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A legal person, also called juridical person or juristic person, is a legal entity through which the law allows a group of natural persons to act as if they were a single composite individual for certain purposes, or in some jurisdictions, for a single person to have a separate legal personality other than their own. In Jurisprudence, a natural person is a human being perceptible through the senses and subject to physical laws as opposed to an artificial legal or juristic person The term person is used in Common sense to mean an individual Human being. [1] [2] This legal fiction does not mean these entities are human beings, but rather means that the law allows them to act as persons for certain limited purposes—most commonly lawsuits, property ownership, and contracts. In the Common law tradition legal fictions are suppositions of fact taken to be true by the Courts of Law, but which are not necessarily In law a lawsuit is a civil action brought before a Court in which the party commencing the action the Plaintiff, seeks a legal or equitable remedy Property is any physical or virtual entity that is owned by an individual A contract is an exchange of promises between two or more parties to do or refrain from doing an act which is enforceable in a court of law This concept is separate from and should not be confused with limited liability or the joint stock principle. Limited liability is a concept whereby a person's financial Liability is limited to a fixed sum most commonly the value of a person's investment in a company or partnership A joint stock company (JSC is a type of business entity it is a type of Corporation or Partnership. [3]. Also note that basic rights (like the rights to free speech and due process of law) do not necessarily follow from legal personhood. A legal person is sometimes called an artificial person or legal entity (although the latter is sometimes understood to include natural persons as well). In Jurisprudence, a natural person is a human being perceptible through the senses and subject to physical laws as opposed to an artificial legal or juristic person Although the concept of a legal person is more central to Western law in both common law and civil law countries, it is also found in virtually every legal system. Common law refers to law and the corresponding legal system developed through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive Civil law or Romano-Germanic law or Continental law is the predominant system of law in the world. [4]

In England and the United States, the use of this terminology does not mean that legal persons are considered human beings. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland The United States of America —commonly referred to as the It is simply a "technical legal meaning" in which "a 'person' is any subject of legal rights and duties. "[5] Because these entities may have legal rights and duties, they are considered 'legal persons' to distinguish them from natural persons.

Note: This Wikipedia entry deals with the legal concept legal person. There is an ongoing political debate and controversy in the U. S. over the extent to which constitutional rights presumed to have been created for natural persons have increasingly been asserted by corporations and other legal persons, popularly referred to as corporate personhood. For more information, see Corporate personhood debate. The corporate personhood debate refers to the controversy (primarily in the United States) over the question of what subset of rights afforded under the law to Natural

Contents

Examples

Legal personality refers to the ability of an organization to enter into legal transactions such as holding property or entering into debt. Some examples of legal persons include:

Not all organizations have legal personhood. Generally a company is a form of Business organization. The precise definition varies A corporation is a separate legal entity usually used to conduct business In English Law, a corporation sole is a legal entity consisting of a single ('sole' incorporated office occupied by a single ('sole' man or woman An estate is the Net worth of a person at any point in time It is the sum of a person's Assets - legal rights interests and entitlements to Property of A European Economic Interest Grouping (EEIG is a type of legal entity created on 1985-07-25 under European Union (EU Council Regulation 2137/85 A flow-through entity (FTE is a legal entity where income "flows through" to investors or owners that is the income of the entity is treated as the income of the A limited liability company (abbreviated LLC or LLC) in the law of the vast majority of the United States is a legal form of business Company A municipality is an administrative entity composed of a clearly defined territory and its population and commonly denotes a City, Town, or Village, or In Jurisprudence, a natural person is a human being perceptible through the senses and subject to physical laws as opposed to an artificial legal or juristic person For partnership in cricket terminology see List of cricket terms A partnership is a type of Business entity in which partners A political party is a Political organization that seeks to attain and maintain political power within Government, usually by participating in electoral In the US, a Political Action Committee, or PAC, is the name commonly given to a private group regardless of size organized to elect political candidates Sovereignty is the exclusive Right to control a Government, a country, a people or oneself A state is a political association with effective Sovereignty over a geographic Area and representing a Population. A temple (from the Latin word Templum) is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities such as prayer and sacrifice or analogous rites A trade union or labour union is an organization of workers who have banded together to achieve common goals in key areas such as wages hours and working conditions forming In Common law legal systems a trust is an arrangement whereby Property (including real tangible and intangible is managed by one person (or persons or organizations A ship /ʃɪp/ is a large vessel that floats on water Ships are generally distinguished from Boats based on size Church (disambiguation A religious denomination is a subgroup within a Religion that operates under a common name tradition and identity For example, the board of directors of a corporation, legislature, or governmental agency typically are not legal persons in that they have no ability to exercise legal rights independent of the corporation or political body which they are a part of. One consequence of this is that lawsuits against a government agency typically are not directed at that agency but rather at a particular person within that agency that exercises governmental authority.

