Consequences are also divided into elements
and subelements as shown in
Figures 4.1 and 4.2 above.
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Elements of consequences are represented in the
model by Consequences 1-n. Consequences may need elements for two
reasons. First, there may be more than one remedy. For example, a successful
plaintiff in trespass can obtain both damages and an injunction. Second, any
particular remedy can be divided into parts. An example is the remedy of
damages, because there are various heads of damage, each of which becomes
an element. Each head of damage is calculated as lump sum of money. All the
heads of damages taken together become the total amount of damages, which
constitute the full Consequences with regard to damages.
While consequences are also divided into elements
and subelements,
sometimes these are not revealed or fully revealed in description or diagrams.
As a form of shorthand, this text may refer just to Consequences, rather than
to Consequences 1-n. This is done for simplicity and not to contradict the
principle that consequences have elements.
Conditional Statement
Elements of a legal rule delineate the facts to
which the rule applies.
Consequences of a legal rule determine how the rule will legally and directly
affect the parties when it applies. It is, however, necessary for the rule to have
a mechanism for imposing these consequences. This is done by framing the
rule as a conditional statement. By this means the elements and consequences
are embedded in a rule
that
imposes the consequences on the types of facts
that are designated by the elements.
A conditional statement is also referred to just as a conditional
or as a
hypothetical statement. The essence of a conditional statement is that when a
specified condition occurs, something else also occurs. It takes the form “If A
then B”. For example: “If it rains, the ground becomes wet”.
In a legal rule the conditional statement takes the following essential form: If
facts occur that fall within the classes of facts delineated by the elements, the
consequences designated by the rule apply to those facts. This conditional
statement can also be framed using our standard labelling system for elements,
consequences and facts. There the elements are labelled Elements 1-n
and
facts that fall within Elements 1-n are labelled Facts 1-n, so that Fact 1 falls
within Element 1, Fact 2 within Element 2 and so on. Framed in this form the
conditional statement takes the following form: “If a set of facts contains the
Facts 1-n which fall within the categories delineated by Elements 1-n, then
Consequences apply to those facts”.
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Chapter 18 Model for Litigation
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