|The Private Attorney Generals Group|
1.according to rightful
entitlement or claim;
synonyms: by right,
according to the law;
antonyms: de facto
adjective: de jure;
1.denoting something or
someone that is rightfully such.
"He had been de jure king
since his father's death"
1.in fact, or in effect,
whether by right or not.
"the island has been
de facto divided into two countries"
De facto government.
A government de facto, One that maintains itself by a display of force against the will of the rightful legal government and is successful, at least temporarily, in overturning the institutions of the rightful legal government by setting up its own in lieu thereof. Wortham v. Walker, 133 Tex. 255, 128 S.W.2d 1138, 1145.
Black’s Law Dictionary 4th Edition (1951) page 504.
A government de facto is one deemed unlawful, but which is present or established.
Any established government, be it deemed lawful or not, is a government de facto. Austin, Jur. sec. vi. 336.
GOVERNMENT DE FACTO. A government of fact. A government actually exercising power and control in the state, as opposed to the true and lawful government; a government not established
according to the constitution of the state, or not lawfully entitled to recognition or supremacy, but which has nevertheless supplanted or displaced the government de jure. A government deemed unlawful, or deemed wrongful or unjust, which, nevertheless, receives presently habitual obedience from the bulk of the community. Aust. Jur. 324
Black's Law Dictionary Revised 4 th ed. ppg. 824, 825