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    1

    Contents p.1Introduction p.2

    Part1:Whatisthisthingwecallaperson p.4Introduction........................................................................p.5EtymologyandHistoryofthewordperson..................p.5Modernusageofthewordperson.................................p.11Politicalcorrectness,Languageandtheperson............p.14ConclusionofPart1............................................................p.18

    Part2:Lawandtheperson p.19Introduction...................................................................... p.20Thelanguageoflaw.......................................................... p.20

    Thelegal

    definition

    of

    person.......................................

    p.22

    Jurisprudenceandtheperson....................................... p.23Rights,Dutiesandtheperson....................................... p.23Naturalpersonsvs.Legalpersons.................................. p.26CorporationsasLegalPersons........................................ p.27TheRightsofaPerson.................................................... p.29Apersoninthehistoryoflaw........................................ p.31IsaPersonaHumanBeinginLaw?................................ p.33

    Part3:TheLawsofBritain p.36Introduction...................................................................... p.37

    Thetwo

    divisions

    of

    English

    law.....................................

    p.37

    Commonlaw..................................... p.37Statutelaw..................................... p.39

    StatutoryDefinitionofthePerson............................... p.40TheInterpretationAct1978............................................. p.41StatutoryConstructionandInterpretation................... p.48StatutoryInterpretationandTheInterpretationAct... p.51

    Conclusion:IsaHumanBeingaPerson? P.55BibliographyAppendixesA,B,C

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    2

    Introduction

    Wearenowlivinginarapidlychangingworld,whichseemstobemovingatanexponentialrate.Anineffableamountofchangesjustwithinthepast150yearshavecreatedadifferentworldnowtoonethatwasknownbefore. Somechangeshavebeenbeneficial,somecatastrophicandsomethingshaventchangedatall. Thisisthewaytheworldworks.Yetitisseenmoreandmorebyaneverincreasingmassofpeoplethatsomethingjustisntquiteright. Someofthesechangesaresoblatantthatnonecouldmissit,eveniftheireyeswereclosed. Ontheotherhandsomechangesaresosubtlethattheypassbeforeoureyesunnoticedliketheairwebreathe. Itisaboutoneofthesesubtlechangesonwhichthispieceofworkisgoingtofocus.

    Whatisthatsubtlechangethataffectsourlivessodeeplyyetweareunawareofit?Theanswerliesinaword.

    Whatwearepresentedwithbeforeusisbutonesimpleword. Thatsright;oneword.Awordsocommon,soubiquitousthatonewouldbesurprisedatthemischief,confusionanddebateithascaused. Itisawordthathasevolved,overthousandsofyears,corruptedfromitsoriginalform,undergoingatransformationthatwouldbeanalogoustoasingleseedbecomingamightyforest. Unlikemanypartsofourlanguagewhichwitherawayandareforgotteninantiquity,orothersthatenterandleaveourlanguageinbutasingle

    generation,this

    slippery

    little

    word

    continues

    with

    us

    like

    achameleon

    adapting

    itselftoahostileenvironment.

    Sowhatisthisperniciouslittlewordthathascreatedsuchpandemonium?Laughinglyitisbuttheridiculouslycommonplacewordperson. Thatsit!

    Onemayevenaskthequestion,whywouldapaperneedtobewrittenonsuchaseeminglybanalandinsipidpartofourlanguage? ItmustbeoneofthemostcommonlyusedwordsintheEnglishlanguageandatthesametimethemostmisunderstood.Yetitisbecauseitisapartofourlanguage,apartwhich

    affectseveryone

    in

    the

    English

    speaking

    world,

    that

    it

    is

    our

    duty

    that

    it

    must

    be

    questioned,analysedandunderstood.

    Aresurfacingofthenatureofthiswordisnowbeingcontestedinmanyareas,nonemoresothanintheareaoflaw,andifthereisoneareaoflifethattouchesthelivesofeveryonetoagreaterorlesserextent,itisthatoftheLaw.Innocentpeopleareconvictedwronglyontheuseofthisword. Itrestrictsourlivescovertlyinsomanyways,andyetweareignorantofthis. Certainpeoplein

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    powerabusethisignoranceofthewordsmeaninganduseittotheiradvantagecausinghardshipanddistresstothecommonmanorwoman.

    Sodoesitnotbehoveustolookmorecloselyatthisproblematiclittlepartofoureverydayspeech. Canwenowdaretoputanendtothis

    bewilderment

    that

    affects

    all

    men

    and

    women

    alike?

    Can

    clarity

    be

    achieved?

    BecausewhatitcomesdowntoisonesimplequestionIsahumanbeingaperson

    Itistheaimofthisworktoprovideclarificationonthisword;toelucidateitsencroachmentintosomeofthemoreimportantspheresofourlivesandwhattheupshotofthisistous,thepeople. Thiswillbeachievedbyfirstlylookingintothecommondefinition,combinedwiththeetymologyandusageofthewordperson. Thenwewilllookathowthiswordisusedintheareaoflaw,delvingintotheworldoflegalpersons,andtheideaofalegalpersonality. Inthefinalpartwewilllookmorecloselyintothelawsofthiscountryandthe

    interpretationof

    our

    contentious

    little

    friend

    or

    foe,

    for

    it

    has

    yet

    to

    be

    decided

    whetheritisanallyortheenemy,orneitherorboth.

    Alittledisclaimermustbeaddedhere. ToavoidconfusionIwillbeusingthewordmantoavoidthecommonlyusedwordperson. Therearenosexistconnotationstothis,aswhenIwriteman,Imeanman,woman,child,boy,girlandhumanbeing. Donotbeoffendedbytheusageofthewordmanitissimplyatooltoavoidanymisunderstandingandabsurdityinthiswork. Furthermorenothinginthisworkrepresentslegaladvice,itissolelyapieceofresearchonawordwhichtouchesontopicsinlaw.

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    Part1

    Whatisthisthingwecallaperson

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    5

    Introduction

    Thesimplestwaytobeginthisenquiryistostatetheobvious. Whatistheobvious? Simplyput,weusethewordpersontorefertoaHumanBeing. Ifwelook

    to

    any

    Standard

    English

    dictionary

    we

    see

    the

    primary

    definition

    of

    person,

    i.e.thefirstinthelistofdefinitions,asahumanbeing;nothingcontentiousinthis. Thisiswhatthecommonmanbelievesandistold,taught,shownandindoctrinatedintobelieving,asachild,whatapersonis.Yetthisisfromwheretheconfusionorobfuscations,whateveryouwanttocallit,arises. Fromthisperturbationalotofmisunderstandingandinjusticeisborn.AquotefromJamesMitchellsumsupthesituationquitesuccinctly:Andwhatisthispersonorpersonaofwhichwehearsomuch?MostpeoplearenowinclinedtoadopttheviewofMaxMller.Nothingcanbemoreabstract:itis

    neither

    male

    nor

    female,

    neither

    young

    nor

    old.

    As

    a

    noun

    it

    is

    hardly

    more

    than

    whattobeisasaverb. InFrenchitmayevencometomeannobody;forifweaskourconciergeatParisifanyonehascalledonusduringourabsencehewillreply

    Personne,monsieur!whichmeansNotasoul,sir!1

    EtymologyandHistoryofthewordperson

    So,now

    Ithink

    it

    is

    incumbent

    on

    us

    to

    look

    to

    the

    origins

    of

    the

    word

    before

    webegintoelaborateontheothervariousdefinitionsofthewordperson. Todothiswewilllookintotheetymologicalhistoryofthewordanditsevolution.Basically,etymologywillgiveusanaccountoftheconceptionofawordanditsoriginaluse,assometimesoldwordswerejustcompoundedtoformanewword.Thiswillbecomemoreapparentaswejourneyfurtherbackintime,andofcoursewithwordtimetravellingwemustalsotaketheepochsintoaccounthowthewordwasused.

    Firstwemustrecognisethatthewordspersonandpersonaintodaysusageareintimatelyrelatedofasort,fortheyarisefromthesamemother,andarebrothers

    of

    akind.

    It

    is

    documented

    that

    these

    words

    person/persona

    have

    their

    origininLatin,whichinturnisborrowedfromtheGreekequivalent.

