Explain the significance of legal personality. as part of your Essay

Explain the significance of legal personality. as part of your explanation you should identify why certain categories of people - Essay Example Consequently, some humans are assigned the label of limited legal personality, having limited rights in comparison with other humans. For example, law does not allow a bankrupt to become a director of a company, or a magistrate or a Member of Parliament. Also, mentally ill person has an insufficient legal capacity; consequently, he or she is disallowed to enter into a contractual relationship with any party. In the following pages, this paper is going to explain natural and artificial legal personalities and limitations on some legal personalities. Natural legal personality with beginning and end of life A natural legal personality comes with certain legal rights and obligations. Such legal rights are assigned to natural persons who qualify to have a legal capacity. The legal capacity is considerably helpful while deciding the rights and duties; depending on different social roles such as father and husband, employer and employee, voter and householder. However, law on the basis of o ccupation, age, sex, income, nationality and other relevant identifications that can be considered appropriate and relevant by the law makers, ascertain legal rights and obligations. Legal rights can only be assigned to living persons. However, some law makers may argue that an unborn foetus can have life as he or she can breathe. But, still the law has not assigned the legal status to an unborn foetus of being a legal person. Law has not defined death. There is not an exact definition that can bring an end to a natural legal personality. In history, heart beating has been used to ascertain the occurrence of death when the heart beating stops. However, the latest medicine advancement has also ensured the functioning of heart with the use of machine. Case law: R v Malcherek and Steel [1981] 1 WLR 690 Facts: A woman was stabbed by a man. She was kept alive with the help of a life-support machine, however her brain was dead. Held: Lord Chief Justice Lane, in the Court of Appeal, define d death. In the verdict, the Lord Lane remarked that death legally occurs when by the irreversible death of the brain stem, whose function is to direct the basic body function like breathing. After death-legal personality Law has not defined an unlimited type of natural legal personality. And, this limited legal personality is relevant even after the occurrence of death. The testator, a person who wrote the will, may be allowed to receive the same legal rights after his or her death in case he or she wants to distribute property according to the wishes. The court will ensure the according implementation of the terms mentioned in the will document. In this way, a possibility of dispute is considerably reduced which normally occurs in the process of property sharing. Natural legal personality: limitations Some legal personalities have limitations. And these limitations do not allow them to have the same sort of legal rights and duties given to other persons. It is their insufficient l egal capacity that disallows them to enter into a legally binding contractual relationship. Bankrupts A person who is unable to pay liabilities is declared as bankrupt by the court. As a result of such bankruptcy, the person is disallowed to become an MP, or a magistrate, or a director of a company. Mentally ill Mentally ill person has an insufficient legal capacity to understand the resultant implications of his actions. Consequently, the law does not