Definitions:

Natural persons: every human being, irrespective of his sex, race, age, mental condition or intellectual ability, is recognized in our law as a legal subject. Every human being therefore can have rights, duties and capacities although the content of his rights, duties and capacities may vary depending on factors such as sex, race and age. To distinguish man from other personae juris he is referred to as a “natural person”.

Juristic persons: the human being or natural person is not the only legal subject who is recognized as such in South African law. The demands of the legal order necessitate that juristic personality be bestowed as well on certain entities, or associations of natural persons. Apart from the individual human beings that constitute such an association, each one of whom is himself a legal subject, a new legal subject now comes into being, namely the association itself. Such an association to which legal subjectivity is granted, is known as a “juristic person”.

Written and prepared by
Mark Fiandeiro
BOUWER KOBELI MORABE

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