Citation Abbreviations

Overview: The following abbreviations were used in the citation of cases in colonial South Asia. This list includes law reports and law journals from British India (including Burma), various Indian princely states, and the British Isles up to 1947. Unless otherwise indicated, series titles are from British India. Periodicals labeled “(Eng)” indicate law reports produced in Britain, normally covering cases heard in England and Wales. These serials sometimes included Privy Council cases, which originated in the colonies but were decided in London. Periodicals covering Scotland, Ireland and Ceylon are identified separately when their title does not indicate jurisdiction. For a more detailed list of English, Irish, and Scottish abbreviations, see James Paterson, Compendium of English and Scotch Law: stating their differences (Edinburgh: Adam and Charles Black, 1865), pp.xli-xlii and Ernest Arthur Jelf, Where to find your law (London: Horace Cox, 1907), Appendix I-VI. Most titles below span the period from the mid-to-late nineteenth century until 1947-8, when India, Pakistan (including the future Bangladesh), Ceylon (later Sri Lanka) and Burma (later Myanmar) gained independence from Britain. However, some English reports date back to the early modern period.

Sources: I have compiled this list from the “Abbreviations Explained” pages at the beginning of law reports, case digests, and treatises. It also includes forms of abbreviation used in case law and law journal articles from across colonial India.

Format: Some publications used periods between capital letters, while others did not (e.g. A.I.R. versus AIR). This list does not distinguish between these forms. Because legal publications did not follow a uniform system of abbreviation, the same abbreviation may have been used across different publications for more than one law report series (e.g. BLR could mean Bengal Law Reports or Bombay Law Reporter). Similarly, one series of law reports could have several possible abbreviated forms  (e.g.. both “Mad.” and “ILR Mad” could refer to the Indian Law Reports Madras series). All variations are listed below. The most frequently used abbreviation for the Indian Law Reports included “ILR” (i.e. “ILR Mad,” rather than “M.” or “Mad.” for the Indian Law Reports Madras series). For the All India Reporter series, the most common form of abbreviation included “AIR”  (i.e. “AIR Pesh” rather than “Pesh.” for the All India Reporter Peshawar series). For further information on many of the titles included here, see my “Published Primary Sources” tab.

A.                                 Indian Law Reports Allahabad series

Acton                            Acton’s Reports, Prize Causes, Privy Council (Eng)

AC                               Appeal Cases (Eng)

Agra                             North-Western Provinces High Court Reports, Agra

Agra F.B.                      North-Western Provinces High Court Reports, Agra

Agra FB                        Agra Full Bench Rulings

Agra FBR                      Agra Full Bench Rulings

Agra HCR                     Agra High Court Reports

AIR All                          All India Reporter Allahabad

AIR Bom                       All India Reporter Bombay

AIR Cal                         All India Reporter Calcutta

AIR Cr                          All India Reporter Criminal Cases

AIR Lah                        All India Reporter Lahore

AIR Lower Burma       All India Reporter Lower Burma

AIR Mad                       All India Reporter Madras

AIR Nag                       All India Reporter Nagpur

AIR Oudh                      All India Reporter Oudh

AIR Pat                          All India Reporter Patna

AIR Pesh                      All India Reporter Peshawar

AIR PC                         All India Reporter Privy Council

AIR Rang                      All India Reporter Rangoon

AIR SC                          All India Reporter Supreme Court

AIR Sind                       All India Reporter Sind

ALJ                              Allahabad Law Journal

ALJR                            Allahabad Law Journal Reporter

All                                Indian Law Reports Allahabad series

All ER                           All England Reports (Eng)

All HC                          North-Western Provinces High Court Reports,

Allahabad

AMLJ                            Ajmer-Mewara Law Journal

Atk.                              Atkins’ Chancery Reports (Eng)

Atk.                              Atkyns (Eng)

AWN                            Allahabad Weekly Notes

B.                                 Indian Law Reports Bombay Series

B. & Ald.                       Barnewell & Alderson’s Reports (Eng)

Bald.                             Baldeva Ram Dave’s Privy Council Cases

Beng.LR                       Bengal Law Reports

BHC                             Bombay High Court Reports

BLJ                              Bombay Law Journal

BLR                              Bengal Law Reports

BLR                              Bombay Law Reporter

BLT                              Burma Law Times

Beng LR                       Bengal Law Reports

Beng. Sad. Rep.         Bengal Sadar Diwani Adalat Reports

Bom                             All India Reporter Bombay

Bom                             Bombay High Court Reports

Bom                             Indian Law Reports Bombay series

Bom HCR                     Bombay High Court Reports

Bom LJ                         Bombay Law Journal

Bom LR                         Bombay Law Reporter

Bom PJ                          Bombay Printed Judgments

Bourke                          Bourke’s Reports

BR                               Ballasingham’s Reports

Bur.LJ                           Burma Law Journal

Bur.LT                          Burma Law Times

Burma LJ                      Burma Law Journal

Burma LR                     Burma Law Reports

C.                                 Indian Law Reports Calcutta series

Ca.                               Indian Law Reports Calcutta series

Cal                               All India Reporter Calcutta

Cal                               Indian Law Reports Calcutta series

Cal LJ or CLJ                Calcutta Law Journal

CB                               Common Bench (Eng)

Cey LJ                          Ceylon Law Journal

Ch.App.                     Law Reports, Chancery Appeals (Eng)

Ch.D.                           Chancery Division (Eng)

Chev., M.J.                 Norman Chevers, A Manual of Medical Jurisprudence for India (Note: This is a treatise, rather than a law report series, but it sometimes appears as a source for case summaries.)