    1SignificantEtymologybyJamesMitchell(1908),footnote,WilliamBlackwoodandSons. P.237239

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    Ofcourse,allthisbeganwithintheworldoftheatreinGreecewherereligionwasthecradleofDrama.2TheGreektriadoftheirhistory,religionandculturewasrepresentedinthetheatrewiththeactorsrepresentingthevariousroles.Howevertodothisdisguiseswereneededandsobecameanintegralpartoftherelevantdepictionswere,andasHastings(1901)says:

    ...themostimportantpartofthedisguisewasthemask,bymeansofwhichtheactorscountenancecouldbedistinguishedatadistance,andwhichmadeitpossibleforthesamepersontoplaydifferentpartsbymakingrepeatedchanges.Thisdevicewasparticularlyaptformenwhohadtoplaythepartofwomen.3

    Thusthemaskwasavitalfeatureneededfortherepresentationoftheappropriatecharacter. Butwhatimportancedoesthishavetoourinquiry?WellitistheGreekwordformaskthatisimportant. Thewordusedformaskwasprosopon.Thissimplyistranslatedaswhatisbeforetheface,prosmeaningbeforeandoponmeaningface.

    NowastimepassedtheRomansslowlyadoptedthetheatreintotheirownculture,translatingmanyGreekworksintoLatin.Yetthereweredifferences,forexample,theRomansdidnotwearmasksatthegenesisoftheirtheatre,but,aftertimethewearingofmaskswasadopted. ThatwhichwasnotadoptedwastheGreekwordformask. InsteadtheRomansnamedtheirmaskpersona,whichisthecombinationoftwowords,thefirstbeingpermeaningthroughorbymeansof;andsono,whichmeanttosound.Thusthewordpersonareliterallymeantthroughsounders4. Thereasonbehindthisdefinitionwasthatbecausethesemasks,bothinGreeceandItaly,usedsomeapparatuswhichlaybehindthemask,whichhelpedchannelandaugmentthevolumeoftheactors

    voice,which

    was

    entirely

    necessary

    in

    an

    open

    amphitheatre.

    Thusthewordpersonawasborn.Lateritwastobecomethemothertovariouschildren.Yet,asanoun,apersonawassimplyaphysicalmaskmadefromthinwoodorclay,madeintovariouscountenances,nothingmore,andnothingless.Ifithadstayedthatwaythenthisworkwouldnotbenecessary,neverthelessithaschangedandevolvedintomorethanwhatitusedtobe.

    Sonowwehavetheoriginofthewordandwithalittlehistorytobackitup,yetwemustseewhyitcameintouseinEngland. Foritwastheromanoccupationwhich,beganin55B.C.,thatplantedtheseedforLatintomoveinto

    2Thetheatre,itsdevelopmentinFranceandEngland,andahistoryofitsGreekandLatinoriginsbyCharlesHastings(1901)Duckworth&Co.P.13Ibid,.164SignificantEtymologybyJamesMitchell,1908,footnote,WilliamBlackwoodandSons. P.237239

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    thelanguageofBritain. HowevertheRomanswerenottostayforeverinthelandofBritain,butasH.M.ScarthhassaidinhisworkRomanBritain.

    ThemostenduringrecordofRomantimes,andthechangewroughtbyRomanconquestthroughoutthecivilisedworld,istheadoptionoftheRomanletters

    of

    the

    alphabet,

    which

    have

    been

    used

    ever

    since.

    5

    ItwaslanguagethatwasthelegacyoftheRomanEmpire,andaswellasafewruinsandroads,butonesignificantpartofthelegacyliesinthissimplewordperson. NaturallywiththeNormanConquestandtheintroductionofFrenchintoEnglandwehaveareinforcementofanotherLatinbasedlanguageaddingtotherichnessandcomplexitiesoftheEnglishlanguageitself,alanguagethatwasintheprocessofevolving. ButasweseeinourquotefromJamesMitchellabovethewordpersonneinFrenchistranslatedasnobodyintoEnglish.

    Now

    we

    have

    two

    words

    in

    our

    language

    today

    person

    and

    persona.

    It

    is

    clear

    thesetwowordsarerelatedandfromwheretherelationshipstems.Yetitisthewordpersonathathasntstrayedfarfromitsoriginalform,butitdoesgiveusaclueastowhypersonhaschangedsomuch. Personaaswedefineittodaysimplymeansaroleorcharacterweassumeincertainsituations. Forexample,abossmustadoptapersonawhenheworks,whichcanbecompletelydifferentfromhispersonalityathome. Insuchsituationspeopleadoptthesepersonastohelpthemaccomplishsomething,orprotectthemselvesfromsomething.Apersonaissomethingweputonandtakeoffwhennecessary,aswasthecasewiththemasksinAncientGreeceandRome.

    Sowe

    can

    see

    asimple

    shift

    in

    the

    meaning

    of

    persona,

    originally

    as

    mask,

    to

    itscurrentmeaningofaroleorcharacter;ashiftissosubtlemostpeopleinsocietyaretotallyoblivioustoit. ThisisalsososhownbythephrasedramatispersonaeandPersonanongrata,whicharestillusedtoday. Isitnoteasytoseehowthiscouldhappen?Yetwhenweturntopersonwehaveamoredifficulttimeoftrackingitschangesthroughtheages. Itisnowthatweturntotheworksoftheetymologiststoprovideclarity. Etymology,asmentionedabove,issimplythestudyofhistoricallinguisticchange,andfromtheirhardworkwecanbegintolookmoreintothehistoryoftheperson.

    Firstwemustdivergesomewhatfromourthemeandlookintovariousthemes

    ofetymology

    that

    will

    provide

    us

    with

    some

    clarification.

    Greenough

    and

    KittridgeintheirworkWordsandtheirwaysinEnglishspeech6giveussome

    5RomanBritainbyH.M.Scarth,p.1786WordsandtheirwaysinEnglishspeechbyGreenoughandKittridge,(1902),MacmillanandCo.

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    cluesonhowwordschangeinrelationtotheiroriginalmeaning,yetkeeptheirconnectiontotheoriginalsourceofmeaning. Oneoftheconceptstheyuseiscalledradiation,whichmeansatthecoreistheoriginalmeaningofthewordanditssubsequentwordsareoffshoots,likeraysfromthesun. Theyareallconnectedtothesourceyettheyarenotthesource.Agoodexampleofthisthat

    Greenoughand

    Kittridge

    give

    of

    this

    is

    the

    word

    power.

    The

    word

    originally

    comesfromtheLatinpotere,whichmeanstobeable,andofcourseinmodernItalianthesamewordisstillused. FromthistheoldFrenchwordpouer(themodernFrenchispouvoir)fromwhichourwordpowercomes,probablyfromwhenOldFrenchbecameanimportantlanguageintheBritishIsles. OnecanlooktootherLatinbasedlanguagesandseethesimilarities,forexampleinSpanishpoderistheequivalentoftheEnglishtobeableorcaninitsverbformbutasanounitmeanspower.SoforexampletheSpanishsentencepodertenerelpoderliterallymeanstobeabletohavethepower. Nowallderivationsofthewordpowerallcomefromthesourcemeaning,whichistobeabletodo

    something

    or

    have

    the

    capacity

    to

    do

    something.

    This

    is

    how

    radiation

    of

    a

    word

    works.

    ThenextclueGreenoughandKittridgegiveustohowpersonhaschangedis,intheirwords,thus

    thenextprocessthatwehavetostudy,inwhichawordmovesgraduallyawayfromitsfirstmeaningbysuccessivestepsofalternatespecializationandgeneralizationuntil,inmanycases,thereisnotashadowofconnectionbetweenthesensethatisfinallydevelopedandthatwhichthetermboreattheoutset.7

    Totryandputthisinthesimplestofterms,wehaveawordwithameaningwhichwewillcall(A)whichismodifiedbyaslightlydifferentusage,whichweshallcall(B). Thus,

    awordmaygetanewmeaningbytheadditionofamodifyingidea(expressedorimplied)totheoldone.8

    Thisiswherecanbegintoseehowpersonhaschanged,withasuccessivesetofdifferentusages. GreenoughandKittridgeshowhowpersonstartedoffbymeaningamaskuntilitcametomeanaparson(amemberoftheclergy),by

    usingthis

    method

    of

    successive

    steps

    of

    usage.

