What is De facto:
De facto It is a Latin phrase that literally means: ‘in fact’. As such, it refers to all that situation that has occurred due to force of eventsthat is, without complying with current legal regulations.
Thus, a situation de facto It is one that, although it exists or takes place in concrete reality, has not been recognized by a formal act or by a competent authority.
For exampleif a person holds a position but does not have formal recognition, nor has he been appointed by an authority, nor does he have a contract adjusted to the regulations for the case, then he is holding the position de facto.
The same can happen with a country that has declared its independence, but does not enjoy formal recognition by the international community, despite effectively exercising power.
A similar situation, and also very common, is that of the de facto unionthat is, a couple that lives in a stable union and functions in the most varied aspects of family and social life as a marriage, despite not having the legal recognition of a marriage.
See also Common-law couple.
De facto and de jure
De facto means ‘in fact’, that is, it has no legal recognition or has been established by force of fact. In this sense, it is a legal concept that opposes de jure either de jure, which means ‘by law’, which means that it is subject to current legal regulations. Thus, a situation de jure It is one recognized by law, or by a competent authority or a formal agreement or act. However, this does not mean that the situations de jure necessarily have to correspond to a real situation, since a person appointed to a position de jure may not exercise it for different reasons, or an independent country de jure It may not actually be so, since it functions as a satellite State of another.
Government de facto
as government de facto It is called one that establishes itself in a country or exercises its functions through deeds, that is to say: it holds and exercises power with all the mechanisms that are its own without the legal formalities that would have granted it legal legitimacy. In this sense, a government de facto He can access power in two ways: by the use of force, after a coup d’état, or by taking command after a power vacuum occurs. Thus, a government de facto It is anything that is established or exercised outside of legality or outside the law.