Ipso Facto is a
LatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Roman conquest, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe...
phrase, directly translated as "by the fact itself," which means that a certain effect is a
direct consequence of the action in question, instead of being brought about by a subsequent action such as the verdict of a tribunal. It is a term of art used in
philosophyPhilosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing these questions by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on reasoned...
,
lawLaw is a system of rules, usually enforced through a set of institutions. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a primary social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus ticket to trading on derivatives markets...
, and
scienceScience is in its broadest sense to any systematic knowledge-base or prescriptive practice that is capable of resulting in a prediction or predictable type of outcome...
.
In law, this phrase is frequently employed to convey the idea that something that has been done contrary to law is automatically void.
Ipso Facto is a
LatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Roman conquest, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe...
phrase, directly translated as "by the fact itself," which means that a certain effect is a
direct consequence of the action in question, instead of being brought about by a subsequent action such as the verdict of a tribunal. It is a term of art used in
philosophyPhilosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing these questions by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on reasoned...
,
lawLaw is a system of rules, usually enforced through a set of institutions. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a primary social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus ticket to trading on derivatives markets...
, and
scienceScience is in its broadest sense to any systematic knowledge-base or prescriptive practice that is capable of resulting in a prediction or predictable type of outcome...
.
Legal uses
In law, this phrase is frequently employed to convey the idea that something that has been done contrary to law is automatically void. For example, if a married man, during the life of his wife, of which he had knowledge, should marry another woman, the latter marriage would be void ipso facto; that is, on the fact of the permanence of the first marriage being proved, the second marriage would be declared automatically void from the beginning.
Another example in law would be with the case of
money launderingMoney laundering is the process of creating the appearance that large amounts of money obtained from serious crimes, such as drug trafficking or terrorist activity, originated from a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdictions with varying definitions...
. The act is ipso facto because it is done as a cover for something else, so the act puts the actions of an individual in question.
Legal use of the phrase by a religion in historical perspective
Ipso facto denotes the automatic character of the loss of membership of a religious body by someone guilty of a specified action.
Within the
Roman Catholic ChurchThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church. With more than a billion members, over half of all Christians and more than one-sixth of the world's population, the Catholic Church is a communion of the Western, or Latin Rite Church, and...
, the phrase
latae sententiaeLatae sententiae is a Latin term used in the canon law of the Catholic Church meaning literally "given sentence".Officially, a latae sententiae penalty follows automatically, by force of the law itself, when the law is contravened....
is more commonly used than
ipso facto with regard to ecclesiastical penalties such as excommunication. It indicates that the effect follows even if no verdict (in Latin,
sententia) is pronounced by an ecclesiastical superior or tribunal.
Other uses
Aside from its technical uses, it occurs frequently in literature, particularly in scholarly addenda: e.g., "Faustus had signed his life away, and was,
ipso facto, incapable of repentance." (re:
Marlowe- People :Given name* Marlowe Gardiner-Heslin , Canadian actor* Marlowe Morris , American jazz musicianSurname* Andrew W...
,
The Tragical History of Dr. Faustus.) or "These prejudices are rooted in the idea that every tramp
ipso facto is a blackguard" (re:
George OrwellEric Arthur Blair , better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist and journalist...
,
Down and Out in Paris and LondonDown and Out in Paris and London, published in 1933, is the first full-length work by the English author George Orwell. It is a story in two parts on the theme of poverty in the two cities. The first part is a picaresque account of living on the breadline in Paris and the experience of casual...
).