6. Legal Capacity Flashcards
How does a person’s legal status, such as nationality or marital status, affect their legal capacity? Provide examples where legal status significantly impacts a person’s capacity to act.
Legal Status:
- Nationality
- Marital Status
Effect and Examples:
- Nationality affects which laws are applicable to you and the jurisdictions that you can be tried in
- Marital status affects your property rights and liability
Discuss the role of the Civil Registry in maintaining and proving legal status. Why is this an important aspect of legal capacity?
Civil Registry’s Role:
- Recording and keeping tabs on events such as birth, life, and death (all key to proving your legal status)
- Establishes identity and legal capacity (ability to understand and act in the legal system)
What are the key factors that determine a person’s legal capacity to make decisions and enter into contracts? How do these factors vary across different legal systems?
Key Factors:
- Age
- Mental ability
- Others (specific status or qualifications)
Variance:
- Requirements vary across different systems (drinking age in U.S vs. in Europe)
- Dictate whether or not you can enter contracts depending on the place
Legal status is described as unique, inalienable, unseizable, and imprescriptible. Can you explain these characteristics and their significance in the context of private law?
Attributes:
- Unique (cannot have more than one status at a time)
- Inalienable (cannot be transferred)
- Unseizable (cannot be stolen)
- Imprescriptible (cannot be lost over time)
- Ensure consistence maintenance of legal status
How does legal capacity influence a person’s ability to make decisions in various life aspects such as healthcare, finance, and personal matters? What is the role of informed consent in this context?
Impact:
- Legal capacity influences decision-making ability in financial, healthcare, and personal issues
Informed Consent:
- Crucial to gather informed consent
- Understanding that a person’s decision has implications that will affect them
Discuss the presumption of capacity in adults and how legal capacity can vary depending on the jurisdiction and specific cases. What are some examples of these variations?
Presumption:
- Adults presumed to have legal capacity
- For it not to be the case, the opposite must be proven
Variations:
- Sometimes elders have their legal capacity revoked at a certain age, when they cannot identify what is best for them and others
What happens when a person lacks legal capacity? Discuss the role of guardians or conservators in such situations.
Lack of Legal Capacity:
- Guardian/conservator appointed
- Make decisions on behalf of incapable person
- Ensure welfare and promote best interests
How do legal systems differentiate between majority and minority in terms of legal capacity? Discuss the gradual acquisition of legal personality by minors.
Majority:
- Granting of full legal capacity
Minority:
- Gradual obtention
- The older you get, the more things you can consent to
How does the concept of patria potestas or parental authority affect the legal capacity of minors? Discuss its implications in modern legal systems.
Patria Potestas:
- Parents have rights and reponsibilities over children’s decisions
- Impact ability to consent and fully engage in the system
- Can be extended if the child is still dependant (financially) on the parents upon becoming of age
What are the legal implications of contracts entered by minors? Discuss the differences in approach between civil law and common law systems.
Requirements:
- Parental or guardian consent -> civil law
- Contracts for necessities granted to minors (can be voidable) -> common law
Capacity to enter:
- Varies among systems
- Common law: enter contracts for necessities and benefits, voidable if it is not a necessity
Legal Capacity Case. Is Emily, as a minor, legally bound by the apartment lease agreement. Is the lease a necessary? Is this contract null and void or voidable? What would your answer be if she turned 18 in October?
Facts:
-Emily, 17, college student, entered lease agreement with Alex. No guarantor (adult). $300 deposit, $550 rent. Moved out back with parents, Alex leased to another.
- Alex claims Emily for unpaid rent from December to June; Emily turned 18 in February.
Decision:
- Apartment is not a necessity (she has parents’ place to fall back on), contract is voidable
- Voidable because she did not ratify it and is a minor
- If she turned 18 in October it would ratify
- The more complex a contract gets, the less of a necessity it is
