Wilson Lui on Hong Kong Citation of Legal Authorities and Materials (HKCLAM)

Hong Kong Citation of Legal Authorities and Materials

Revised First Edition

Wilson Lui (Research Fellow, Centre for Private Law)

Published online: April 2026

The Hong Kong Citation of Legal Authorities and Materials (HKCLAM) (香港法律典籍引用格式) is the first legal citation style in Hong Kong. It aims to provide local and foreign legal professionals, law students, and members of the public with a uniform and simple citation style when citing legal authorities and materials commonly used in Hong Kong.

HKCLAM is named by the fifth edition of The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (OSCOLA) as the sole guide for Hong Kong primary legal sources. It is also designated as the citation style for the Hong Kong Journal of Legal Studies, the oldest student-run flagship legal journal in Hong Kong. It has been recognised and welcomed by legal practitioners, academics, and students alike.

The revised first edition of HKCLAM was published in April 2026 to bring it in line with the fifth edition of OSCOLA, published in late March 2026. HKCLAM is freely available and licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.