"suo jure" vs. "de jure"

[bx...@yahoo.com]

What is the difference between these two terms?

Thanks.

Brooke

[Windemere]

I've always considered 'de jure' to mean 'by law', and to apply to someone who holds a title by legal right, even if they do not exercise the actual authority that goes with the title. It's counterpart is 'de facto', which refers to someone who actually does exercise the authority that goes with a title, whether or not they actually legally hold the title.

I think 'suo jure' means 'in one's own right'.  It almost always refers to a female title-holder who holds the title in her own right, and not by marriage. A synonym might be 'regnant'. The counterpart would be 'jure uxoris', meaning 'by right of one's wife', and would apply to a male title-holder who gains his title by marriage to a wife, who is the actual (suo jure) title-holder. 'Jure uxoris' hardly ever happens nowadays, though it did occasionally happen in the past. 

[malcolm davies]

Brooke,

             “suo jure” means in one’s own right,and his frequently used to describe female peers eg the wife of Warwick the Kingmaker was described as Countes of Salisbury suo jure having inherited the earldom from her sister.Her husband before he inherited the Earldom of Warwick was Earl of Salisbury jure uxoris,ie in right of his wife.

De jure  means lawful in the context of peerages and can be found where the holder of a title was attainted and the title restored to his descendants.Those descendants who were not able to use the title during their lives are referred to as the de jure ( whatever the title).Another situation is where the title became dormant and was later successfully claimed by a descendant-thus various members of the Courtenay family are described as de jure 2nd Earl,3rd Earl,4th Earl,5th Earl &6th Earls of Devon.

De jure is also used in international law,where countries are recognised as either de jure, meaning they are recognised as the lawful government of a country or de facto which means that their possession of the country is recognised,but not its lawfulness

[bx...@yahoo.com]

Thanks, Windemere and malcolm.

My question is this: when it comes to women who are peers in their own right, can the terms be used interchangeably?  I ask this because it seems that the Complete Peerage uses "suo jure", while Burke's ,Debrett's and other sources (like Weir) seems to use "de jure".

Thanks again.

Brooke

[Windemere]

I think that in those cases the terms would indeed seem to be almost interchangeable. The suo jure peeress would be a peeress in her own right, and the de jure peeress would be a peeress recognised as such by the law.

[Windemere]

I think another example of a jure uxoris title may have occurred when Felipe of Spain married Queen Mary I of England, and Felipe thereby became King jure uxoris (in right of his wife). I don't think Felipe was ever created King of England in his own right, though Parliament may well have officially  recognised his title of King by marriage to Mary, the regnant (suo jure) Queen.  Certainly after Mary's death, he was no longer recognised as King of England. He did of course later become King of Spain in his own right.