The Law and the Person

A person

is an entity that has legal personality, meaning that it can possess legal rights, obligations, and powers.

Legal personality allows…

entities to engage in legal activities and be held accountable for their actions.

Legal personality refers to the capacity to:

• Have legal interests and rights.

• Suffer harm (and seek redress for such harm).

• Engage in rational and intentional action.

• Benefit from the law (rights) and be accountable to it (obligations).

Rights and Obligations of people

• Persons can be held responsible for their wrongdoings and are required to fulfill legal duties.

• They hold a patrimony (assets and liabilities) and have the legal standing to exercise their rights.

• A person is subject to both rights and obligations under the law.

Natural person

a human being, recognition of legal personality is essential for the enjoyment of all human rights.

Legal Person

Refers to artificial entities such as corporations, organizations, and governments, legal personality reflects their societal value and distinct identity.

Legal personality is essential for the recognition and exercise of individual rights such as:

• Right to life

• Right to property

• Freedom of speech

• Right to a nationality, etc

Legal personality is commenced at

birth

Article 1 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

Defines a child as any human under 18 years unless a majority age is established earlier by law.

Article 7 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

The child has the right to be registered immediately after birth, acquire a name and nationality, and know and be cared for by their parents.

The civil registry is responsible for

recording vital events such as birth, creating legal documents that protect individual rights and serve as a data source for vital statistics.

The purpose of birth registration is to

establish and protect legal rights from the moment of birth, such as identity, nationality, and legal recognition.

What legal fact ends legal personality

death

In special cases, such as disappearance where the body is not recovered, courts can issue

a presumption of death

nasciturus

conceived but unborn child

Legal status

person’s legal standing or condition within a specific legal context.

Legal Status determines a person’s

• legal dependence and the extent of their liability in various areas such as, Citizenship, residency, immigration status, marital status, legal capacity, etc.