The law arises out of the fact.

Explanation

(English-origin maxim.) Law does not exist in the abstract — it must be applied to actual facts. A court cannot declare the law until the facts giving rise to the legal question are established. The facts are the foundation; the law follows from them.

Where this applies

• A man asks a court to rule that a law is unconstitutional in the abstract, without showing any actual harm to himself — the court says it can't declare the law until real facts create a real dispute.
• A lawyer tries to get a legal opinion on a hypothetical business deal that hasn't happened yet — the court refuses because the law can only be applied to actual facts, not imaginary ones.
• Two neighbors dispute a property line, and the court must first establish the facts — where the fence is, what the survey shows, what the deed says — before it can declare who owns what.