Why say “ipso facto” when you mean “because of that very fact”?

Well, for one thing, because ipso facto is neater and more elegant, Q.E.D.

Not to be confused — however likely it is to be, ipso facto — with an ipso facto clause, which is a clause permitting a merchant to terminate her contract on her counterparty’s insolvency. In the world of financial derivatives documentation, a topic that excites animal passions like few others.

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