    They

    provide

    an

    enlightening

    methodofshowingthesteps,whicharelaidoutbelow.

    7WordsandtheirwaysinEnglishspeechbyGreenoughandKittridge,(1902),MacmillanandCo,p.2598Ibid,p.265

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    1. A Amask2. A+B characterindicatedbymask3. B characterorrolein(play)4.

    B+C

    one

    who

    represents

    a

    character

    5. C arepresentativeingeneral6. C+D arepresentativeofchurchinParish7. D Parson 9

    Fromthisillustrationwecanseethesourceofpersonasamask(A)andbecauseofthisusageintheatre,thecharacterandthemask(A+B)joinedthemselvesinmeaning.WeinmodernEnglishoftenusethewordmasktomeanthatsomeoneisconcealingsomething,whichiswhattheGreekactorsdidbyassumingacharacterwiththemask. Thisthenevolvedintopersonmeaningacharacterorrole(C),in

    whichthe

    word

    persona

    we

    still

    retain

    this

    definition.

    However

    person

    morphs

    once

    againintotheonewhorepresentsthecharacter(B+C)untilweareleftwithjustarepresentativeingeneral(C). Ofcoursethismeaning(C)canbeusedinmanydifferentwaysaswewillseelaterinthiswork. ButtofollowonwithGreenoughandKittridgereasoningwenowseepersonbeingusedtomeanarepresentativeofchurchinaparish(C+D)whichnaturallyleadstoapersonbeingcalledaparson.WecanseethisusageifwelookintoJohnCowellsLawdictionaryentitledTheinterpreterofwordsandterms(publishedin1607)whereifwelookupthewordpersonweseethewordsSeeParson. Soitwasnotbutsome400yearsagothatinEnglishpersonmeantparson,notthehumanbeingasweknowandrecognisethewordtoday.

    Hopefullyyouaregettingaclearerideaofthechangingnatureofthewordpersonanditsinterestingevolution.YetthemostimportantaspectwecantakefromGreenoughandKittridgesworkisthatpersonatthecorerevolvesaroundrepresentingsomething. Forthemaskrepresentsaspecificcharacter,acharacterrepresentsacertainfigure,beitrealormythical;aparsonrepresentsthechurch.ThiswecanseebyGreenoughandKittridgestheoryoftheradiationofaword.

    Ofcoursethestorydoesnotendherewehaveanothersomewhat400yearsofevolutionofthepersontoexplainaway.Wehaveseenthedevelopmentfromitsoriginalmeaningofmasktocometomeanparson,so:

    wenolongerthinkofmasksbutoftherealcharactersappearinginaplay.Afterall,anactorwearingamaskofthekingwasforthetimebeingaking,andthuspersonacametomeantheveryoppositeofmaskviz.,amansrealnatureandcharacter.10

    9WordsandtheirwaysinEnglishspeechbyGreenoughandKittridge,(1902),MacmillanandCo,p.26510Ibidp.268

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    Thereweresubtleshiftsinmeaning,likewesawabove,wherethefictionhasbecomeareality,whatwasonceunrealhasnowbecomereal.Maybethiscanbeexplainedbythewordcharacter. ThiswasoriginallytakenfromtheGreekwordKharaktermeaninganengravedmark,untilthemeaningwasexpandedbymetaphor

    tomean

    adefining

    quality.11

    Thus

    acharacter

    became

    to

    mean

    adefining

    quality

    whichwaswhyitwasusedintheatretosignifytheroleanactorwasplaying,andofcoursethemaskwasdefinitelyadefiningquality. Thisisanimportantaspectwhenwethinkofsomebodyscharacternowadays. Foritcouldbeatraitbywhichwerecognizesomeone,orthesumoftraitsthatdefineaman,whichwetendtocallapersonalitynow(yetanotherintrusionofthepeskyperson). Nowwecanseethatpersonalityisasetofdefiningqualitiesthatcreatesanidentity.Asweallknow,IdentinLatinmeanssame,andtheifysuffixcomesfromLatinverbtomake,soitliterallymeanstomakethesame. Sowhenweidentifywithsomethingwemakeitthesame!SoundsStrangeIknow,butlookatwhathappenswhenapersonasksforyour

    identification,

    is

    it

    not

    to

    make

    sure

    you

    are

    the

    same

    man

    that

    you

    claim

    to

    be.

    To

    makethesame,isthesimplestdefinitionandouridentityiswhatwehavecreated,whatwehavemadetobeus.

    Canwenotarguenowthenthatwhenpersonwasinusageasaparsonhischaracterordefiningqualityheldsomeprestige? Forwasnotthechurchatthistimewieldingimmensepower?Thehouseorofficeoftheparsonwascalledaparsonage,whichinturnisrelatedtothewordpersonage,whichmeanssomeonewithhighstatusorrank. Someonewithhighstatusorrankwasusuallyassociatedtosometitleorofficetheyheld,forexample,akingorqueen. Canwenotextend,withsomelibertyonmypart,onGreenoughandKittridgesdiagramtoaidusintracingour

    flightyfriend

    person?

    1. A Amask2. A+B characterindicatedbymask3. B characterorrolein(play)4. B+C onewhorepresentsacharacter5. C arepresentativeingeneral6. C+D arepresentativeofchurchinParish7. D aparson8. D+E aparsonwithhighrankoroffice9.

    E

    someone

    with

    high

    rank

    or

    office

    10. E+F highrank/officehasstatus11. F someonewithstatus

    11http://www.etymonline.com

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    Forexample,inBoothsAnalyticaldictionaryoftheEnglishlanguagehestatesthat

    ...thetermpersonage

    is

    more

    applicable

    to

    one

    who

    is

    officially

    raised

    above

    the

    multitude.Itis,therefore,moreselectandbetterfittedthanperson"todenominateoneofthehigherordersofsociety.Inthesamesortofetiquettetheplural,personsrisesabovethewordPEOPLE:thelatterbeingalwayscollective,whiletheformerareseparatelyconsideredinthemind."Twentypeopleareamultitude;butthephrase"twentypersons'suggeststheideathateachmaypossessadifferentcharacter.12

    Themeaningofthepersonissubtlyshiftingandaswearebeginningtoseethechangesoccurringbeforeoureyes,wenoticehowthewordalignswithitshistoricaluse. TheMeaningshowninEandFaretobetakenseriouslynow,not

    only

    for

    their

    meaning

    but

    for

    their

    historical

    use.

    For

    it

    should

    be

    known

    in

    EnglishhistorybyeveryonewhoreadsthisworkthatonethingweEnglishareknownforisitsrepressiveclasssystem. Duringsometurbulenthistoricaltimestheclasssystemhasoppressedthemassofthepopulationforthebenefitoftheupperclasses. Thosepeoplewhoboresomeformofstatuswerepersons,gentlemen,officials,andthearistocracy,forexample. This,however,wewilldelvemoreintointhesecondpartofthisessay.AlthoughthewordpersonhasmoreusagesinmodernEnglishwehaveforthe

    momenttraceditshistoricalmeaningandevolutionenoughtobeabletoexplainitsmodernusage.

    Modernusageofthewordperson

    NowwemustlooktotodayandhowpersonisutilizedinmodernEnglish.Asmentionedwhenwebegantolookatthehistoryoftheword,ourmodernandprimaryuseofpersonistomeanahumanbeing. ThatwaswhatIwastaughtthewordmeantandIamsuremostcanconcurwithmyownempiricalobservationregardingthis. Belowaresomeofthedefinitionsofthewordpersontakenfroma

    dictionary

    easily

    accessible

    to

    everyone.

    13

    12AnalyticaldictionaryoftheEnglishlanguagebyDavid Booth,1835,CochraneandCo., p.cvi13http://dictionary.reference.com/

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    personnoun

    1.Ahumanbeing,whetherman,woman,orchild:Thetableseatsfourpersons.

    2. Ahumanbeingasdistinguishedfromananimalorathing.

    3.Sociology.Anindividualhumanbeing,esp.Withreferencetohisorhersocialrelationshipsandbehaviouralpatternsasconditionedbytheculture.

    4. Philosophy.Aselfconsciousorrationalbeing.

    5.

    Theactualselforindividualpersonalityofahumanbeing:Yououghtnot

    togeneralize,

    but

    to

    consider

    the

    person

    you

    are

    dealing

    with.

