IRAC

Unit 5
WHAT COMES FIRST?
.
FACTS

• Before you state the legal issues, it is important to identify

the facts you have been provided with, determining which
ones are relevant, which are clearly not relevant, and
which ones may become relevant once the rules are
identified.
• It is from the facts that the issues can be identified.
• The facts and issues lead to the identification of the most
appropriate rules, and the rules then determine the most
useful way of construing the facts.
EXAMPLE
• Let's take the example of Matthew, a 50-year old independent contractor from Victoria
who has been engaged for some work by X Pty Ltd (a company). Matthew attends a
number of staff meetings as well as a training course provided by the company. Do
the terms of the contract referring to an 'employee' apply to him even as a contractor?

• Relevant facts here are:

• Matthew is an independent contractor.

• He has an employment contract with company X Pty Ltd.
• He has attended some company staff meetings and a training course.
• The jurisdiction of Victoria may also be relevant.
• It is unlikely that Matthew's age would be a relevant fact.
PAY ATTENTION
• Pay attention to the facts that are in contention.
• E.g. Mike was driving along Great East road at 12am in
the night, on his way home from the hospital. Mike
approaches the traffic lights by Mandahill shopping mall.
When the lights go green Mike begins to cross the
intersection, however an incoming drunk driver, Veronica,
crosses the traffic lights illegally at that moment and hits
into Mike’s car. As a result of the impact, Mike’s car flips
and one of the stray metal pieces impales a pedestrian,
Samuel, resulting in his death. Explain Mike’s legal
liability.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

• I - ISSUE
• R - RULE
• A - ANALYSIS
• C - CONCLUSION
ISSUE

• State the issue in the first paragraph at the beginning of

the sub-section: what is the legal question you will need
to analyze? Why do you need to analyze this issue? This
first section should give your reader an understanding of
what you intend to discuss and why you must discuss it.
• you should be neutral in your statement of the facts while
also predicting how the judge will rule on the issue.
.
• state the issue succinctly. This should be in the form of a question , but
should be specific, rather than too general. An issue may be broken down
into smaller, multiple sub-issues and IRAC reasoning applied to each sub-
issue.

• For example: “Is the company liable in tort for the harm that has occurred to
the plaintiff ?” or " Is illegally obtained evidence admissible?" would be
acceptable. Merely stating “Will the plaintiff win?” would not be acceptable.

• The issue may mention party names and specific facts of the case. Be
specific about the issue/s for each of the parties.
EXAMPLE

• Is Matthew an employee or an independent contractor?

RULE
• After you lay out the issue, you will need to establish the
governing legal rule that the court will employ to resolve
that issue.
• Your rule section should resemble a funnel: set out the
broadest principles first, with the smaller, secondary
components, or exceptions to the rule following
afterwards.
• Generally, you will be able to naturally create a funnel by
discussing authorities in order from most important to
least important.
• Identify the legal principles, and from there, the legal
rules that apply. Legal rules consist of the primary
sources of law -- legislation and/or case law. If you are
unfamiliar with the area of law involved, these can be
identified using secondary sources such as legal
dictionaries, legal encyclopedias, textbooks, and legal
commentaries relevant to specific areas of law
• State the legal rules applied to the issue. The rule
should be stated as a general principle, and not a
conclusion to the particular case being analysed.
ANALYSIS

• In this section, you will apply the rule to your facts, using the
cases you’ve discussed in the rule section to draw analogies or
distinctions.
• You should track the order and key phrases of the Rule section
so that your reader can easily follow along. Don’t be afraid to
repeat key terms and phrases—you will frequently need to do so
to show that your case follows precedent.
• This section will be the bulk of your argument, and may run
several paragraphs or pages long.
• DO NOT SIMPLY RESTATE THE FACT!
.
• Application, or analysis or argument, is the most important, and the longest, part of
your answer. It involves applying the rules to the facts of the problem or question.
• This is where you state your evidence and explain how you will arrive at your
conclusion. Use relevant precedent cases, legislation, or statements of legal
principles to support your answer.
• Apply or distinguish the relevant case authority, with consideration of how the facts
are similar or different to those in the cases.
• You should consider both sides of the dispute and address counter-arguments where
appropriate. If applicable, include discussion of cases that are contrary to your
conclusion. Focus on any contentious issues. Give an indication of the weight of the
arguments when setting out counter arguments (e.g. strong, good, poor, weak).
• Order the issues in a sensible and effective way to lead the reader to your
conclusion.
CONCLUSION

• Here, all you will need is a sentence or two that concisely

state the outcome of the issue, based on the Application
of the Rule to the facts of the case.
.
• Template.It incorporates certain “trigger” words (in italics):

• The [first/next/last] issue is whether . . .

• Under the [general/majority/modern] rule . . .

• Here the facts [do/do not] indicate . . .

• Therefore [I/a court] would conclude . . .

• And, add where appropriate:

•
NOTE

• The lay out of a legal reasoning answer must flow the

same way an essay does. You must not include
headings.
SAMPLE
• Scenario
• Tim is a courier who uses his rollerblades to deliver mails and
parcels. When he delivered a mail to a TMart Supermarket he
slipped due to spilled milk on the floor. As a result, Tim suffered
serious spinal injuries. Tim is a skilled rollerblade user and he was on
his rollerblades when entering the supermarket. There was a sign at
TMart Supermarket at the time of incident which warned customers
that appropriate footwear must be worn at all times while in the store.
• Advise Tim whether he would be able to recover compensation from
TMart Supermarket for his injuries.
• Issue:
• Whether Tim would succeed in action for negligence
against TMart Supermarket for the injuries he suffered.
• How do you determine this?
• Before you can advise whether Tim would be able to
recover compensation from TMart you need to determine
whether TMart acted negligently.
.
• Rule:
• In order to establish negligence, as per Donoghue v
Stevenson, the plaintiff must establish the four elements
of negligence:
• the person being sued (the defendant) owed a duty of
care on the facts of the case to the injured person (the
plaintiff);
• the defendant breached that duty of care; and
• the breach of that duty of care caused the damage
(harm) to the injured person (causation).
• Application (Part 1):
• Tim is an invitee of TMart Supermarket (occupier) and
Tmart hence owes a duty of care to take reasonable care
to ensure the harm does not occur. This was established
in Australian Safeway Stores Pty Ltd v Zazuna. Further,
the court said that the plaintiff was a lawful entrant to the
shop and that the defendant owed a duty of care to avoid
the risk of injury to all persons entering the premises.
TMart owed a duty of care to Tim and the duty was
breached.
• How do you apply the rules to the specific problem?
• Tim must prove all of the above elements, on the balance
of probabilities, in order to establish negligence.
• Use relevant legal principles you've found to support your
analysis. Pay attention to the factual context in order to be
in a position to argue similarities and differences between
Tim's situation and those relevant cases.
• Conclusion:
• Tim is likely to succeed in his action for negligence but his
damage may be reduced to the extent to which he
contributed to the damage suffered.