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''De facto'' is a Latin expression that means "in fact" or "in practice". It is commonly used in contrast to '' De Jure '' (which means "by law") when referring to matters of Law , Governance , or technique (such as Standards ), that are found in the common experience as created or developed without or against a regulation. When discussing a legal situation, ''de jure''(lawful) designates what the law says, while ''de facto''(unlawful) designates what happens in practice. The term ''de facto'' may also be used when there is no relevant law or standard, but a common practice is well established, although perhaps not quite universal. A de facto government is one that maintains itself by a display of force against the will of the rightful legal government and is successful, at least temporarily, in overturning the institutions of the rightful legal government by setting up its own in lieu thereof. Wortham v. Walker, 133 Tex. 255, 128 S.W.2d 1138, 1145. Black’s Law Dictionary 4th Edition (1951) page 504. Standards A ''de facto'' standard is a technical or other '' standard is to drive at the speed limit or slower, in many places the ''de facto'' standard is to drive at the speed limit or slightly faster. Another example: there is no law preventing a 27th letter such as Þ (thorn) from being added to the standard 26-letter Latin Alphabet used for modern English ; indeed, letters were added centuries ago without much difficulty. But today one is prevented from doing so by the practical difficulties involved, and thus there is a ''de facto'' limit on modifications to the alphabet; it is impractical to add such a letter as no one will recognize it. A ''de facto'' standard is sometimes not formalized and may simply rely on the fact that someone has come up with a good idea that is liked so much that it is copied. Typical creators of ''de facto'' standards are individual Companies , Corporation s, and Consortia . In computing, ''de facto'' standards can sometimes become ''de jure'' standards due to market superiority. For example, JavaScript by Netscape (standardized as ECMAScript ) and parts of DOM Level 0 (standardized in DOM Level 1/2 HTML Specification). National language The establishment of de facto national languages is used as a means of remaining unprejudice or biased. In the United States , the federal government has no declared national language. English is accepted as the de facto national language. To partially cope with this situation, the federal government has given states the right to declare their official language. This is not merely a formal permission not expected ever to be used; the official languages of New Mexico have been both English and Spanish ever since it became a state. Similarly, in the former Soviet Union , Russian was not the official language, but by de facto. The same situation occurs in the UK (except in Wales where English and Welsh are jointly equal official languages by law). Sweden is another case of a country with no ''de jure'' language. Politics A ''de facto'' government is a government wherein all the attributes of sovereignty have, by usurpation, been transferred from those who had been legally invested with them to others, who, sustained by a power above the forms of law, claim to act and do act in their stead. 30 Am Jur 181. Law Dictionary, James A. Ballentine, Second Edition, 1948, page 345. In politics, a ''de facto'' leader of a country or region is one who has assumed authority, regardless of whether by lawful, constitutional, or legitimate means; very frequently the term is reserved for those whose power is thought by some faction to be held by unlawful, unconstitutional, or otherwise illegitimate means, often by deposing a previous leader or undermining the rule of a current one. ''De facto'' leaders need not hold a constitutional office, and may exercise power in an informal manner. Their authority cannot be denied however, which forces their position as ruler to be recognized. Not all Dictator s are ''de facto'' rulers. For example, Augusto Pinochet of Chile initially came to power as the chairman of a Military Junta , which briefly made him ''de facto'' leader of Chile, but then he later amended the nation's constitution and made himself President , making him the formal and legal ruler of Chile. Similarly, Saddam Hussein 's formal rule of Iraq is often recorded as beginning in 1979 , the year he assumed the Presidency Of Iraq . However, in practice his ''de facto'' rule of the nation began at an earlier date, as during his time as Vice President he exercised a great deal of power at the expense of the elderly Ahmed Hassan Al-Bakr . Another example of a ''de facto'' ruler is someone who is not the actual ruler, but exerts great or total influence over the true ruler, which is quite common in monarchies. Some examples of these de-facto rulers are Empress Dowager Cixi of China (for son Tongzhi and nephew Guangxu Emperors), Prince Alexander Menshikov (for his former lover Empress Catherine I of Russia), Cardinal Richelieu of France (for Louis XIII ), and Queen Marie Caroline Of Naples And Sicily (for her husband King Ferdinand I Of The Two Sicilies ). Some notable true ''de facto'' leaders have been Deng Xiaoping of the People's Republic Of China and General Manuel Noriega of Panama . Both of these men exercised near-total control over their respective nations for many years, despite not having either legal constitutional office or the legal authority to exercise power. These individuals are today commonly recorded as the "leaders" of their respective nations; recording their legal, correct title would not give an accurate assesment of their power. Terms like Strongman are often used to refer to defacto rulers of this sort. The term '' De Facto '' Head Of State is sometimes used to describe the Governor General in a Commonwealth Realm , or one who rules In ''lieu'' of the legal ('' De Jure '', or juridical) head of state (e.g., British Monarch ). The ''de facto'' '''boundaries''' of a country are defined by the area that its government is actually able to enforce its laws in, and to defend against encroachments by other countries that may also claim the same territory ''de jure''; the Line Of Control in Kashmir is an example of a de facto boundary. As well as cases of Border Dispute s, ''de facto'' boundaries may also arise in relatively unpopulated areas when the border was never formally established, or when the agreed border was never Survey ed and its exact position is unclear. The same concepts may also apply to a boundary between provinces or other subdivisions of a Federal State . Similarly, a nation with ''de facto'' '''independence''' is one that is not recognized by other nations or by international bodies, even though it has its own government that exercises absolute control over its claimed territory.. Other usages ''De facto'' ''' Racial Segregation ''' often occurs because users of a given facility, such as a library or school, tend to be residents of that neighborhood and so reflect its ethnic makeup. The facility tends to become racially or ethnically segregated without any law calling for ''de jure'' segregation, if the same applies to the neighborhood. A ''de facto'' ''' Monopoly ''' is a system where many suppliers of a product are allowed, but the market is so completely dominated by one that the others might as well not exist. (Similarly for related terms such as Oligopoly and Monopsony .) This is the type of situation that Antitrust laws are intended to eliminate, when they are used. One's Unmarried Partner is referred to as the ''de facto'' '''husband''' or '''wife''' by some authorities. This has passed into Australia n casual usage, in contrast to other English-speaking countries, as the slang term '''defacto''' to refer to one's significant other. e.g. "This is my defacto, Rachel". This is equivalent to the term ''common-law'' husband or wife used in most other English-speaking countries. Rape is defined as a de facto act while marital coitus is dejure. See also |