Ipso facto means something occurs naturally or as a direct consequence of an action, while ipso jure means according to the law. Legal Latin is no longer widely used, and lawyers prefer plain language. Ipso facto arguments establish facts to show something is true or false. Latin is still used in some formal courts.
The Latin phrase ipso facto, meaning “from the fact itself”, is used in law to describe a situation in which something occurs by nature or as a direct consequence of an action. Conversely, something can be said to be ipso jure, meaning “according to the law.” In one example of a situation where ipso facto may come into play, blind people are denied a driver’s license on the grounds that the very fact of their vision impairment makes driving impossible.
This term is no longer widely used in the legal community, reflecting a shift away from Legal Latin in many regions of the world. Many lawyers and courts prefer to use plain language rather than a smattering of Latin phrases and have been prompted to do so by people who want to encourage members of the legal profession to communicate in a way that is accessible to the public. A lawyer who says “my client, being bankrupt, ipso facto cannot pay damages” could easily say “since my client is bankrupt, it is not possible to pay the damages awarded in this case”.
One place this phrase may appear is in older legal texts and in discussions of legal matters, from the eras when Latin was more commonly used, and in books with lawyers. Some books invoke legal Latin to make readers feel more immersed in the world of law, while others might use it as a rhetorical device, suggesting, for example, that a lawyer is pompous to rely on professional jargon rather than simply making statements in idiomatic language. simple .
When a lawyer in court makes an ipso facto argument, the lawyer begins by establishing the facts of a person’s nature or situation, using these as grounds to show that, by the very nature of the case, something must be either true or false. A lawyer mounting a defense could provide ample evidence that a client was not at the crime scene, concluding with a statement such as “my client was in London, and ipso facto could not have killed someone in the Bahamas that same afternoon.”
Many references discussing common Latin phrases used in the legal community are available for people who have difficulty understanding legal documents or who are conducting research for works of fiction with lawyers. In some courts where a more formal atmosphere prevails, the use of Latin may be considered acceptable and sometimes even expected.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
