Definition of Legal Person

In the sphere of Right specific terms are used in a sense different from that used in ordinary language. We all understand what person means, but it is not so obvious what a legal person or natural person means.

By legal person is understood that entity that has rights and obligations. This implies that the individuals that make up a group (for example, an association) are understood as if they were an individual, a person with obligations and rights.

Difference between legal person and natural person

These are two opposing concepts. The natural person is any individual or entity that is subject to the current legal system. At the same time, the natural person as a legal reality has rights and obligations from the moment of his birth until his death. On the other hand, the legal person is recognized as such from its Constitution Through a public deed, which establishes the rules and aspects that define it and, consequently, the obligations and rights it possesses.

Legal entity modalities

In general, you can divide the legal personality of an entity based on its interest, which can be public or private. Thus, if we speak of a city council, we refer to a corporation of public Law, that is, an organism that has a legal nature with a general interest. In contrast, a capital company is an entity whose purpose has a private interest.

On the other hand, there is a great variety of entities that have a personality determined legal: a commercial society, a partnership with responsibility Limited, a foundation or a non-profit group. Each of them is constituted with rules, goals and legal obligations (for example, in relation to taxes).

As a general guideline, each type of company is regulated based on a series of parameters established in the law: the number of partners necessary for its constitution, the capital of the company, the activity carried out, the civil liability (which may be limited or unlimited) and the taxation that must be applied in each of they. These aspects of the different types of companies make the choice of the legal form of each entity very important, especially in the business context.

In this sense, when deciding on the ideal legal formula to configure a company, the advantages and disadvantages of each legal form must be assessed (for example, a limited society supposes a limitation of the civil liability of the partners and simple management bodies, making it an ideal form for small companies with a reduced number of partners).

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