General (not jurisdiction-specific)

The ability the law recognizes for a person to take legal action, such as making a contract, suing or being sued. Minors and people under guardianship may have limited capacity. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 17(b) explains how capacity to sue or be sued is decided in federal court.

A corporation made up of a single office and the successive people who hold it, used for example by some religious officials to hold property for the office rather than for themselves.

In law, anyone or anything the law recognizes as able to hold rights and duties. The word covers natural persons (human beings) and, when a statute says so, artificial or legal persons such as corporations. For example, under 1 U.S.C. § 1, unless the context indicates otherwise, the words “person” and “whoever” in federal statutes include corporations, companies, associations, firms, partnerships, societies and joint stock companies, as well as individuals. Many statutes define “person” for their own purposes, so read the definition section of the law you are using.

Any being or entity the law recognizes as having rights and duties. It includes human beings and entities such as corporations. Compare natural person and legal personality.

A single human being. Statutes often use “individual” to mean a human being, as distinguished from an organization. For example, under 1 U.S.C. § 1, unless the context indicates otherwise, the word “person” in federal statutes includes corporations, companies, associations, firms, partnerships, societies and joint stock companies, as well as individuals — so an individual is one kind of person, and corporations and other organizations are other kinds. Many statutes define “individual” or “person” for their own purposes.

An organization that the law treats as separate from its members or owners, such as a corporation, limited liability company or partnership. Whether an entity has its own legal personality depends on the law that creates or governs it.

Latin for “you have the body.” A court order, or writ, requiring that a person held in custody be brought before the court so it can decide whether the detention is lawful. The U.S. Constitution provides that the privilege of the writ shall not be suspended unless, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require it (art. I, § 9).

A member of a nation or state who owes it allegiance and is entitled to its protection. Under the Fourteenth Amendment, all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to its jurisdiction, are citizens of the United States and of the state where they reside.

The name that identifies a person for legal purposes. For an individual, it is generally the name recorded at birth unless lawfully changed, for example by marriage or court order. For a business entity, it is the name in its formation documents.

An artificial person created under a state or federal statute, usually by filing articles of incorporation, that can own property, make contracts, and sue or be sued in its own name, separate from its shareholders.