    6.Thebodyofalivinghumanbeing,sometimesincludingtheclothesbeingworn:Hehadnomoneyonhisperson.

    7. Thebodyinitsexternalaspect:anattractivepersontolookat.

    8. Acharacter,part,orrole,asinaplayorstory.

    9. Anindividualofdistinctionorimportance.

    10.

    Aperson

    not

    entitled

    to

    social

    recognition

    or

    respect.

    11.Law.Ahumanbeing(naturalperson)oragroupofhumanbeings,acorporation,apartnership,anestate,orotherlegalentity(artificialpersonorjuristicperson)recognizedbylawashavingrightsandduties.

    12.

    Grammar.Acategoryfoundinmanylanguagesthatisusedtodistinguishbetweenthespeakerofanutteranceandthosetooraboutwhomheorsheisspeaking.InEnglishtherearethreepersonsinthepronouns,thefirstrepresentedbyIandwe,thesecondbyyou,andthe

    thirdby

    he,

    she,

    it,

    and

    they.

    Most

    verbs

    have

    distinct

    third

    person

    singularformsinthepresenttense,aswrites;theverbbehas,inaddition,afirstpersonsingularformam.

    13.Theology.AnyofthethreehypostasesormodesofbeingintheTrinity,namelytheFather,theSon,andtheHolyGhost.

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    Wehavethirteendefinitionsofthewordpersonnotoneasgenerallyperceived,becauseifyouaskmostpeoplewhatapersonisyoufindthattheywill

    givethe

    first

    definition

    in

    our

    list.

    So

    how

    do

    we

    get

    from

    something

    meaning

    a

    masktomeaningahumanperson,wellthiswillbeexplainedinthesecondpartofthiswork.

    Letuslooktooursecondusagewhichisahumanbeingasdistinguishedfromananimalorathing.Wecansuggestherethatthenotionofpersonisusedinthesenseofadefiningquality,simplymeaningnotananimalorthing. Theplacingofthewordshumanbeingisirrelevantinthemeaning,forifyouarenotananimalorathing(includingnatureundertheclassofthings)thenwhatareyou?

    Definitions

    3

    and

    4

    I

    will

    not

    discuss

    as

    they

    come

    under

    fields

    not

    entirely

    relevanttothiswork.

    ThefifthdefinitiongivenTheactualselforindividualpersonalityofahumanbeing,doesnotrefertothephysicalhumanbeingbuttoasomethingmoretransient,moreephemeral. Ourpersonalityisnotafixedqualityitchangesovertime.Askthisquestiontoyourself,AmIthesameasIwaswhenIwasachild,ateenager,ayoungadult,amiddleagedadult,etc. Whatwouldyourresponsebe?Ithinkmostofusrealizethatweevolveandchangeourpersonality. Thequalitiesthatdefineyoucomeandgo,sometimestheystayandarerepressed,andsometimestheyevolve. Theimportantpointtotakefromthisistheuseofthe

    wordpersonality.

    Definitions6and7canbelookedattogetherastheyarerelated. ThesixthdefinitionstatesthatpersoncanmeanThebodyofalivinghumanbeing,sometimesincludingtheclothesbeingworn. Thisisastrangewaytodefinepersonbut,ifwelookbacktotheprevioussectiononthehistoryandetymologyofthewordperson,wecanseehowthismayconnecttotheoriginalfewmeanings.Abodyinreligioustermsisoftenseenasamerevesselforthesoul,self,atman,whateveryouwanttocallit.AsShakespearesays:

    All

    the

    worlds

    a

    stage,

    and

    all

    the

    men

    and

    women

    merely

    players.

    They

    have

    theirexitsandtheirentrances;andonemaninhistimeplaysmanyparts14

    14AsYouLikeItbyWilliamShakespeare,1599,ActII,SceneVII

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    14

    Manypeopleinthepast,andstilldotoday,haveviewedthebodyasavessel,athingthatembodiesthesoul,liketheactorembodiesthecharacterheplays,whichagainbringsustothenotionofthepersonbeingamaskorcharacter.Astotheclothes,wellthesecanberecognisedaspartofthemaskorcharacter.AllthisappliestotheseventhdefinitionofThebodyinitsexternalaspect.

    TheeighthdefinitionAcharacter,part,orrole,asinaplayorstory,shouldbeselfexplanatorybynowsoIwillnotcommentonthis.

    Theninthdefinition,Anindividualofdistinctionorimportance,wecanseebylookingatmyextensionofGreenoughandKittridgesdiagramthatpersondevelopedintosomeoneofstatus,thusanindividualofdistinctionandimportance.Youcannowseehowsomeofthedefinitionsconnectbysubtleshiftsinmeaningorradiatefromtheoriginalmeaning.

    Looking

    at

    the

    tenth

    definition

    we

    might

    be

    puzzled

    by

    as

    to

    why

    person

    can

    cometomeanApersonnotentitledtosocialrecognitionorrespect. Itwouldbemysuppositionthatthiscomesfromthephrasepersonanongrata,whereitwasfirstusedbydiplomatswhowerenotwelcomeinthecountriestowhichtheyweresent. Ofcoursethephrasewasthenextendedtoapersonofsomegroupwhowerenotwelcomedbysomeactiontheperformedandthuswerestrippedofanysocialrecognitionorrespect. Butagainthisisjustasuppositiononmtpart

    TheeleventhdefinitionwewillbelookingatinpartIIofthisworksoitisnotexpedientforustoreviewthisdefinitionhere.

    Asfor

    the

    last

    two

    definitions

    these

    have

    no

    bearing

    on

    the

    subject

    at

    hand,

    for

    thisworkdoesnotseektoclarifygrammarortheology.

    Sonowwehavelookedatsomestandarddefinitionsandtosomeextenthavelookedattheminparallelwiththeetymologyofthewordperson. Hopefullywehaveabetterunderstandingofthehowthewordbegananditsevolution.

    Theonlyotherthingwemustmentionhereisfromthefamilyoftheperson,whichisanotherubiquitouswordandthatispersonality,whichismentionedabove.Althoughwewillnotbelookingintoitmorethoroughlyaswasdonewith

    the

    word

    person,

    it

    is

    something

    that

    is

    intimately

    related

    to

    the

    concept

    of

    a

    person.Wecanseethatthisnouncomesfromtheadjectiveofpersonal,whichsimplyputmeanspertainingtotheperson. Personalitythereforeisanexpansionontheadjectiveform,whichagain,simplyputisthecharacteristicswhichpertaintotheperson. Characteristicisusedinthesenseofdefiningqualitiesaswehavementionedabove.

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    15

    Thestorydoesnotendtherethoughasanotherinsidiousconceptmustberaisedtoexplainmodernusage;theissueofpoliticalcorrectness.

    Politicalcorrectness,Languageandtheperson

    Nowitisnotformetojudgethemeritsandpitfallsofpoliticalcorrectness,butsincethephrasecontainsthewordpoliticalonemustbedubiousofitsintent. Ithasbeenatrendinthismovementofpoliticalcorrectnesstoturnthecommonwordsintotermswemustavoidusingsoasnottocauseoffence. Personisoneofthesenewtermsofthepoliticalcorrectnessmovement. Personisusedplaceofwordssuchasmanorwoman,boyorgirlandevenHumanBeing,toavoidusingsuchoffensivelanguage. Thusthewordpersonisperfectfortheadvocatesofpoliticalcorrectness,foraswequotedbefore:

    Nothing

    can

    be

    more

    abstract:

    it

    is

    neither

    male

    nor

    female,

    neither

    young

    nor

    old15

    Butwhatistheconceptofpoliticalcorrectnessandwherediditcomefrom?Thereseemstobenosingleconsensusonthedefinitionofpoliticalcorrectness,butsomesayitstemsfromtheFrankfurtschoolandculturalMarxismandhasitsbirtharoundtheeraoftheFirstWorldWar,16whetherthisistrueinisnotformetodebate. ButadefinitionbyAtkinsonisquiteillustrative:

    PoliticalCorrectness(PC)wasaspontaneousdeclarationthatparticularideas,expressionsandbehaviour,whichwerethenlegal,shouldbeforbiddenbylaw,

    andpeople

    who

    transgressed

    should

    be

    punishedIt

    started

    with

    afew

    voices

    but

    grewinpopularityuntilitbecameunwrittenandwrittenlawwithinthecommunity.Withthosewhowerepubliclydeclaredasbeingnotpoliticallycorrectbecomingtheobjectofpersecutionbythemob,ifnotprosecutionbythestate.17

