Obiter

Obiter is a free, open-source Microsoft Word add-in that implements the full Australian Guide to Legal Citation, 4th Edition (AGLC4). It covers 90+ source types across all 26 chapters — including international materials and foreign jurisdictions that no existing tool supports.

CITATION ENGINE:

- Automatic citation formatting for cases, legislation, journal articles, books, reports, treaties, and 80+ other source types

- Ibid and subsequent reference resolution — automatically determines when to use Ibid, short references (n X), or full citations based on footnote position

- Cross-reference fields that auto-renumber when footnotes are reordered

- Short titles assigned on first citation and used throughout subsequent references

- Linking phrases — quoting, cited in, affirmed by, and other connecting phrases between sources (Rule 1.3)

- Explanatory footnotes — add commentary alongside citations with correct separator formatting

- Live citation preview before insertion

- Click-to-edit citations via content controls

DOCUMENT TOOLS:

- One-click bibliography generation with AGLC4 section headings (A Articles/Books/Reports, B Cases, C Legislation, D Treaties, E Other)

- Document validation against AGLC4 formatting rules with "Go to" navigation for each finding

- AGLC4 heading styles (5 levels with auto-numbering per Rule 1.12.2)

- AGLC4 document template — margins, fonts, spacing applied in one step

- Quotation formatting tools — auto block quote detection, ellipsis insertion, [sic], editorial brackets, emphasis annotation (Rules 1.5.1-1.5.7)

- Inline body-text formatting — automatic italicisation of case names on subsequent mention

- Latin term auto-italicisation — 78 common legal terms identified and formatted per Rule 1.8.3

- Searchable reference guide covering all AGLC4 rules, abbreviations, and source types

COURT SUBMISSION MODE:

- 12+ jurisdictional presets — HCA, FCA, NSW, Vic, Qld, WA, SA, Tas, ACT, NT, and more

- Parallel citations — dual MNC + authorised report formatting per court practice directions

- List of Authorities generation — simple, Part A/B, or HCA Joint Book format

- Ibid suppression — replaces ibid with explicit short references for court filings

ADDITIONAL CITATION STANDARDS:

- OSCOLA 5 — Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, EU, ECHR)

- NZLSG 3 — New Zealand Law Style Guide (including Maori Land Court, Waitangi Tribunal, and general/commercial citation styles)

INTERNATIONAL AND FOREIGN COVERAGE:

- Treaties, UN documents, ICJ, PCIJ, ICC, international arbitration, WTO, GATT, EU, ECHR, and other supranational courts (Chapters 8-14)

- 12 foreign jurisdictions — Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, United Kingdom, United States, and others (Chapters 15-26)

AI-ASSISTED CITATION (OPTIONAL):

- Multi-turn AI parser — paste a raw citation and extract structured fields automatically

- Source type classification — describe your source and get a recommendation

- Citation verification — check citation details against known legal databases

- BYO API key. No data is sent without explicit user action. Works fully without AI enabled.

- Supports OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, Grok, and DeepSeek providers

OTHER:

- Import citations from Word Source Manager or BibTeX files

- Typeahead search via AustLII, Jade.io, and Federal Register of Legislation

- Open Australian Legal Corpus integration (232,000+ entries for offline lookup)

- Dark mode support (respects Word theme)

- WCAG 2.1 AA accessible

- Works offline — no internet connection required for core features

- Error reporting with optional anonymous diagnostics

- AGLC5-ready architecture

WHO IS IT FOR:

Australian law students, legal academics, practitioners, and anyone who needs to cite legal sources according to AGLC4. Particularly useful for thesis writers, journal editors, court practitioners preparing submissions, and researchers working with international and foreign legal materials that existing tools cannot handle.

PRIVACY:

Obiter does not collect any usage data, analytics, or telemetry. All citation data remains in your document. Optional AI features require user-provided API keys and only process text that users explicitly select. Optional error reporting is anonymous and requires explicit user consent. See our full privacy policy at https://obiter.com.au/privacy.html.