Creation and history of the doctrine

In the common law tradition, only a person could sue or be sued. This was not a problem in the era before the Industrial Revolution, when the typical business venture was either a sole proprietorship or partnership—the owners were simply liable for the debts of the business. The Industrial Revolution was a period in the late 18th and early 19th centuries when major changes in agriculture manufacturing and transportation had a profound effect on the A sole proprietorship, or simply proprietorship ( Benjamen Clark For partnership in cricket terminology see List of cricket terms A partnership is a type of Business entity in which partners A feature of the corporation, however, is that the owners/shareholders enjoyed limited liability—the owners were not liable for the debts of the company. Limited liability is a concept whereby a person's financial Liability is limited to a fixed sum most commonly the value of a person's investment in a company or partnership Thus, when a corporation breached a contract or broke a law, there was no remedy, because limited liability protected the owners and the corporation wasn't a legal person subject to the law. There was no accountability for corporate wrong-doing.

To resolve the issue, the legal personality of a corporation was established to include five legal rights -- the right to a common treasury or chest (including the right to own property), the right to a corporate seal (i. e. , the right to make and sign contracts), the right to sue and be sued (to enforce contracts), the right to hire agents (employees) and the right to make by-laws (self-governance).

Since the 1800s, legal personhood has been further construed to make it a citizen, resident, or domiciliary of a state (usually for purposes of personal jurisdiction). Personal jurisdiction in United States law refers to a court's power over a particular defendant ( In personam jurisdiction or an item of property In Louisville, C. & C. R. Co. v. Letson, 2 How. 497, 558, 11 L. Ed. 353 (1844), the U. S. Supreme Court held that for the purposes of the case at hand, a corporation is “capable of being treated as a citizen of [the State which created it], as much as a natural person. ” Ten years later, they reaffirmed the result of Letson, though on the somewhat different theory that “those who use the corporate name, and exercise the faculties conferred by it,” should be presumed conclusively to be citizens of the corporation's State of incorporation. Marshall v. Baltimore & Ohio R. Co. , 16 How. 314, 329, 14 L. Ed. 953 (1854). These concepts have been superseded by statute, since U. S. jurisdictional statutes specifically address the domicile of corporations.

Limitations

There are limitations to the legal recognition of legal persons. Legal entities cannot marry, they usually cannot vote or hold public office,[7] and in most jurisdictions there are certain positions which they cannot occupy. NOTICE TO WOULD-BE ROMEOS ************** Public administration can be broadly described as the development implementation and study of branches of government Policy. [8] The extent to which a legal entity can commit a crime varies from country to country. In Criminology, corporate crime refers to crimes committed either by a Corporation (i Certain countries prohibit a legal entity from holding human rights; other countries permit artificial persons to enjoy certain protections from the state that are traditionally described as human rights. Human rights refers to the "basic Rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled [9]

Special rules related to legal persons in relation to the law of defamation. Defamation is the area of law in which a person's reputation has been unlawfully damaged. This is considered an ill in itself in regard to natural person, but a legal person is required to show actual or likely monetary loss before a suit for defamation will succeed. [10]

Extension of basic rights to legal persons

United States

In part based on the principle that legal persons are simply organizations of human individuals, and in part based on the history of statutory interpretation of the word "person," the U. S. Supreme Court has repeatedly held that certain constitutional rights protect legal persons (like corporations and other organizations). Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad is sometimes cited for this finding, because the court reporter's comments included a statement the Chief Justice made before oral arguments began, telling the attorneys during pre-trial that "the court does not wish to hear argument on the question whether the provision in the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which forbids a State to deny any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws, applies to these corporations. Santa Clara County v Southern Pacific Railroad Company, was a United States Supreme Court case dealing with taxation of railroad properties The Fourteenth Amendment ( Amendment XIV) to the United States Constitution is one of the post- Civil War Reconstruction Amendments, first We are all of the opinion that it does. " Later opinions misinterpreted these pre-argument comments as part of the legal decision. [11] As a result, because of the First Amendment, Congress can't make a law restricting the free speech of a corporation, a political action group or dictating the coverage of a local newspaper. [12] Because of the Due Process Clause, a state government can't take the property of a corporation without using due process of law and providing just compensation. These protections apply to all legal entities, not just corporations.

People's Republic of China

For a typical example of the concept of legal person in a civil law jurisdiction, under the General Principles of Civil Law of the People's Republic of China, "[j]uristic persons are organs which possess the capacity for civil rights and the capacity for civil activity, and in accordance with the law, independently enjoy civil rights and undertake civil obligations. The General Principles of the Civil Law of the People's Republic of China ( Chinese: 中华人民共和国民法通则 is a law in the PRC promulgated in "[13] Note however that the term civil right means something altogether different in civil law jurisdictions than in common law jurisdictions.