    ThisinsidiousconceptofpoliticalcorrectnessiswithoutdoubtapoliticaltoolforasOrwellsays:

    thedeclineofalanguagemustultimatelyhavepoliticalandeconomiccauses18

    ThedeclineoftheEnglishlanguagecaneasilyberecognisedbytheuseofpoliticalcorrectnessasatooltocontrolthewaypeoplethinkandthereforeact.As

    15SignificantEtymologybyJamesMitchell, (1908),footnote,WilliamBlackwoodandSons. P.23723916TheOriginsofPoliticalCorrectnessAnAccuracyinAcademiaAddressbyBillLind,2000

    17PoliticalCorrectnessbyPhilipAtkinson,http://www.ourcivilisation.com/pc.htm18GeorgeOrwell:PoliticsandtheEnglishLanguageFirstpublished:Horizon.GB,London.,April1946

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    16

    statedpreviouslytheuseofthewordsman,women,boy,girl,female,male,etc,arepoliticallyincorrectbecauseofwhattheycallsexism. Sotoavoidthatthiswonderfullittlewordpersonarrivestosolvethisproblem. Howconvenient!Yet,unknownbymany,thewordpersonhassevereimplicationsinlawasyouwillsoonseeinthenexttwopartsofthiswork.

    Thisintroduction

    of

    politically

    correct

    words

    does

    not

    limit

    itself

    only

    to

    the

    wordperson.Anotherexampleistheuseofthewordindividual,whichtechnicallyisanadjective,butusedasanounitnowreferstoaperson. Orwelldescribesthisaspretentiousdictionandhestatesthat:

    Wordslikephenomenon,element,individual(asnoun),objective,categorical,effective,virtual,basic,primary,promote,constitute,exhibit,exploit,utilize,eliminate,liquidate,areusedtodressupasimplestatementandgiveanairofscientificimpartialitytobiasedjudgments.19

    You

    will

    see

    much

    of

    this

    pretentious

    diction

    in

    the

    English

    language

    today,

    especiallyinthefieldoflaw. Orwellgivesanotherastonishexampleofhowlanguagecanbesubverted:

    HereisawellknownversefromEcclesiastes:

    Ireturnedandsawunderthesun,thattheraceisnottotheswift,northebattletothestrong,neitheryetbreadtothewise,noryetrichestomenofunderstanding,noryetfavourtomenofskill;buttimeandchancehappenethtothemall.

    Hereit

    is

    in

    modern

    English:

    Objectiveconsiderationsofcontemporaryphenomenacompeltheconclusionthatsuccessorfailureincompetitiveactivitiesexhibitsnotendencytobecommensuratewithinnatecapacity,butthataconsiderableelementoftheunpredictablemustinvariablybetakenintoaccount.20

    Languageisapotentforceinhumancultureandtheabuseofcannotbecondoned,forthesakeofnotoffendingsomeone. Forwhatmightoffendonemanmaypassovertheheadofthenext. Thiscanbehighlightedbytheeminentphilosopheroflanguage,LudwigWittgenstein,whenhesays

    themeaningofawordisitsuseinthelanguage.21

    19Ibid

    20Ibid

    21PhilosophicalInvestigationsbyLudwigWittgenstein,1953,BasilBlackwellLtd,p.20

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    17

    Thisisanimportantconceptandmustberecognizedinthecontextofthiswork.Asyouhaveseenwhenthemoderndefinitionswereelucidated,therearethirteendefinitions,orbettertosaytherearethirteenwaysinwhichthewordpersonisusedmodernEnglish. Soonecansuggestthatdictionariesdonotdefinewordorspecifywhatawordis,ratheritshowitsuseinlanguage. Nowlanguageis

    asubtle

    creature

    where

    confusion

    arises

    easily,

    this

    has

    been

    explained

    by

    the

    thinkerAlfredKorzybskiwithhisfamousstatementofwhichIamparaphrasingthemapisnottheterritoryandwordsarenotthethingstheyrepresent. OrasKorzybskistateshimself:

    Ifwordsarenotthings,ormapsarenottheactualterritory,then,obviously,theonlypossiblelinkbetweentheobjectiveworldandthelinguisticworldisfoundinstructure,andstructurealone.Theonlyusefulnessofamaporalanguagedependsonthesimilarityofstructurebetweentheempiricalworldandthemaplanguages.Ifthestructureisnotsimilar,thenthetravellerorspeakerisledastray,which,in

    serious

    human

    life

    problems,

    must

    become

    always

    eminently

    harmful,.

    If

    the

    structuresaresimilar,thentheempiricalworldbecomes'rational'toapotentiallyrationalbeing,whichmeansnomorethanthatverbal,ormappredictedcharacteristics,whichfollowupthelinguisticormapstructure,areapplicabletotheempiricalworld.22

    WhatKorzybskiisbasicallysayinghereisifsomewordsdonotconformtohowwenaturallyusethemthenconfusionwillarisewhichinturncanaffectthemindsofpeople. IuseasimplemaximtakenfromtheworksofWittgensteinandKorzybskiandapplyitwhennecessary,whichis:

    Thewordisnotthethingitrepresentsbutgetsitsmeaningfromitsuse

    Inregardstopoliticalcorrectness,itisobviouslanguageisbeingusedforapoliticalagenda. Itsuseofthewordpersonisobviouslyforsomepoliticalgain,butthiswillbeseeninthenextsectionsofthiswork. ButfromthepointofviewofmodernusagethewordpersonisbeingusedtooutlawsuchtermsasHumanbeing,man,woman,girl,boy,etc. Byreplacingthesewordswithpersonitistryingtomakeisintoabstractentities;onehomogenousgroup.

    Orwellpredictedthiscontroloflanguageinhisfamousnovel1984,anditnow

    can

    be

    seen

    in

    the

    form

    of

    political

    correctness.

    For

    we

    must

    not

    forget

    that

    languageframesourthoughtswhichinturninfluenceouractionsasOrwellclearlypointedoutinhisnovel,whichIrecommendhighlytoanyonewhohasnotalreadyreadit.

    22ScienceandSanitybyAlfredKorzybski,5thEdition,InstituteofGeneralsemantics,1994,p.61

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    Language,whenabusedandmanipulated,infectsthewholeofsocietyandtoisolatetocertainfields,asthatoflaw,andchangetheuseofwordscanonlybeofdetrimentaleffectonpeopleandthesocietytheylivein.

    ConclusionofPart1

    Sotosumupthisfirstpartofourworkthewordpersonisanabstractword,aswehaveseenbyitschameleonlikechangesofthecenturies. Wehaveseenthatwehavethisfamilyofwords;person,persona,personal,personality,etc.Wehaveseenthebirthoftheconceptofapersonanditsevolutionthroughoutquiteafew

    centuries.

    We

    have

    also

    seen

    the

    modern

    usages

    of

    the

    words

    as

    well

    as

    hwo

    politicalcorrectnesshascementedthisabstractioninthemindsofmany,byusingtheexcuseoffeminism,ageismoranyismthatapplies.Wenowusethewordpersonasaneutralterm.

    Yetitstillhasntansweredouroriginalquestion.Whydowecallahumanbeingaperson? Dontworryasthiswillsoonbeaddressed.Thiscannotbeanswerednowbecausewhathasbeenwrittensofarisjustapieceofthepuzzle. Thefollowingcenturiesleadinguptonowwillbegintogiveusaclearerunderstanding.Howeverwemustveerawayfromtheworldofetymologyandgenerallanguage,

    andto

    do

    this

    we

    must

    undertake

    an

    examination

    of

    the

    word

    person

    as

    used

    in

    Englishlaw.

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    19

    Part2

    Lawandtheperson

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    20

    Introduction

    Ithinktobeginthissection,whichisreallythemeatandbonesoftheconfusionoftheuseofthewordperson. IwillleaveittoSalmondwhosaysitbest

    in

    his

    work

    on

    jurisprudence.

