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The term ''de facto'' may also be used when there is no relevant law or standard, but a common practice is well established, although not universal.
== Examples ==
=== Standards ===
{{Main|De facto standard}}
A <i>[[de facto standard]]</i> is a [[standard]] (formal or informal) that has achieved a dominant position, as a [[tradition]], or by [[coercion|enforcement]], or market dominance. It has not necessarily received formal approval by way of a [[standardization]] process, and may not be an [[De jure|official]] [[standard]] document.
In [[social sciences]], it is a usual solution for a [[coordination problem]].<ref>Edna Ullmann-Margalit: ''The Emergence of Norms'', Oxford Un. Press, 1977. (or Clarendon Press 1978)</ref> ''De facto standard'' is the better [[decision making|choice]] into situations in which all parties can realize mutual gains only by making mutually consistent decisions.
=== National languages ===
{{refimprove|section|date=March 2007}}
Several de facto [[English language|English]]-speaking countries, including the [[United Kingdom]] and [[Australia]] have no de jure official national language. In [[New Zealand]], there are three official languages (English, Maori and sign). In the [[United States]], twenty five [[U.S. States|states]] have declared English an official language, with [[Hawaii]] using [[Hawaiian language|Hawaiian]] and English as official languages. However, two US states also have de facto second languages: [[Spanish language|Spanish]] in [[New Mexico]] and [[French language|French]] in [[Louisiana]].
Similarly, in the former [[Soviet Union]], [[Russian language|Russian]] was the official language de facto, but not de jure. [[Sweden]] is another example of a country with no language recognized de jure.
[[Lebanon]] and [[Morocco]] are two more examples, where in both countries the official language is [[Arabic language|Arabic]] but an additional de facto language is considered to be [[French language|French]].
=== 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 really act in their stead.<ref> 30 Am Jur 181. Law Dictionary, James A. Ballentine, Second Edition, 1948, page 345. </ref>
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.
Not all [[dictator]]s are de facto rulers. For example, [[Augusto Pinochet]] of [[Chile]] initially came to power as the chairperson 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 [[President of Iraq|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 Emperor|Tongzhi]] and nephew [[Guangxu Emperor|Guangxu]] Emperors), Prince [[Alexander Menshikov]] (for his former lover Empress [[Catherine I]] of Russia), [[Cardinal Richelieu]] of France (for [[Louis XIII of France|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 assessment of their power. Terms like [[strongman (politics)|strongman]] or dictator are often used to refer to de facto rulers of this sort.
The term ''[[de facto head of state]]'' is sometimes used to describe the office of a [[governor general]] in the [[Commonwealth Realm]]s, since the holder of that office has the same responsibilities in their country as the de jure head of state (the [[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|sovereign]]) does within the [[United Kingdom]].
In the [[Westminster System]] of government, [[executive authority]] is often split between a de jure executive authority of a [[head of state]] and a de facto executive authority of a [[Prime Minister]] and [[Cabinet]] who implement executive powers in the name of the de jure executive authority. In the United Kingdom, the [[British Sovereign]] is the de jure executive authority, even though executive decisions are made by the [[British Prime Minister|Prime Minister]] and his [[Cabinet of the United Kingdom|Cabinet]] on the Sovereign's behalf, hence the term "[[Her Majesty's Government]]".
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 surveyed and its exact position is unclear. The same concepts may also apply to a boundary between provinces or other subdivisions of a [[federation|federal state]].
Similarly, a nation with de facto independence, like [[Somaliland]], 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 ===
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 [[United States antitrust law|antitrust]] laws are intended to eliminate, when they are used.
A [[domestic partnership|domestic partner]] outside [[marriage]] is referred to as a de facto husband or wife by some authorities.<ref>Walker Lenore E.A. "Battered Woman Syndrome. Empirical Findings". ''Violence and Exploitation Against Women and Girls'', November 2006, page 142.</ref> In [[Australia]] and [[New Zealand]], ''de facto'' has become a term for one's domestic partner. It is a legally recognised relationship of a couple living together in Australian law, e.g. "This is my defacto, Rachel". This is equivalent to the term ''common-law'' husband or wife used in most other [[English language|English-speaking]] countries.
Countries sometimes receive de facto (informal) recognition from other countries which may lead to de jure (formal) recognition.
== References==
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