De facto

De facto is a Latin expression that means "in fact" or "in practice". It is commonly used in contrast to de jure (meaning "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.

Other usages

Another common usage of the term de facto is "de facto segregation": users of a given library or school tend to be residents of that neighborhood, and thus such facilities tend to become racially or ethnically segregated without "de jure segregation" (which would require segregation by force of law).

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A nation with de facto independence is one that is not recognised by any de jure independent nation or by any international bodies, even though its government is separate from that of the "parent nation" and exercises absolute control over its claimed territory.

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A de facto monopoly or oligopoly is a system where multiple or infinite players are allowed, but there is little regulation (or few antitrust laws in general or in the specific economic sector, especially in the utilities) or where antitrust law is not applied.

Related Topics:
Monopoly - Oligopoly - Regulation - Antitrust - Utilities

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One's unmarried partner is referred to as the de facto husband or wife by some authorities. This has passed into Australian 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.

Related Topics:
Unmarried - Partner - Australia - English-speaking

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Another example of de jure and de facto is that de jure a baseball game can go forever (if, for example, a team never incurs an out) but de facto it comes to an end in one way or another.

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