    Itisnotpermissibletoadoptthesimpledeviceofsayingthatapersonmeansahumanbeing,foreveninthepopularornonlegaluseofthetermtherearepersonswhoarenotmen23

    Thisiswhereourconfusionbegins.Whyisitnotpermissibletosaythatapersonisahumanbeing? ForinthefirstsectiontheprimaryusageofpersonisaHumanBeingyetnowwearebeingtoldthatitistoosimpleuseitlikethisinlaw

    Todiscoverthisconundrumwemustdelveintocertainaspectsoflaw. The

    lawis

    acomplicated

    area

    for

    any

    layperson

    to

    understand

    which

    is

    why

    an

    industryhasarisenaroundit,andanyonenotprivytotheinformationthisindustryhaswillbelostinalabyrinthoflanguagethatwilltieyourmindupinknots.ManyrefertothislanguageasLegalese,andseeitascompletelyforeign.PersonallyIdonotholdthisviewsincelanguageisacomplexentityandcannotbepigeonholedsoeasily. Soletuslookfirsttothelanguageoflawtounraveltheballofknotsitappearstobebeforewemoveontothetopicofthepersonandthelaw.

    TheLanguageofLaw

    Firstwemustlookatthelanguageofthelawasitislanguagethatbreatheslifeintothe law. Language isusedtowritethe law;todiscussthe law;toarbitratethe lawand finallytodefinethe law. Onecannotescapethe factthat inthesedayslawandlanguageareinseparable.

    Asmentionedpreviouslyitissaidthatlegaleseresemblesaforeignlanguage.

    Whydo

    people

    say

    this?

    Well

    because

    ifone

    does

    not

    understand

    alanguage

    it

    isforeigntothem,orabetterwayofsayingitisthatitisunfamiliarorstrangetothem. Legaleseisbetterreferredtoasatechnicallanguage. Othertechnicallanguagescanbefoundinsuchfieldsasmedicine,science,mathematics,engineering,etc. Howeverwedonotrefertotheselanguagesinthesespecific

    23JurisprudenceandthelawbyJohnSalmond,secondedition,StevenandHayes,1907,p.275

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    21

    fieldsasforeign,justunfamiliartothelayman. Itisthisunfamiliaritythatcausesalltheproblemswhenapproachingtheareaoflaw.WeexpectwhatwereadtomeanthesamethingasweassumeitmeanstoeverybodyfamiliarwiththeEnglishLanguage,yetthisisnotthecase. Everydayusageofonewordcanmeansomethingentirelydifferentintheeyesofthelaw,andthusourproblembegins.

    Itis

    through

    this

    problem

    that

    we

    have

    these

    people

    we

    call

    lawyers,

    the

    ones

    trainedinlaw,unfortunatelyalotofthesepeopleareunawareofthistechnicallanguageaswell;somoreproblemsarise.

    Whydowetalkofsuchthingsaslegalese?Wellsimplybecausethepersoninlawisatechnicaltermandahighlycontroversialoneatthat. OfcourseithasbeenarguedthatbecausetherearelawdictionariesthenLegalesemustbeaforeignlanguage.Butthatisjustnotthecase. Ithinkmanypeoplethinkthatbecausethereisadictionarythenaseparatelanguagemustbeassociatedwithit.Adictionary,aswecommonlythinkofit,ismerelyachronicleofalanguage,ittellsuswhatawordmeansanditsvarioususages,ifithasthem.Without

    languageadictionary

    would

    have

    no

    meaning.

    Yet

    this

    is

    just

    one

    type

    of

    dictionary,anotherisatranslationdictionarywherethewordinonelanguageistranslatedintoadifferentlanguage. Finallytherearetechnicaldictionaries,whichdefinewordsusedinthespecificfielditisusedfor;alawdictionaryisoneofthesetypes.

    Wemustnotbefooledintobelievingthatbecauseweareignorantofsomepartsofourlanguage,(andbyignorantImeannotknowsomething)wecannotsaythatitisaseparatelanguagealtogether,thiswouldbejusttoofaciletoassume.Wemustrememberourmaxim:

    Theword

    is

    not

    the

    thing

    it

    represents

    but

    gets

    its

    meaning

    from

    its

    use

    Ifoneisnotinvolvedinthefieldoflawthenthelanguageandexpressionswillconfusethemostintelligentmanorwoman. Theuseofspecificallydefinedusagecanbeexplainedbytheabovemaxim. Ifyoudonotusethetechnicallanguageoflaw,itwillappearforeigntoyou.

    InthisworkwewillviewLegaleseasatechnicallanguage,andwillusetheappropriateresourcesforreferencetolegaltermsandnotordinaryusage. For,aswehaveseen,theuseofwordsinlawcanbefardifferentfromcommonusage.

    Whetherthis

    is

    done

    deliberately

    or

    by

    necessity,

    we

    do

    not

    know.

    However

    comparisonswillbemadebetweenthetechnicaltermsandordinaryusagetoindicatethedisparitybetweenthesamewords.Aseparateworkisindeedneededonlanguageandthelaw,butthatisforthefuture.

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    Thelegaldefinitionofperson

    Asyou

    saw

    from

    Salmonds

    quote24

    not

    all

    persons

    are

    human

    beings

    and

    it

    is

    thisdivisionwhichcausesmanyproblemsasyouwillseefurtheroninthiswork.Itisthisenigmaofthewordpersoninlawthatinitiatedresearchintothispartofourlanguage. Thelegaldefinitionisslightlydifferentthanwouldbethenormalassumption.Astheordinarymeaningofperson,explainedinthefirstpart,hasmany

    usages,inlawwearemetwithtwousagesoftheword. Thelegaldefinitionisdualinnature,changedbyadjectives. Thefirstdefinitionorusageiswhatiscalledanaturalpersonandthesecondalegalperson,soyouseeitisnotassimpleasmightthink. Afterallyoucantdefinesomethingbyusingthesame

    wordyoure

    trying

    to

    define.

    Thenaturalpersonsimplyreferstoahumanbeing. Byaddingtheadjectivenaturalitmeansapersonwhoisofnature,andupuntilnowthathasonlybeenhumanbeings.Althoughthereisacurrentdebategoingonindifferentplacestogiveanimalsalegalpersonality;sowouldanimalsbecomeanaturalperson? Theadjectivenaturalismoreofanarrowingdownofthedefinitionofpersontospecifymankind. Thisdefinitionisplainandisprobablywhywerefertoourselvesaspersons,butwearealongwayofffromexplainingwhythisisthecase.

    Thelegal

    person,

    sometimes

    called

    an

    artificial

    person,

    is

    adifferent

    matter

    altogetheranditwillbethemajoraimofthisworktoshowwhy. Simplyputalegalpersonisacorporationinmodernparlance,orastheEnglishcallsit,abodycorporate. Nowasyoucanseethisisabigleapfromcallingahumanbeingapersontocallingacorporationaperson.

    Anotherwordwhichmustbeintroducedisthatofindividual,onceanadjectivenowanoun,usedtorefertoasinglehumanbeing,butalsoinlawitcanmeanaindividuallegalperson.Itentirelydependsonthecontext.

    Nowyoucanseehowthelawdividestheconceptofthepersonintotwo

    distinctentities.

    However

    to

    adopt

    these

    definitions

    is

    too

    easy

    to

    explain

    what

    a

    personinlawreallyis.25 Whatwemustdoinsteadisforgetthedefinitionsthedictionariesgiveusanddelvedeeperintothemoregeneralscienceoflaw,whichiscalledJurisprudence.

    24JurisprudenceandthelawbyJohnSalmond,secondedition,StevenandHayes,1907,p.27525AlistofDefintionswillbegiveninAppendixA

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    23

    Jurisprudenceandtheperson

    AsexplainedaboveJurisprudenceisthescienceofthelaw,orsometimescalledthetheoryorphilosophyoflaw. Itsaimistohelpexplainwhatlawisandits

    varied

    constituents.

    So

    in

    this

    section

    we

    will

    see,

    from

    the

    view

    of

    Jurisprudence,whatapersonreallyisundertheeyesofthelaw.

    FirstofallSalmondtalksofthenatureoflegalpersonality26beforehespeaksofpersons. Nowifwerememberfromaboveonthesubjectofpersonalityitwassaidthatpersonalitywasthecharacteristicswhichpertaintotheperson. Sowhenwetalkoflegalpersonalitywecanassumethistomeanthelegalcharacteristicsthatpertaintotheperson. Itisthennaturaltofindoutwhattheselegalcharacteristicsareinordertoelaborateonwhyapersonhasthesecharacteristicsattachedtothem.

