De jure
De jure (in
Classical Latin de iure) is an expression that means "based on
law", as contrasted with
de facto, which means "in fact".
The terms
de jure and
de facto are used instead of "in principle" and "in practice", respectively, when one is describing
political situations.
De jure is also translated as "by law" and
de facto is also translated as "in practice". A practice may exist
de facto, where for example the people obey a contract as though there were a law enforcing it yet there is no such law. A process known as "
desuetude" may allow
de facto practices to replace obsolete laws. On the other hand, practices may exist
de jure and not be obeyed or observed by the people. The terms are also often used when discussing
institutionalized racism.
The Latin
de jure should not be confused with the
French du jour, which translates to "of the day", as, for example, in
soupe du jour.
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List of Latin phrases
