Let us bring these three parts together. Satisfying an element is a necessary
condition for a law to apply to a set of facts. This means that the elements
together constitute the necessary and sufficient conditions for the law to apply.
As indicated, when the law applies to a set of facts it brings legal
consequences to the parties involved.
Micro analysis of a legal rule can be conveniently illustrated in a diagram which
takes the following form:
Law
Element 1
Element 2
Element n
Consequences
Figure 4.2 Micro Analysis of a Legal Rule
Elements
As the diagram reveals, one component is a list of elements or requirements.
These are labelled Elements 1-n. Elements can be divided and subdivided into
subelements, sub-subelements and so on. For example, Element 2 could be
divided into subelements, Element 2.1, Element 2.2, and Element 2.n. Similarly,
Element 2.3 could be divided into sub-subelements, Element 2.3.1, Element
2.3.2 and Element 2.3.n. This is done as much as is necessary until all of the
particular rule is organised, analysed or structured in this way.
Consequences
The second component of the diagram consists of the legal consequences that
follow when each element is satisfied by the facts in a case. This is represented
by “Consequences” in the diagram. In litigious law, the standard consequence
is that the defendant is liable for some remedy, most commonly to pay
damages to the plaintiff by way of compensation. In a transaction the
consequences vary. For example in the case of a sale of land the
consequences are that the seller no longer owns the land since the purchaser
now owns it.
Conditional Statement
The third component of the diagram consists of the arrow leading from the list
of elements to the consequences. Sometimes this arrow is omitted from the
diagram. However, it performs the useful function of representing and
emphasising the conditional relationship that joins elements and consequences:
if the elements are satisfied by the appropriate facts, the consequences
designated by the rule apply to those facts.
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