国际金融法IRAC分析法英文介绍.docVIP

Following is an abridged version from /guide/irac.html (accessed June 2011) The IRAC Formula IRAC (Issue, Rule, Analysis, and Conclusion) forms the fundamental building blocks of legal analysis. It is the process by which all lawyers think about any legal problem... ISSUE - What facts and circumstances brought these parties to court? RULE - What is the governing law for the issue? ANALYSIS - Does the rule apply to these unique facts? CONCLUSION - How does the courts holding modify the rule of law? Issue Spotting - The First Step The facts of a problem suggest an Issue or Issues. The key to issue spotting is being able to identify which facts raise which issues. Because of the complexity of the law, the elimination or addition of one fact (such as time of day or whether someone was drinking) can eliminate or add issues to a case thereby raising an entirely different rule of law.…you need to develop issue-spotting skills …in order to do well on the exam. Rule - What is the Law? The issue is covered by a Rule of law. Simply put, the rule is the law. The rule could be common law that was developed by the courts or a law that was passed by the legislature. The trap for the unwary is to stop at the rule. Although the rule is the law, the art of lawyering is in the analysis. [Note that sometimes the rule of law can be unclear or the facts do not make it clear which rule applies. In those circumstances you have to let the examiner know that there is debate about the law, or point out what facts you need to be able to say which rule applies.] Analysis - The Art of Lawyering Compare the facts to the rule to form the Analysis. This important area is really relatively simple. For every relevant fact, you need to ask whether the fact helps to prove or disprove the rule. If a rule requires that a certain circumstance is present in order for the rule to apply, then the absence of that circumstance helps you reach the conclusion that the rule does not apply. For instance, al