    Pollockstates

    that,

    Lawnecessarilydealswithdutiesandrightsofpersons27

    orasSalmondsays:

    Sofaraslegaltheoryisconcerned,apersonisanybeingwhomthelawregardsascapableofrightsandduties28

    AstwooftheleadingauthorsonJurisprudencehavesaiditseemsthatdutiesandrightsmaybesomeofthesedefiningqualitiesthatmightleadustofindout

    the

    nature

    of

    what

    a

    legal

    personality

    is.

    Sowehavefirsttouncoverwhatarerightsandwhatareduties beforewecanproceedtoattachthesetoourcontroversialperson.

    Rights,Dutiesandtheperson

    Itmustbesaidfirstthatinlawrightsanddutiesgohandinhand,theyare

    not

    two

    separate

    things

    that

    can

    be

    divided

    and

    investigated

    without

    referring

    to

    eachother. Sowhenwespeakofarightthereisadutyinvolved. Butitmustbe

    26JurisprudenceandthelawbyJohnSalmond,secondedition,StevenandHayes,1907,p.27527AfirstbookofJurisprudence,bySirFrederickPollock,secondedition,1904,MacmillianandCo.p.10828JurisprudenceandthelawbyJohnSalmond,secondedition,StevenandHayes,1907,p.275

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    24

    alsonotedthatrightsalwayshavedutiesascribedtothem,dutiesontheotherhanddonotalwayshaverightsattachedtothem.29

    Beforegoingmoreindepthintheareaofrightsanddutiesthereisanotherconceptthatmustbeconsideredfirst,andthatisofwrongs.Awrongisasit

    suggests,

    a

    wrong

    act;

    it

    is

    the

    same

    in

    law

    as

    in

    ordinary

    life;

    its

    just

    the

    details

    thatdiffer,orasSalmondputsit:

    Awrongissimplyawrongact anactcontrarytotheruleofrightandjustice.Asynonymofitisinjury,initstrueandprimarysenseofinjuria(thatwhichiscontrarytojus),thoughbyamodernperversionofmeaningthistermhasacquiredthesecondarysenseofharmordamage(damnum)whetherrightfulorwrongful,andwhetherinflictedbyhumanagencyornot.30

    Thesewrongsastheyareknownareoftwotypes,moralandlegal.Amoralwrongwouldbe,forexample,murderbecauseitisimmoraltokillanotherhumanbeingby

    naturallaw

    theory.

    This

    is

    shown

    in

    our

    own

    system

    of

    common

    law.

    A

    Legal

    wrong

    ontheotherhanddoesnotconformtonaturallawandcomessolelyfromthemindsofmen.AsSalmondsays:

    Alegalwrongisanactwhichislegallywrong,beingcontrarytotheruleoflegaljusticeandaviolationofthelaw.Itisanactwhichisauthoritativelydeterminedtobewrongbyaruleoflaw,andisthereforetreatedasawronginandforthepurposesoftheadministrationofjusticebythestate31

    MaybeagoodexampleofalegalwrongwouldbespeedingticketsasitisacontroversialtopicinEnglandnowadays. Thereisnothingmorallywrongwithspeeding,unlessitendangerslives;fortherearesomeanimalsonearthwhichcanbreakthespeedlimitsbutIdoubttheywillbefined. Therearemanylegalwrongswhicharenotmorallywrong,butthemorelawsacountryhasthemorewrongsitcreates.Awrongissuchthatifanyoneshouldcommitawrong apunishmentwillbemetedoutbythestate.Soherewehavedefinedwhatawrongis,butwhatconnectiondoesthishaveto

    rightsandduties?Well,awrongwaselucidatedbecauseadutyissimplyanotherwayofsayingdontdowrong,sowhenyoudosomethingwrong,whethermorallyorlegally,youhavefailedtofulfilladuty.Aswrongsaredividedintomoralandlegal,sotooareduties.Youhaveamoralduty,whichisnottodoamoralwrong,

    andalegal

    duty,

    which

    is

    not

    to

    do

    alegal

    wrong.

    Of

    course

    this

    is

    asimplified

    explanationforthelaymantounderstandbutessentiallythatiswhatismeantwhenwetalkofduties.

    29ElementsofLawbyWilliamMarkby,sixthedition,Oxfordpress,1905.p.9230JurisprudenceandthelawbyJohnSalmond,secondedition,StevenandHayes,1907,p.18031Ibid,p.180

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    Nowwemustturntorightswhichareslightlymorecomplicatedinnature. ButPollockgivesaglimpseofwhatarightis:

    Rightisthecorrelativeofduty.Asdutyisaburdenimposedbylaw,sorightisfreedomallowedorpowerconferredbylaw.32

    OrasThomasinhisbook,AtreatiseonUniversalJurisprudencestates:

    Arightisthatqualityinapersonwhichrendersitjustforhimtopossesscertainthings,ortodocertainthings,consistentlywiththelaws33

    Rightsfollowingalongwithdutiesandwrongsarealsodividedintomoralrightsandlegalrights.Abreachofamoralrightwouldresultinamoralwrong,andabreachofalegalrightwouldbealegalwrong. Thisshowsushowrightsanddutiesareconnected,andthefactthatarightinvolvessomeformoffreedom,yetwith

    conditions

    attached

    (the

    duty).

    Alltheserights,wrongsanddutiesaredividedupintomoralandlegalcategorieswhichmakeitevenmoreconfusingfortheordinarymanwhoknowsnothingoflaw.Understandingwhathasjustbeenwrittenisnotaneasytask,andwhathasbeenpresentedtoyouisinahighlycondensedformtomakeitintelligibletothelayman.Sowhyarerightsanddutiesthedefiningqualitiesthatmakeupthelegal

    personalitythatSalmondattributestoaperson?WellIthinkSalmondsaysitbestofall:

    Allthatisrightorwrong,justorunjust,issobyreasonofitseffectsupontheinterestsofmankind,thatistosayuponthevariouselementsofhumanwellbeing,

    suchas

    life,

    liberty,

    health,

    reputation,

    and

    the

    uses

    of

    material

    objects.

    If

    any

    act

    is

    rightorjust,itissobecauseandinsofarasitpromotessomeformofhumaninterest.Ifanyactiswrongorunjust,itisbecausetheinterestsofmenareprejudiciallyaffectedbyit.Conductwhichhasnoinfluenceupontheinterestsofanyonehasnosignificanceeitherinlawormorals.34

    Therewehaveit!AsPollockstatedthelawonlydealswiththerightsanddutiesofpersons,andasSalmondsaidonlyabeingthatiscapableofrightsanddutiesisaperson.

    ItisnowimportanttoanalysethisdefinitionthatthescholarsofJurisprudence

    have

    given

    us.

    We

    will

    use

    Salmonds

    definition

    as

    astarting

    point

    forouranalysis. Thefirsttermhegivesusisabeing,andofcoursewhenwehearthatwethinkofsomethingthatexists,whichdoesnotnecessarilymeanahumanbeing,asahumanbeingisbutonetypeofbeing.Anotherwayto

    32AfirstbookofJurisprudence,bySirFrederickPollock,secondedition,1904,MacmillianandCo.p.6133ATreatisseofUniversalJurisprudencebyJohnPenfordThomas,secondedition,1829,p.21

    34JurisprudenceandthelawbyJohnSalmond,secondedition,StevenandHayes,1907,p.72

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    describeabeingisbythewordentity,whichismoreofaneutralterm,foritcanapplytocorporealandincorporealthingsatthesametime. Thuswecanseehowthereisadivisionbetweennaturalpersonsandlegalpersonsasbothcanbecalledentitiesbutnotbeings.

    The

    next

    part

    of

    the

    definition

    is

    capable

    of,

    which

    if

    we

    look

    in

    any

    dictionarymeanshavingtheabilityorcapacityfor.35 Nowhavingtheabilityorcapacityforsomethingimpliesthechoicetousetheaforementioned. Forhavingsomethingandusingitaretwodifferentthings. Forexample,everyonehastheabilityorcapacityforviolencebutitistheirchoicetouseitornot.

