Persons ordinarily mean any living human beings. Law however gives a wide interpretation to the term. In law, persons include any human being or body or other things which the law recognises as having rights and duties. Examples of bodies or things recognised by law as having legal personality are companies registered under the Companies Acts and other bodies brought into existence by royal charter. Some legal systems even give personality to idols. Animals are however not endowed with legal personality but with legal rights and no duties in any meaningful way. Personality could be considered along the following lines:
Natural persons would be classified into five different categories based on their different degrees of rights and duties. Natural person in this sense prefers to human beings or persons created by God. The relative rights and duties of the five different categories are now examined.
1. Unborn child: The position of unborn child is not clear as far as the question of rights and duties are concerned. A child still in the mother’s womb (otherwise called “en ventre sa mere”) is recognised for the purpose of rights to property, but there is no conclusive answer to the question whether an unborn has a personal right. An unborn child has only a contingent as distinct from a vested interest in property. Unless the child survives childbirth the interest in property does not become vested. In the same vein, where a child ‘en ventre sa mere’ has sustained any injury as a result of negligence of others he can only enforce his right against the tort person only if he survives child birth. Again, the right is a contingent one. Abortion is considered as a crime not so much to protect the right of the unborn child but as a protection of society generally as it is not considered to be in the public interest that mothers should have an unrestricted right to abortion.
2. Dead persons: Generally, dead persons are not treated as having rights and duties under the law. The few exceptions to the general rule in this respect include:
- A man is divested of all his legal rights and duties immediately he dies, but in reality the rights, which he had, must be respected when he dies, and his obligations must generally be fulfilled either by his executor or administrator.
- Every person has a legal right to decent burial.
3. Minor: Minors are persons under the age of eighteen. The rights and duties of a minor differ from those of adults in many ways:
- In criminal law, there is an irrefutable presumption that a child under 10 cannot be guilty of crime; a child between 10 and 14 cannot commit crime, but this presumption could be rebutted; children over 14 years are generally liable for their crime, but again special treatment is usually available for a child.
- In contract, except in respect of contract for the supply of necessaries, a minor cannot be bound in contract. Any other contract with a minor is therefore either void abinitio or voidable.
- In tort, there is no restriction to the rights of a minor except that he must bring action through his best friend (usually the parents or guardian); he is also liable to be sued.
- A minor cannot vote or sit in the parliament.
- He cannot sit in jury.
- A minor cannot make a will unless he is a member of the Armed Services on active military service or a seaman at sea.
4. Mentally disordered persons: Insane person like minors have restricted right and duties.
- In criminal law, depending on when the insanity is confirmed, and the extent of insanity, most usually, where the defendant is discovered to be insane during trial, he will be transferred to mental hospital and will be found not guilty. Where it is discovered before trial, he will be transferred to hospital and the proceeding will not continue.
- Except for contract for supply of necessaries, all contract made with an insane person is either void or voidable.
- In tort, an insane person (through his guardian “ad litem”) can be sued. The court will however be slow to find them guilty of such offence.
- Like a minor, an insane person cannot vote or sit in parliament and he cannot sit in jury also.
5. Normal adult person: A normal adult person is a person above the age of eighteen years and who does not suffer from any mental disabilities. He is bound by all the duties and has all the rights of an ordinary citizen. Most commonly, an individual would have a single legal personality and hence all his personal rights and duties. It is also possible for an individual to have a double personality e.g. an executor/administrator. Thus apart from his personal rights and duties, he also has right to administer the estate of the deceased.
Non-natural persons (corporations)
These are otherwise known as bodies’ politics or bodies created by policy of men. They could also be described as artificial persons. They are recognised by law as having rights and duties like human beings, though not to the same extent. A corporation cannot vote or sit in parliament for instance, but they can sue and be sued.
Corporations could be broadly divided into two, namely corporation sole and corporation aggregate.
- A corporation sole is an incorporated series of successive persons, the series having only one member at a time e.g. the sovereign who, at any point in time, is represented by a King or Queen. Other examples are Heads of Government and Ministers.
- A corporation aggregate is an incorporated group of co-existing persons. The most important are companies registered under the Companies’ Act, municipal corporations and chartered associations.
A corporation has a separate and distinct personality from individual members or shareholders that own the company. As limited liability companies, the liability of shareholders is limited to their paid up capital. The worst that can happen in case of bankruptcy is that a shareholder will lose the value of his paid up capital in the company.
It is possible for a company to be partly or wholly owned by another. For example, owners/shareholders are constantly changing due to buying and selling of shares. It must be recognised that not all companies have legal personalities. Partnership and syndicates are typical examples. Unlike shareholders in limited liability companies, the liability of a partner is not limited to his share in the company. Partners are jointly and severally liable for their debts up to the extent of their personal fortunes.