Controversies about "corporate personhood" in the U. S. A.

Main article: Corporate personhood debate

Since the mid-1800s, 'corporate personhood' has become increasingly controversial, as courts have extended other rights to the corporation beyond those necessary to ensure their liability for debts. The corporate personhood debate refers to the controversy (primarily in the United States) over the question of what subset of rights afforded under the law to Natural Other commentators argue that corporate personhood is not a fiction anymore—it simply means that for some legal purposes, "person" has now a wider meaning than it has in non-legal uses. Some groups and individuals (including the American Green Party[14]) have objected to "corporate personhood. One of the Political parties in the United States, and similar in mission to many of the worldwide Green Parties, the Greens have been active as a third party "

In part as a matter of subsequent interpretations of the word "person" in the Fourteenth Amendment, U. S. courts have extended certain constitutional protections to corporations. Opponents of "corporate personhood" don't necessarily want to eliminate legal entities, but do want to limit these rights to those provided by state constitutions through constitutional amendment. [15] Often, this is motivated by a desire to restrict the political speech and donations of corporations, interest groups, lobbyists, and political parties. An interest group (also advocacy group, lobby group, pressure group or special interest group) is an organized collection of people who seek Lobbying includes all attempts to influence Legislators and officials whether by other legislators constituents or organized groups A political party is a Political organization that seeks to attain and maintain political power within Government, usually by participating in electoral Social commentator Thom Hartmann is among those that share this view. Thom Hartmann (born May 7, 1951) is an American radio host, Author, and liberal Political commentator. [16] Because legal persons have limited "free speech" rights, legislation meant to eliminate campaign contributions by legal persons (notably, corporations and labor unions) has been repeatedly struck down by various courts.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ For example, under English law this is referred to as a corporation sole. The corporate personhood debate refers to the controversy (primarily in the United States) over the question of what subset of rights afforded under the law to Natural Human rights refers to the "basic Rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled The Equal Protection Clause, part of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, provides that "no state shall… deny to any person This is a list of all the United States Supreme Court cases from volume 118 English law is the legal system of England and Wales, and is the basis of Common law legal systems used in most Commonwealth countriesand the In English Law, a corporation sole is a legal entity consisting of a single ('sole' incorporated office occupied by a single ('sole' man or woman
  2. ^ Common examples are corporations, ecclesiastical offices, such as the Bishop of Durham, or certain statutory offices, such as the Traffic Director for London. See also List of Bishops of Durham The Bishop of Durham is the Anglican Bishop responsible for the Diocese of Durham in
  3. ^ See, e. g. , [1]
  4. ^ The Juristic Person. I, George F. Deiser , University of Pennsylvania Law Review and American Law Register, Vol. 57, No. 3, Volume 48 New Series. (Dec. , 1908), pp. 131-142. Stable URL: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0749-9833%28190812%2957%3A3%3C131%3ATJPI%3E2.0.CO%3B2-3
  5. ^ John Chipman Gray, The Nature and Sources of the Law (Roland Gray ed. John Chipman Gray ( July 14, 1839 &ndash February 25, 1915) was an American scholar of Property law and professor at Harvard , MacMillan 1921)
  6. ^ Williams v The Shipping Corporation of India (US District Court, Eastern District Virginia), 10 March 1980, 63 ILR 363
  7. ^ In Hong Kong, artificial persons are granted the right to vote in functional constituencies elections. In the political systems of Hong Kong and Macau, a functional constituency is a professional or special interest group involved in the electoral process
  8. ^ These restrictions vary from country to country. Some countries do not permit a corporate entity to be a director or a liquidator while others do. In Law, a liquidator is the officer appointed when a company goes into winding-up or Liquidation who has responsibility for collecting in all of the assets
  9. ^ Most commonly in the area of taxation and in relation to search warrants. A search warrant is a Court order issued by a Judge or Magistrate that authorizes law enforcement to conduct a Search
  10. ^ New Zealand Defamation Act 1992, s 6.
  11. ^ See, e. g. , Noble v. Union River Logging
  12. ^ First Nat. Bank of Boston v. Bellotti
  13. ^ Gary J. Dernelle. "DIRECT FOREIGN INVESTMENT AND CONTRACTUAL RELATIONS IN THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA. " DePaul Business Law Journal, Spring/Summer 1994. (6 DePaul Bus. L. J. 331)
  14. ^ Green Party USA Platform
  15. ^ For example, the organization ReclaimDemocracy. org has such a proposal on their website
  16. ^ Thom Hartmann's website

References

Dictionary

legal person

-noun

  1. (law) An organisation or a group of people who have (some of) the legal rights and responsibilities of an individual under the law.
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