De jure

De jure (Latin: de jure , "by law") refers to something that is legally recognized, regardless of whether the situation exists in reality. In contrast to de facto ("in fact"), which describes situations that exist in reality, even if not legally recognized, de jure denotes formal, lawful authority or existence. This concept is used in various contexts, including law, governance, and property rights, to distinguish between legal rights and conditions as they are supposed to be and those that actually occur.

Overview

De jure standards or situations are those that are officially sanctioned by legal authority. For example, a government might be the de jure ruler of a country if it has been established and recognized through legal processes, even if it does not have de facto control over the country. Similarly, in the context of segregation, a de jure segregation would be segregation that is enforced by law, as opposed to de facto segregation, which occurs through social practices and attitudes without legal sanction.

Application in Law

In legal contexts, de jure is often used to refer to the official state of affairs according to the law or the constitution, as opposed to de facto, which refers to the state of affairs that actually exists on the ground. This distinction can be important in cases where the legality of a situation is challenged based on the difference between the de jure state and the de facto state.

De Jure vs. De Facto

The distinction between de jure and de facto is significant in various fields: - In jurisprudence, it can affect the legitimacy of a government or the validity of laws. - In civil rights, it helps differentiate between policies that are explicitly stated in law (de jure discrimination) and those that are practiced implicitly (de facto discrimination). - In property law, it distinguishes between the legal owner of a property (de jure) and the person who actually uses the property (de facto).

Examples

- De Jure Segregation: Racial segregation enforced by law, such as the Jim Crow laws in the United States, which mandated racial segregation in all public facilities in the states of the former Confederacy. - De Jure Government: A government that is legally recognized as the legitimate government of a territory but may not have actual control over the territory, possibly due to occupation by a foreign power.

See Also

• Legal positivism
• Legitimacy (political)
• Sovereignty
• Status quo