Having recognised the fact that a corporation has a distinct personality from the individual shareholders owning the company, it should also be recognised that in view of the artificial nature of personality, the duties and rights of a company is exercised or enforced through human agency – usually the Board of Directors and Management. It must also be noted that the relationship between the company and the individuals is not that of principal/agent in the sense that the company has no mind of its own other than that of the individuals whose wills automatically become the will of the company. There is however limits to what a company can do. It is usual to state such limitations in the documents of registration or formation. Anything done outside the scope of the company’s operations, as defined, is “Ultra Vires”, i.e. beyond its powers.
Some of the notable advantages of incorporation are that it:
- allows laws to deal with a situation where a large number of persons are engaged in common enterprises.
- creates legal person, which is permanent in character.
- allows persons to trade with limited liability.
- allows for continuity.
Corporations may become extinct in the following ways:
- Compulsory liquidation.
- Forfeiture of character of incorporation.
- Merger and takeover bids.
- Voluntary dissolution.
This is the most important organ in any society. Apart from the traditional function of defending the society from outside attack as well as preserving law and order at home, it is now also concerned with much of the nation’s economic and social life. The State is the largest employer of labour and because of its liability to raise taxes; the State is also the greatest owner of wealth.
In ordinary sense, the State consists of all members of society as a whole, but in law, the State is represented by the Crown. Thus the State acts through the agencies of the Crown. Most public property is owned by the crown. The national debt is equally the liability of the crown. The crown is in effect the trustee for the State, owning its’ properties, possessing its rights and being responsible for its liabilities. It is however necessary to distinguish between the personal rights and duties of individual representing the crown at any one time from his public right and duties. In order words, such an individual could be deemed to possess two personalities. The crown is an example of corporation sole. In effect the crown survives individual Kings and Queens.
The State, like other personalities has rights and duties. The law made it possible to sue the crown by normal process and under the usual rules of the court. With certain exceptions, the crown is liable in tort as if it were a natural person of full age and capacity. Actions against the crown are commenced in the appropriate courts in the same way as if the defendant were ordinary individuals. Such action is usually brought against the Minister or the Attorney General. The only doubt remaining is the extent to which judgment could be enforced against the State not withstanding that crown always abides by the decisions of the courts, subject to the same rights of appeal as are available to people in general.
Unincorporated associations are corporations without legal personality. They have no legal rights and duties. The law looks at them as collection of individuals rather than a separate legal entity with rights and duties. Typical examples of unincorporated associations are social clubs, partnerships, syndicates and trade unions.
In view of the lack of separate legal entity, the property of such association is regarded as joint property of all members, so also is the liabilities. Each and every one is severally and jointly liable for the profit and liabilities of such associations. A third party dealing with Unincorporated Association is put at a disadvantage in the sense that he has no right against the association as such, but against person(s) who contracted with him personally. Unlike corporations, liabilities of members are unlimited.
Not all unincorporated associations are however treated in the same manner. Whilst not assuming the same level of recognition as corporations, partnerships and trade unions are given certain level of recognition. For instance, there are legal provisions relating to formation of partnership including the need to have a written Article of Association. Similarly, Trade Unions are accorded certain special privileges, which include:
- Legal recognition
- Ability to make valid contract
- Ability to sue and be sued in their own name
- Ability to vest property in trustee
- Immunity not to be sued for matters done in contemplation or furtherance of trade dispute.
- Ability to avoid contract with employers unless agreed upon in writing and specifically stated as binding.
- A natural person is a human being and he has natural powers, i.e. he can do anything except what the law forbids.
- A legal person is a person artificially created by law and he is subject normally to the ultra vires rules.
- A corporation is a legal person created by either royal charter, act of parliament registration.
Not all natural persons possess the same legal right and duties. Consideration is given to the following:
- Monarch in his personal capacity: a monarch has personal immunity from legal proceedings.
- Criminals: crimes are offences against the state. The object of criminal proceedings is to punish the offender. Therefore criminals have altered legal rights because of the crimes they have committed.
- Insane people: insane people are subject to various disabilities in English law. Examples (1) a marriage contracted by an insane person is void if at the time of contracting it he was unable to appreciate its nature (ii) an insane person is not responsible for a criminal offence committed by him if he was unaware at the time of committing it what he was doing or if he was unaware that he was doing wrong.
- Individuals under the influence of drugs: in R.V. Lipman 1969, the defendant was found guilty of manslaughter when he killed a friend on a LSD induced ‘trip’ thinking that he was in fact fighting snakes.
- Enemy aliens: contracts entered into with enemy aliens are void.
- Diplomatic staff: they possess immunities from legal proceedings because of their diplomatic status.
Legal rights and duties may alter depending on the branch of law involved. Examples are in contracts, tort and crime. The Infants Relief Act 1974 provided in section 1 that all contracts made by infants for “money lent or to be lent, or for goods supplied or to be supplied … and all accounted stated with infants” should for the future be” absolutely void”. By section 2 of the act it was provided that no one should, upon attaining his majority, be permitted to ratify (affirm) a contract made during infancy. Example: Mercantile Union Guarantee Corporation Limited v. Ball (1937).