CLJ                              Calcutta Law Journal

CLJ                              Cambridge Law Journal (Eng)

CLR                             Calcutta Law Reporter

Co.Rep.                        Coke’s Reports (Eng)

Coke Inst.                     Coke’s Institutes (Eng)

Cont.LR                        Contemporary Law Review (Eng)

Cor.                              Coryton’s Reports (Calcutta)

Cox C.C.                      Cox’s Criminal Cases (Eng)

CPLR                           Central Provinces Law Reports

Cr                                 All India Reporter Criminal Cases

Cr.App.R.                     Criminal Appeal Reports (Eng)

Cr.LJ                            Criminal Law Journal of India

Crim. LJ                        Criminal Law Journal of India

CWN                            Calcutta Weekly Notes

De G. & J.                    De Gex & Jones, temp. Cranworth, Clemsford

& Campbell (Eng)

ER                                English Reports (Eng)

El. & Bl.                         Ellis & Blackburn’s Reports (Eng)

Ex.                               Exchequer Reports (Eng)

Ex.D.                            Exchequer Division (Eng)

F.                                 Family Division (Eng)

F.C.                              Faculty Collections (Scotland)

Fulton                           Fulton’s Reports

Hay                              Hay’s Reports

Hyde                            Hyde’s Reports

IA                                 Law Reports Indian Appeals (Eng)

IC                                 Indian Cases

ILQ or IndLQ                 Indian Law Quarterly

ILR All                          Indian Law Reports Allahabad series

ILR Bom                       Indian Law Reports Bombay series

ILR Cal                         Indian Law Reports Calcutta series

ILR Lah                         Indian Law Reports Lahore series

ILR Luck                       Indian Law Reports Lucknow series

ILR Mad                        Indian Law Reports Madras series

ILR Nag                        Indian Law Reports Nagpur series

ILR Pat                         Indian Law Reports Patna series

ILR Rang                      Indian Law Reports Rangoon series

I.R.                               Irish Reports (Ireland)

Ind. Cas.                        Indian Cases

Ind. Dec. (O.S.)            Indian Decisions; being a Verbatim Reprint of the Reports of Cases Decided by the Late Supreme Courts and the Sudder Dewanny Adawluts in India

Ind. Jur. N.S.                Indian Jurist, New Series

Ind. Jur. O.S.                Indian Jurist, Old Series

Ind. Rul.                      Indian Rulings

JCLIL                           Journal of Comparative Legislation and International Law (Eng)

Johns. & Hem.              Johnson & Hemming’s Reports (Eng)

KB                                King’s Bench (Eng)

KBD                             King’s Bench Division (Eng)

KLR                              Kathiawar Law Reports

Knapp                           Knapp’s Reports (Eng)

L.                                 Indian Law Reports Lahore series

Lah                               All India Reporter Lahore

LBR                              Lower Burma Rulings (or Lower Burma Chief Court Rulings)

Le. & Ca.                      Leigh & Cave’s Crown Cases Reserved (Eng)

LJEx.                            Law Journal New Series Exchequer (Eng)

LM&R                           Law Magazine & Review: A Quarterly Review

of Jurisprudence (Eng)

LJP.                             Law Journal Reports (Probate, Divorce

and Admiralty) (Eng)

LJPro                            Law Journal, Probate Court (Eng)

LLJ                               Lahore Law Journal

LQR                             Law Quarterly Review (Eng)

LR AC                          Law Reports Appeal Cases (Eng)

LR CP              .           Law Reports Common Pleas (Eng)

LR Ch.D                          Law Reports Chancery Division (Eng)

LR Eq                           Law Reports Equity Cases (Eng)

LR IA                            Law Reports Indian Appeals (Eng)

LR KB                          Law Reports: King’s Bench (Eng)

LR KBD                       Law Reports: King’s Bench (Eng)

LR QB                          Law Reports Queen’s Bench (Eng)

LR QBD                        Law Reports Queen’s Bench (Eng)

LR P                             Law Reports Probate division

LR PC                          Law Reports Privy Council (Eng)

LR P&D                       Law Reports Probate and Divorce (Eng)

LR Probate                    Law Reports Probate Division (Eng)

LT                                Law Times (Eng)

