In
law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
and
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...
, ''de jure'' ( ; , "by law") describes practices that are legally recognized, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality.
In contrast, ("in fact") describes situations that exist in reality, even if not legally recognized.
Examples
Between 1805 and 1914, the
ruling dynasty of
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...
were subject to the rulers of the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
, but acted as de facto independent rulers who maintained a
polite fiction
A polite fiction is a social scenario in which all participants are aware of a truth, but pretend to believe in some alternative version of events to avoid conflict or embarrassment. Polite fictions are closely related to euphemism, in which a word ...
of Ottoman
suzerainty. However, starting from around 1882, the rulers had only de jure rule over Egypt, as it had by then become a British
puppet state
A puppet state, puppet régime, puppet government or dummy government, is a state that is ''de jure'' independent but ''de facto'' completely dependent upon an outside power and subject to its orders.Compare: Puppet states have nominal sove ...
. Thus, by Ottoman law, Egypt was de jure a province of the Ottoman Empire, but de facto was part of the
British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...
.
In
U.S. law, particularly after ''
Brown v. Board of Education
''Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka'', 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the segrega ...
'' (1954), the difference between de facto
segregation Segregation may refer to:
Separation of people
* Geographical segregation, rates of two or more populations which are not homogenous throughout a defined space
* School segregation
* Housing segregation
* Racial segregation, separation of humans ...
(segregation that existed because of the voluntary associations and neighborhoods) and de jure segregation (segregation that existed because of local laws that mandated the segregation) became important distinctions for court-mandated remedial purposes.
In a hypothetical situation, a king or emperor could be the de jure head of state. However, if they are unfit to rule the country, the prime minister or chancellor would usually become the practical, or de facto leader, while the king remains the de jure leader. For example,
Edward V was de jure
King of England for a part of 1483, but he was never crowned
and his uncle
Richard III was the de facto king during this period.
See also
*
List of Latin phrases (D)
References
Additional sources
*
*
{{Latin phrases
D
ca:Locució llatina#D
da:Latinske ord og vendinger#D
fr:Liste de locutions latines#D
id:Daftar frasa Latin#D
it:Locuzioni latine#D
nl:Lijst van Latijnse spreekwoorden en uitdru ...
*
Implied repeal The doctrine of implied repeal is a concept in constitutional theory which states that where an Act of Parliament or an Act of Congress (or of some other legislature) conflicts with an earlier one, the later Act takes precedence and the conflictin ...
*
Obrogation In civil law, obrogation (Latin: ''obrogat'' from ''obrogare'') is the modification or repeal of a law in whole or in part by issuing a new law.
In canon law, of the Catholic Church, obrogation is the enacting of a contrary law that is a revocatio ...
*
Unenforced law
An unenforced law (also symbolic law, dead letter law) is a law which is formally in effect (''de jure''), but is usually (''de facto'') not penalized by a jurisdiction. Such laws are usually ignored by law enforcement, and therefore there are few ...
References
{{Reflist
Latin legal terminology