OJ References
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Official Journal references are native to the Official Journal of the European Union →.
1.References Before 1 October 2023
1.1.Location
Open the EUR-Lex page for: the GDPR →
The line beneath the name starts:
OJ L 119, 4.5.2016, pp. 1–88OJ refers to the Official Journal. L refers to the series: L is principally for legislation; C contains information and notices, including judicial information. 119 is the issue number. This issue was published on 4 May 2016; the GDPR occupies pages 1–88.
The OJ reference can be used to find the EUR-Lex page:
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv:OJ.L_.2016.119.01.0001.01.ENG1.2.EUR-Lex Document
The starting page in an OJ reference can be used to find the individual document:
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=uriserv:OJ.L_.2016.119.01.0001.01.ENGBoth .01 fields are fixed in the documented template. ENG selects English. 0001 is the document’s starting page, padded to four digits: GDPR by Starting Page →
If the document’s position in the issue’s table of contents is known, another URL can be used:
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=oj:JOL_2016_119_R_0001Here, JOL identifies the L series, 2016 the year, 119 the issue and R the regular edition. 0001 identifies the first document in the issue’s table of contents. In this format, it is not a page number: Publications Office Identifiers →
1.3.Official Journal Issue
An older issue’s table of contents can be found on EUR-Lex using the series, year and issue number:
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=OJ:L:2016:119:TOCTOC, for table of contents, remains fixed at the end. This link opens the issue’s contents, rather than an individual document: OJ L 119 of 2016 →
2.References On or After 1 October 2023
On 1 October 2023, the Official Journal changed to publication act by act.
Open the EUR-Lex page for: the AI Act →
The publication reference beneath the name starts:
OJ L, 2024/1689, 12.7.2024This identifies the L-series publication numbered 2024/1689, published on 12 July 2024. There is no separate shared issue number or starting-page number to insert in the link.
The URL used in this case is simpler:
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=OJ:L_202401689L selects the series, 2024 the year and 01689 the publication number padded to five digits: AI Act by OJ Reference →