All of this can be conveniently represented by a diagram. This diagram
contains a list of elements and a list of consequences. There is an arrow
between the elements and consequences indicating the conditional nature of a
legal rule in that the consequences are conditional on the elements being
satisfied by appropriate facts. This diagram shows Elements 1-n causing
Consequences 1-n. The list of elements in the diagram includes Element 2,
even though this is not strictly necessary, to give a better sense that a legal rule
is constituted by a list of elements. A similar reasoning justifies including
Consequences 2 in the list of consequences. Here now is the diagram:
Elements
Element 1
Element 2
Element n
Consequences
Consequence 1
Consequence 2
Consequence n
Figure 3.1 Structure of a Legal Rule
The
analysis of a legal rule and the facts to which it applies can be
conveniently set out in an expanded version of this diagram. This depicts
Facts 1-n which satisfy Elements 1-n because Fact 1 satisfies Element 1, Fact
2 satisfies Element 2 and so on. The relationship of a fact satisfying an element
is also expressed as the notion that the fact fits within the element or that the
element applies to the facts. Both of these relationships are depicted by the
arrow from the heading “Facts” to the heading “Elements”:
Elements
Facts
Element 1
Fact 1
Element 2
Fact 2
Element n
Fact n
Consequences
Consequence 1
Consequence 2
Consequence n
Figure 3.2 Elements, Consequences and Facts
Elements
Introduction
Elements of a legal rule define the facts to which a rule applies. This is their
nature, which is further explained below. There are two other important
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