Citing and researching Sierra Leone law

Posted 7 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT·By lanbuk.com

Every example below is a real item in Lanbuk's collection, linked so you can see it. The citation rules are quoted from OSCOLA, the Oxford standard that Lanbuk's "Cite this page" box uses. Where your faculty, journal or court asks for a different style, follow it.

1. How Sierra Leone judgments are cited

Neutral citations

Recent judgments carry a neutral citation: the year in square brackets, a court code and the judgment's number for that court and year.

Bank of Sierra Leone v Yada Williams & Associates (CIV APP 24/2024) [2026] SLCA 1 (1 June 2026)

Here [2026] is the year, SLCA the court and 1 the number. The file number in round brackets (CIV APP 24/2024) is the court's own case number.

The African Law Reports (Sierra Leone)

Older judgments are cited from the printed law reports: the years of the volume, ALR S.L., and the first page of the report.

Bright v Roberts, 1964-66 ALR S.L. 156

Volumes in Lanbuk's collection: 1920-36 (82), 1937-49 (2), 1950-56 (84), 1957-60 (9), 1964-66 (67), 1967-68 (25), 1970-71 (5), 1972-73 (49). Many of these reports also appear on Lanbuk as the judgment itself; each judgment page links the two.

Judgments from other countries

Lanbuk also holds judgments from other courts, each with its own code: ZWSC (Zimbabwe), ZWHHC (Zimbabwe), MWHC (Malawi), GHASC (Ghana), KECA (Kenya), UGCA (Uganda), UGSC (Uganda), MWSC (Malawi), KESC (Kenya), ZAGPPHC (South Africa), GHACA (Ghana), KEHC (Kenya), UGHC (Uganda), UKHL (United Kingdom), MWIRC (Malawi), ZWBHC (Zimbabwe), ZASCA (South Africa), UKPC (United Kingdom), AC (United Kingdom), GHADC (Ghana), UGHCCD (Uganda).

2. How Sierra Leone laws are cited

Acts of Parliament

An Act is known by its short title and year, and has a number for that year, printed on the Act.

Criminal Procedure Act, 2024: No. 8 of 2024

Chapters (Caps) of the 1960 Laws

Laws in the 1960 revised edition, the Laws of Sierra Leone, are cited by chapter: Cap, then the number.

Cap 5 · Diplomatic Privileges (Extension)

The Constitution

The Constitution of Sierra Leone, 1991 (Act No. 6 of 1991)

What counts as law in Sierra Leone is set out in section 170 of the Constitution; see Sources of law in the LLB notes.

3. Writing the citation (OSCOLA)

“Give the parties’ names, followed by the medium neutral citation, followed by the Law Reports citation. If there is no medium neutral citation, give the Law Reports citation followed by the court identifier in brackets.”

“When pinpointing, give paragraph numbers in square brackets at the end of the citation. If the judgment has no paragraph numbers, provide the page number pinpoint after the court identifier.”

Source: OSCOLA 5th edition, Quick Reference Guide (University of Oxford). Its own examples include “Corr v IBC Vehicles Ltd [2008] UKHL 13, [2008] 1 AC 884” and, for legislation, “Human Rights Act 1998, s 15(1)(b)”. For treaties it gives the title, then the dates of adoption and entry into force.

Following that pattern, a Sierra Leone judgment with a neutral citation is written with the parties' names and then the neutral citation, for example Bank of Sierra Leone v Yada Williams & Associates [2026] SLCA 1. The regional law pages give each treaty's adoption and entry-into-force dates for the treaty form.

Every page on Lanbuk also has a Cite this page box that writes the citation of the Lanbuk page in OSCOLA, APA, Harvard and MLA. Use it to cite Lanbuk; cite the law or judgment itself as above. OSCOLA

4. Checking whether a law has changed

Lanbuk never says that a law is "in force". It shows what is recorded, so you can check:

1. Open the Act and read its Amendments and repeals section: later Acts in the collection that amend or repeal it, each from the Act's own long title.
2. Look at New laws and the bills tracker for recent and pending changes.
3. Search the Sierra Leone Gazette for commencement orders, statutory instruments and notices made under the Act.
4. For a treaty, see Sierra Leone's ratification dates and the ECOWAS Court's judgments on the regional law pages.
5. For a judgment, check its Citations and appeal history: later judgments on Lanbuk that cite it, and any appeal.
6. Where it matters, rely on the official printed text and take advice from a qualified legal practitioner.

5. Finding the law on Lanbuk

• Search by title, Cap number ("Cap 5"), citation or words in the text. Misspelt names are corrected ("Did you mean…?").
• Browse Acts, Ordinances (Caps) and Sierra Leone case law by court, year, judge or subject.
• See the courts of Sierra Leone and the judges with their judgments.