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government de facto

A government that unlawfully gets possession and control of the rightful legal government, and maintains itself there, by force and arms, against the will of the rightful government, and claims to exercise the powers thereof. A government de facto is such as exists after it has expelled the regularly constituted authorities in their places, so as to represent in fact the sovereignty of the nation.

Source : William C. Anderson, A Dictionary of Law (1893)

Language : English

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