sboghossian Inline Citations with Pin-Cites
Precise citation of legal authority is the backbone of credible legal analysis. This skill governs how Claude embeds citations inline — statute, case, regulation, and secondary source — so that every legal proposition in a memo, advice note, or draft is fully traceable and verifiable.
When this applies
Activate whenever Claude asserts a legal rule, threshold, duty, right, or standard. Every assertion of law must be backed by a citation or marked with [citation needed]. This is not optional for legal output — an unsourced legal claim is worse than no claim.
Citation formats by authority type
Statutes and legislation
| Jurisdiction | Format | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Lebanon | [Statute name] LB art [N] |
Civil Code LB art 1124 |
| UAE federal | [Decree-Law / Law] [No.]/[Year] UAE art [N] |
Federal Decree-Law 33/2021 UAE art 10 |
| KSA | [Statute name] RD [M/N] art [N] |
Saudi Labor Law RD M/51 art 80 |
| DIFC | DIFC Law [N]/[Year] art [N] |
DIFC Law 4/2021 art 17 |
| ADGM | ADGM [Regulation/Act/Rules] [Year] s [N] |
ADGM Employment Regulations 2019 s 11 |
| Qatar / QFC | QFC [Law name] [Year] art [N] |
— |
| Egypt | [Statute name] EG Law [N]/[Year] art [N] |
Civil Code EG Law 131/1948 art 147 |
| France | C. civ. art [N] or C. com. art [N] |
C. civ. art 1231-1 |
| EU | [Regulation/Directive] [No.]/[Year]/EU art [N] |
GDPR Reg. 2016/679/EU art 6(1)(b) |
| UK | [Act name] [Year] s [N] |
Companies Act 2006 s 172 |
Cases — common-law jurisdictions
Format: [Party A] v [Party B] [year] [court] [number] at [para/page]
- DIFC:
Khoury v. Acme [2024] DIFC CFI 47 at [23] - UK:
Cavendish Square v. Makdessi [2015] UKSC 67 at [32] - ADGM:
[Party] v [Party] [year] ADGM CFI [N] - US (Bluebook short form):
Smith v. Jones, 123 F.3d 456, 461 (2d Cir. 2001)— see [[output-citation-format-bluebook]] - Australia:
[Party] v [Party] (year) volume CLR page
Cases — civil-law jurisdictions
Format varies by court; use the official registry style where possible.
- French Cour de cassation:
Cass. com., 12 mai 2023, n° 21-15.847 - Lebanese Court of Cassation:
Cass. civ. LB, n° [N], [date] - Egyptian Court of Cassation:
Cass. EG [circuit], n° [N], [year] - UAE Federal Supreme Court:
UAE Fed. Sup. Ct. [circuit], n° [N], [year/Hijri]
Regulatory instruments
- UAE:
[Agency] Circular [N]/[Year]or[Agency] Decision [N]/[Year] - KSA:
SAMA Circular [N]/[Hijri-year] dated [Gregorian or Hijri date]·CMA Decision [N]/[Year] - DIFC:
DFSA [Rulebook Chapter]/[Module] Rule [N] - Lebanon:
BDL Circular [N] dated [date]
Example: SAMA Circular 67/41 dated 15/3/1443H
Secondary sources
Author, Title, Publisher/Journal, Year, Page/Section:
Nayla Comair-Obeid, "Contracts in Arab Countries," Bruylant (2013), p. 214
Inline placement rules
Prose integration — weave the authority into the sentence:
Under Article 10 of UAE Federal Decree-Law 33/2021, a non-compete clause must be proportionate in scope, geography, and duration.
Parenthetical — cite after the proposition, before the period:
An employee dismissed without cause is entitled to notice pay (UAE FDL 33/2021 art 43).
Footnote — acceptable for printed memos; use [^1] markdown footnote syntax if the rendering stack supports it. Otherwise collect at bottom in a Sources block (see [[output-source-attribution-block]]).
Multiple authorities — list separated by ;:
(UAE FDL 33/2021 art 10; Cabinet Decision 1/2022)
Pin-cite precision
A pin-cite is the specific page, paragraph, or article number that supports the exact proposition. Without it, a citation is useless under cross-examination.
- Statute: cite the specific article and sub-article:
art 10(1)(b) - Case: paragraph number
at [42]or pageat p. 123 - Regulation: section and sub-section
- Circular/Notice: the operative paragraph if available
When uncertain — the cite-or-bust rule
Never fabricate citations. If the exact source is not verified:
- Write
[citation needed]inline. - Surface to the user: "I believe this rule exists in [general framework] but cannot confirm the specific article. Please verify before relying on this."
- Do not guess article numbers or case references.
An invented citation discovered by the other side is catastrophic. See the confidence-scoring rule in [[router-confidence-scorer]].
Audience-specific style
| Audience | Citation style | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| MENA practitioners | Light formal: statute name + article | Arabic statute names may be included in parentheses |
| US lawyer | Bluebook — [[output-citation-format-bluebook]] | Full citation first use, short form after |
| UK lawyer | OSCOLA — [[output-citation-format-oscola]] | Footnotes preferred |
| French / Lebanese civil-law | Doctrine + jurisprudence style | [[output-citation-format-civil-law-fr]] |
| Board / non-lawyer audience | Narrative reference: "the UAE employment law" | Full cite in footnote/appendix |
Hijri / dual-date handling
Saudi and some UAE/Bahraini regulatory instruments use Hijri dates. Always note both calendars when available:
SAMA Circular 67/41 dated 15/3/1443H (12 October 2021)
If only the Hijri date is given, note conversion used:
[Hijri date] (approx. [Gregorian])— conversion using standard Umm al-Qura calendar.
Related skills
- [[output-source-attribution-block]]
- [[output-irac-structure]]
- [[output-partner-memo-style]]
- [[router-confidence-scorer]]
- [[output-citation-format-bluebook]]
- [[output-citation-format-oscola]]
- [[output-citation-format-civil-law-fr]]