Introduction
Cases presented before legal authorities usually have various elements or components. This discussion will focus on several fundamental elements which include issues, facts and rules. Every case in the legal procedure must observe and apply these elements in the pursuit for justice. As a matter of fact, judges do not conclude cases before considering facts, issues and rules. The only exception is in the case of an appeal, where the judge may not require all the facts to conclude a case. However, rules and issues surrounding the case are mandatory. Courts use a hypothetical procedure in application of facts, rules and issues, known as IRAC.
Difference
Facts
Facts are the main reasons that justify the presentation of a case in court. For example, in a typical court case, facts can be about accident or injury. The court requires facts to make sense and to be relevant to the case being conducted. Eventually, the court uses the facts to make its decision by ruling out impossible situations that do not have a logical connection to the case. In each case, realities are the key segments to all the steps in the IRAC method. In essence, issues are simply derivatives of the facts of a case. Likewise, it is from the facts that the court identifies the most suitable rules to apply. Utilizing the standards, the court recognizes the most pertinent path to translate its truths. Legal analysts usually require interpretation of the rules as well as the facts before making a conclusion.
Issues
Issues are components of the legal procedure which serve the purpose of defining the dispute that is presented before the court of law. The court does this by restructuring the facts and the rules into questions form. It makes reference to the rules that govern the country in which the case incident or the dispute occurred. By so doing, it identifies the specific element which contravenes the hypothetical court procedure. The issues must lead to adequate facts that can make them deterministic. Issues of one case can apply in future as references to similar disputes that involve similar legal facts and issues.
Rules
In an IRAC procedure, rules take the direction and the statement of the issue in the prevailing chaos. The rule is the section of an IRAC procedure which essentially states the rules of the country in which the dispute occurred, and is significant in making decisions on the issues stated. The rules enable the court to make the right legal analysis concerning issues being handled using the facts. The legal summary of rules analytically consolidates issues into relevant rules.
Similarities
Considering all the differences between the facts, rules and issues, it does not necessarily mean that they do not have any common feature. The three elements all make up the IRAC hypothetical legal procedure and are found in every case. In other words, each case must hypothetically have facts and issues, and rules of law must apply, whether the court resorts to the majority rule decision or entirely concludes the case in the courtroom. Secondly, each element is dependent on each other. Rules and issues are derivatives of facts, and are used to conclude the case. Issues and rules may in a similar manner lead to the restructuring or the framing of the facts.