Natural person

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In jurisprudence, a natural person is a human being perceptible through the senses and subject to physical laws, as opposed to an artificial, legal or juristic person, i.e., an organization that the law treats for some purposes as if it were a person distinct from its members or owner.

For example, such legal provisions as Amendment XIX to the United States Constitution, which guarantees a woman's right to vote, apply to natural persons only. In many cases fundamental human rights are implicitly granted only to natural persons; for example a corporation cannot hold public office, but it can file a lawsuit.

See also

• Person

External links

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Last updated on Tuesday January 22, 2008 at 15:14:54 PST (GMT -0800)
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