Juristic Person

Juristic Person
1. Introduction:
The word “Person” is derived from the Latin word “Persona”. Under a
legal theory, a person is any being who is capable of sustaining rights
and duties. At common law persons are divided into different kinds and
different attributes given to them.
2. Definition of Person:
I. According to Salmond:
“A person is any being whom the law regards as capable of rights
or duties. Any being that is so capable is a person whether a human
being or not so capable is a person even though he is a man.”
II. According to Gray:

“Person is an entity to whom rights and duties may be
attributed.”
III. Savigny has defined person as the subject or bearer of right. But
Holland has criticized this definition on the ground that persons are not
subject to rights alone but also duties. He says: the right not only
resides in, but is also available against persons.
3. Kinds of Person:
Following are the kinds of person as recognized by law:

I. Natural Person
II. Legal Person
I. Natural Person:
According to Holland “A natural person is such a human being as is

regarded by the law as capable of rights and duties.”
Natural persons are living human beings recognized as persons by
the state.
(i) Requisites of human being:
Following are the requisites of normal human being:

(a) He must be recognized as possessing a sufficient state to enable him
to possess rights and duties.
(b) He must be born alive.
(c) He must possess essentially human characteristics.
II. Juristic Person:
Juristic persons are also known as artificial, Legal or fictitious persons.

They are real or imaginary beings to whom personality is attributed by
law by way of fiction, where it does not exist in fact.
They are also defined as those things, mass of property, group of
human beings or an institution upon whom the law has conferred a
legal status and who are in the eye of law capable of having rights and
duties as natural persons.
Artificial person is an entity created by law and given certain legal
rights and duties of a human being. It can be real or imaginary and for
the purpose of legal reasoning is treated more or less as a human
being. For example, corporation, company etc.
A juristic person is a non-human legal entity, in other words any
organization that is not a single natural person but is authorized by law
with duties and rights and is recognized as a legal person and as
having a distinct identity.
So, we can rightly say that the legal entity has a distinct existence,
independent from its members or shareholders, it possesses property in
its own name, acquires rights, assumes obligations and responsibilities,
signs contracts and agreements, and can be sued or
institute legal proceedings exactly like a natural person.
A. Essentials of Legal Person:
Following are the essentials of legal person:
1. Firstly, there must be a group or body of human beings associated

for a certain purpose;
2. Secondly, there must be organs through which the corporation

functions, and
3. Thirdly, the corporation is attributed will/animus by legal fiction.
B. Double Fiction:
The animus is the personality or the will of the person. There is

a double fiction in a juristic person. A legal person has a real
existence but its personality is fictitious. Personification is essential for
all legal personalities but personification does not create personality.
(a) By one fiction, the legal person is created or made an entity.

(b) By second fiction, it is clothed with the will of a living being
C. Kinds of Legal Person:
There are three of legal persons:

(i) Corporation
(ii) Institution
(iii) Fund or estate
(i) Corporation:
A corporation is an artificial or fictitious person. The individuals forming

the corpus of the corporation are called its members.
Conditions for the existence of corporation:
Following conditions are necessary for the existence of a corporation:
(a) There must be a group or body of human beings associated for
certain purposes.
(b) There must be organs through which the body or the group acts.
(c) A will is attributed to a corporation by a legal fiction.
Kinds of corporation:
There are two kinds of corporation:

(a) Corporation Aggregate
(b) Corporation Sole
(a) Corporation Aggregate:
According to Halsbury’ s Laws of England
“A corporation aggregate is a collection of individuals

untied into one body, under a special domination, having perpetual
succession under an artificial form and vested by the policy of the law
with the capacity of acting in several respects.”
The number of corporation aggregate is very large and they are of

various kinds. For example, registered company.
Salmond vs. Salmond and Co. (1897):

“In this case it was held that the company was a separate
distinct entity.”
(b) Sole corporation:
Corporation sole is an incorporated series of successive persons. It is a

corporation which has one member at a time. According to Dias and
Hughes the main purpose of corporation sole is to ensure continuity.
Moreover, the occupant of the office can acquire property for the
benefit of his successor. A corporation sole in an example of dual
personality.
Example:
Example of corporation sole are the offices of the post-master General,

Auditor General and President of the Country.
(ii) Institution:
In some cases, the corpus or the object personified is not a group or
succession of individuals but an institution itself.
Example:
College, Church, Library, Mosque etc.
(ii) Fund or estate:
In some cases, the corpus or the object personified is some fund or

reserved for a particular purpose.
Example:
Examples of this kind of legal persons are the property of a dead man,
the estate of an insolvent, an estate under a trust etc.
4. Double Personality:
Law recognized many different capacities in which a man may act. If a

single human being has in one capacity, there arises a case of dual
personality. The natural person may owe a duty to the legal person or
he may have rights against him. The trustee as an individual may owe
money to or enter into contract with himself in his capacity as a trustee.
Example:
A corporation sole is an example of dual personality.
5. Conclusion:
To conclude, we can say Legal person is being, real or imaginary whom

the law regards as capable of rights or duties. In law, idiots, dead men,
unborn persons, corporations, companies, idols, etc. are treated as legal
persons. The legal persons perform their functions through natural
persons only. There are different varieties of legal persons, viz.
Corporations, Companies, Universities, President, Societies, etc.
Legal person can live more than 100 years. Example: (a) the post of
“American President” is a corporation, which was created some three
hundred years ago, and still it is continuing. (b) “East India Company”
was established in sixteenth century in London, and now still is in
existence.

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Juristic Person

II. According to Gray:

Following are the kinds of person as recognized by law:

According to Holland “A natural person is such a human being as is

(i) Requisites of human being:

Following are the requisites of normal human being:

Juristic persons are also known as artificial, Legal or fictitious persons.

A. Essentials of Legal Person:

Following are the essentials of legal person:

1. Firstly, there must be a group or body of human beings associated

2. Secondly, there must be organs through which the corporation

3. Thirdly, the corporation is attributed will/animus by legal fiction.

The animus is the personality or the will of the person. There is

(a) By one fiction, the legal person is created or made an entity.

C. Kinds of Legal Person:

There are three of legal persons:

A corporation is an artificial or fictitious person. The individuals forming

There are two kinds of corporation:

(a) Corporation Aggregate:

According to Halsbury’ s Laws of England

“A corporation aggregate is a collection of individuals

The number of corporation aggregate is very large and they are of

Salmond vs. Salmond and Co. (1897):

(b) Sole corporation:

Corporation sole is an incorporated series of successive persons. It is a

Example of corporation sole are the offices of the post-master General,

College, Church, Library, Mosque etc.

(ii) Fund or estate:

In some cases, the corpus or the object personified is some fund or

Law recognized many different capacities in which a man may act. If a

To conclude, we can say Legal person is being, real or imaginary whom

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