Luck.                            Indian Law Reports Lucknow series

M.                                Indian Law Reports Madras series

M.& W.                         Meeson & Welsby’s Reports (Eng)

Mad                              All India Reporter Madras

Mad                              Indian Law Reports Madras series

Mad HCR                     Madras High Court Reports

Mad LJ or MLJ              Madras Law Journal

Marsh.                          Marshall’s Reports

Marshall                        Marshall’s Reports

MHC                            Madras High Court Reports

MHCR                          Madras High Court Reports

MIA                              Moore’s Indian Appeals (Eng)

MLJ                              Madras Law Journal

MLR                             Modern Law Review (Eng)

MLT                              Madras Law Times

MLW                             Madras Law Weekly

Mod.                             Modern Reports (Eng)

Moo. IA                         Moore’s Indian Appeals (Eng)

Moo. PCC                     Moore’s Privy Council Cases

Moo. PCNS                 Moore’s Privy Council Cases, New Series

Moore NS, Moore (NS)  Moore’s Privy Council Cases, New Series (15-17 ER), 1826-30

Moyle                            Moyle’s Criminal Rulings and Judgments or Moyle’s Criminal Circulars (Lower Burma)

MR                                The Mauritius Reports

MWN                            Madras Weekly Notes

Mys LJ                         Mysore Law Journal

Nag                              All India Reporter Nagpur

NLJ                              Nagpur Law Journal

NLR                             Nagpur Law Reports

NLR                             New Law Reports (Ceylon)

NW                               North-Western Provinces High Court, Allahabad

NWPHC                       North-West Provinces High Court Reports

or Reports of Cases of the High Court,

North-West Provinces

NWPHCR                     North-West Provinces High Court Reports

or Reports of Cases of the High Court,

North-West Provinces

NWP (SDA)                  Sudder Reports of the North-West Provinces

OC                               Oudh Cases

OLJ                              Oudh Law Journal

Oudh                            All India Reporter Oudh

OWN                            Oudh Weekly Notes

P.                                 Indian Law Reports Patna series

P & D                           Perry & Davison’s Reports (Eng)

Pat.                              Indian Law Reports Patna series

Pat. LR                         Patna Law Reporter

PD                               Probate, Divorce & Admiralty Division (Eng)

Perry’s OC               Cases illustrative of Oriental Life, and of the application

of English Law to India, decided by H.M. Supreme Court

in Bombay, by Sir Erskine Perry, C.J.

Pesh.                            All India Reporter Peshawar

PHCC                          Patna High Court Cases

PJ LB                          Printed Judgments, Lower Burma

PLJ                              Patna Law Journal

PLR                              Punjab Law Reporter

PLT                              Patna Law Times

PLW                             Patna Law Weekly

Pr.                                Price’s Reports (Eng)

PR                               Punjab Record

PWR                            Punjab Weekly Reporter

QB                               Queen’s Bench (Eng)

QBD                             Queen’s Bench Division (Eng)

R.                                 Indian Law Reports Rangoon series

R. & J.                          Rafique and Jackson’s Oudh

Privy Council Decisions

Ran.                              Indian Law Reports Rangoon series

Ran.                              Rangoon Law Reports

Rang.                           All India Reporter Rangoon

Rang.                           Indian Law Reports Rangoon series

Rang. LR                      Rangoon Law Reports

Rat.Un.Cr.Cas.             Ratanlal’s Unreported Criminal Cases

Russ. & Ry.                  Russell & Ryan’s Reports (Eng)

Sar.P.C.J.                     Saraswati’s Privy Council Judgments

Scots LT                       Scots Law Times (Scotland)

SDA                             Reports of cases of the Court of

Sudder Dewany Adawlut,

by W. H. Macnaghten

SDA                             Sudder Dewanny Adawlut (Bengal)

Sess C                         Sessions Cases (Scotland)

Sind                              All India Reporter Sind

SLR                              Sind Law Reporter

Str.                               Sir John Strange’s Reports (Eng)

Suth.P.C.J.                   Sutherland’s Privy Council Judgments

SWR                            Sutherland’s Weekly Reporter

TLJ                               Travancore Law Journal

TLR                              Times Law Reports (Eng)

TravLJ                          Travancore Law Journal

UBR                             Upper Burma Reporter

[All India Reporter: Upper

Burma?]

UBR                             Upper Burma Rulings

UB Rep                       Upper Burma Reporter

[All India Reporter: Upper

Burma?]

UKPC                         United Kingdom Privy Council (neutral citation: see explanation here)

Ves.                             Vesey’s Chancery Reports (Eng)

Ves.Sr.                         Vesey (Senior’s) Chancery Reports (Eng)

Weir                              Weir’s Criminal Rulings, Madras

WISA LR                     Western India States Agency Law Reports

WLR                             Weekly Law Reports (Eng)

WR                               Sutherland’s Weekly Reporter

WRFB                          Sutherland’s Weekly Reporter, Full Bench volume

[version updated on 19 April 2023]