/EEC. EEC, EC and EU show the period it was adopted.
- Treaties are cited by article: Article 267 TFEU is the preliminary reference procedure.
- EUR-Lex publishes all EU legislation and case law in every EU language.
Where to find the text, free
Other legal systems
United StatesEngland and WalesIrelandCanadaAustraliaNew ZealandIndiaSouth AfricaGermanyFranceItalySpainNetherlandsJapanBrazilEuropean Court of Human RightsInternational law
TheLawToKnow Tools’s citation guide is an educational overview of standard conventions. Courts and journals sometimes vary, so check the style guide before submitting or publishing. It is not legal advice. Report a mistake.
