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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 person, i.e., an organization that the law treats for some purposes as if it were a person distinct from its members or owners.

For example, such legal provisions as Amendment XIX to the US 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.

Although science fiction has long fantasized about the possibility of sentient robots (e.g. androids) living among humans, no court to date has dealt with the question of whether such a being would be considered a "natural" person.

Legal terms

Физик шәхес | Persona física | Natürliche Person | Persona física | Personne physique | Natuurlijk persoon | Fysisk person | Osoba fizyczna | Pessoa física | Физическое лицо | Fysisk person | 自然人

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Natural person".

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