De facto
De facto is a Latin locution that literally means 'in fact', that is, by force of facts, although it lacks legal recognition. It is opposed to de iure, which means 'by right'. This phrase is fully incorporated into the Spanish language but, according to the Ortografía de la lengua española (2010) of the RAE, this phrase must be written in italics.
Uses
A de facto situation is one that, existing in reality, has not been formally recognized, either through current legal mechanisms or by the competent authority. For example, a person may be holding a de facto position without said position having formal recognition through appointment by the corresponding authority or employment contract. A country can be de facto independent, without formal recognition by the United Nations or other countries. A common-law marriage could be considered a de facto marriage, since it behaves like such a marriage in many aspects of its personal, family and social life, but without legal recognition of a relationship.
A common case of use of this expression is that of de facto governments. A de facto government is for having taken power after a coup as is the case with dictatorships, or simply the one that occupies a power vacuum at a given moment. The de facto government holds and exercises power with all the mechanisms of a government, but it does not have legal legitimacy to exercise said power and the legal acts for its proclamation, if any, were not adjusted to the law in force at that time.
Another common usage is de facto standards. A de facto standard is one that, without having the formal endorsement of an institutional authority or standardization body, is widely used in its field, be it commerce, technology, computing, or any other. Some examples of de facto standards are the TCP/IP protocols, the architecture of the IBM PC, or the meaning of the icons that indicate ladies' and gentlemen's toilets in many places.
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