    Sototryandgiveamoreaccuratedefinitiontowhatalegalpersonalityisanditsdefiningqualities,inregardstotheinlaw,wouldbetosaythatitisanentitywiththeabilityorcapacitytohaverightsandduties.36 Soaccordingtothetheoryofjurisprudencesomethingorsomebodymusthavethesedefiningqualitiestobedefinedasapersoninlaw.

    Sonowwemustturntowhatthelawdefinesaspersons,namelythenaturalpersonandthelegalpersonandseeifwecanmatchthemuptoourdefinitionoflegalpersonality.Wewillalsolookintotheseconceptswithmoredepthtogainabetterunderstandingofwhattheyare. Fortotrulyunderstandtheseconceptsandhowtheyapplytothecommonmanwillbenefitgreatlytofindingoutifapersonreallyisahumanbeing.

    Naturalpersonsvs.Legalpersons

    Letsbeginwithnaturalpersonsasthisistheleastcomplexofthetwotoanalyse.Asmentionedaboveanaturalpersonissaidtobeahumanbeing,butcanwereallysaythis?Whenweusetheadjectivenaturalweareaddingmoreinformationtotheprecedingnoun;thenounbeingperson.Ifwelooktoanydictionary(Iusetheoneprovidedbytheinternetbecausemostpeoplewillhaveaccesstothis)thenweseethatnaturalasanadjectivemeansexistinginorformedbynature.37Soifweuseourdefinitionoflegalpersonalityandcombineitwiththemeaningofnaturalwehave:

    Anentity

    existing

    in

    or

    formed

    by

    nature

    with

    the

    ability

    or

    capacity

    to

    have

    rightsandduties

    35http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/capable36Thisisthedefintionthatwillbeusedtodescribealegalpersonalityinlawfromnowon37http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/natural primarydefinitionusedoutofthe30orsodefinitions

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    Thiscanbesaidtobethetruemeaningofnaturalperson. Nowasyoucanseeahumanbeingisnotmentionedinthedefinition,butcanbeimpliedfromitasweexistinorhavebeenformedbynature.Yetarewetheonlythingsformedbynatureontheplanet?No,ofcoursenot,butifyourememberourlastquotebySalmond,rightsanddutiesarecreatedbyhumaninterestsanditisonlythelaw

    thatrecognises

    human

    interests.

    Under

    the

    definition

    above

    everything

    in

    natureshouldbeanaturalperson,butthisisnotthecase.Yettherearesomeinterestingcaseswhenweturntotheissueofanimals,petsorworkanimals,forexample.Whenwehaveapet,forillustrationadog,dotheynothaverightsanddutiesascribedtothem? Forwegivethedogarighttosecurityi.e.weprotectitswellbeingbyhousingandfeedingitanditsdutyisnottoharmusinreturnandtogiveuscompany. Inthisscenariowearethesovereignandthedogistheperson,soweascriberightsanddutiestotheperson.AndinanutshellthisishowthingsworkinBritainnow.

    Sowhatwecansayaboutthenaturalpersonisthatitmayincludehuman

    beingsis

    but

    not

    limited

    to

    them

    by

    definition.

    For

    ifwe

    are

    to

    take

    our

    meaning

    ofnaturalpersontobeconsistentwithwhatthelawsays,itwouldindicatethatwe,humanbeings,arebutonegroupunderavastclassofthings.

    Nowweturntothelegalperson,amorethornyissueatbest.Asmentionedearlier,themodernconceptionofalegalpersonisacorporation.Againthisisjusttoosimpleofadevicetoadoptwhentalkingoflegalpersons. Letusfirstadoptourdefinitionoflegalpersonalityandapplyittothelegalperson.Firstofallwemustfindadefinitionoflegalusedasanadjective,turningtothedictionaryusedthroughoutthisworkweseethatlegalmeanspermittedbylaw.38 Thereforewecanassumealegalpersontobe;

    Anentitypermittedbylawwiththeabilityorcapacitytohaverightsandduties

    Thiswouldseemtobeamoreaccuratedefinitionofwhatalegalpersonis.Yetbyitsdefinitionitsvaguenessisapparent.Whatisanentitypermittedbylaw?Thisusuallymeansacorporation,whichistoovagueofadevicetocontemplate,soyetagainitisincumbentonustolookintothenatureofwhatacorporationis.

    CorporationsasLegalPersonsCorporationsareknownaseitherlegalpersonsorartificialpersons.Herewe

    mustturntoBlackstonescommentariesonthelawsofEnglandtohaveabetterideaofwhatacorporationis. Butfirstitisprudenttopointthatalthough

    38http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/legal

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    companiescanbecorporations,notallcorporationsarecompanies,sopleasekeepthisinmindasweelucidatetheconceptofacorporation.FirstlyasBlackstonesays:

    Thefirstdivisionofcorporationsisintoaggregateandsole.Corporationsaggregate

    consist

    of

    many

    persons

    united

    together

    into

    one

    society,

    and

    are

    kept

    up

    by

    a

    perpetualsuccessionofmembers,soastocontinueforeverCorporationssoleconsistofonepersononlyandhissuccessors,insomeparticularstation,whoareincorporatedbylaw,inordertogivethemsomelegalcapacitiesandadvantages,particularlythatofperpetuity,whichintheirnaturalpersonstheycouldnothavehad.39

    Sowehavetwodivisionsofwhatacorporationis;aggregateandsole.Corporationsaggregatearewhatwearemorefamiliarwithandisprobablywhywecallacompanyorbusinessacorporation,butasweshallseethisismoreofamodernphenomenon. Theconceptofabodycorporate,asthisishowacorporationaggregateismorecommonlyknowninBritain,isamucholderphenomenon.As

    withour

    contentious

    word

    person

    we

    can

    attribute

    the

    idea

    of

    abody

    corporate

    to

    theRomans. ItsfirstusescameintheformofuniversitiesandcollegesasBlackstoneexpounds.

    Theywerecalleduniversitates,asformingonewholeoutofmanyindividuals;orcollegia,frombeinggatheredtogether40

    Afterthisthechurchalsoadoptedthisformoforganization,whichstillgoesontoday. Forexample,publiccorporationsarewhatwerefertoasmunicipalgovernment,whichtendtobetowns,citiesandboroughs,orasArnoldsays

    Amunicipalcorporation,therefore,isacivilcorporationaggregate,establishedforthepurposeofinvestingtheinhabitantsofaparticularboroughorplacewiththepowerofselfgovernmentandwithcertainotherprivilegesandfranchises.41

    Acorporationsoleontheotherhand,

    .consistofonepersononlyandhissuccessors,insomeparticularstation,whoareincorporatedbylaw,inordertogivethemsomelegalcapacitiesandadvantages,

    particularlythat

    of

    perpetuity,

    which

    in

    their

    natural

    persons

    they

    could

    not

    have

    had.42

    39CommentariesontheLawsofEnglandinFourBooksbyWilliamBlackstone,Philadelphia:J.B.LippincottCo.,1893,p.46740Ibid,p.46841ATreatiseonthelawrelatingtoMunicipalCorporationsinEnglandandWalesbyThomasArnold,Thirdedition1863,p.342CommentariesontheLawsofEnglandinFourBooksbyWilliamBlackstone,Philadelphia:J.B.LippincottCo.,1893,p.469

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    ThebestexampleofthiswouldbeourveryownQueen,ortheCrownasthecorporationisknownas. Infactthequeencomprisesofseveralcorporationssole.Someofficialsalsohavesamestatusofcorporationsole,suchassecretariesofstateandothergovernmentofficials. Iwouldgoasfarastosaytheprimeministercouldhavesimilarstatusbutthatcannotbeprovenatthistime.

    ThisideaofcorporationsoleisnotwidelyknownandasSalmondsays:

    Thechiefdifficultyinapprehendingthetruenatureofacorporationofthisdescriptionisthatitbearsthesamenameasthenaturalpersonwhoisitssolememberforthetimebeing,andwhorepresentsitandactsforitNeverthelessundereachofthesenamestwopersonslive.Oneisahumanbeing,administeringforthetimebeingthedutiesandaffairsoftheoffice.Healoneisvisibletotheeyesoflaymen.Theotherisamythicalbeingwhomonlylawyersknowof,andwhomonlytheeyeofthelawcanperceive.43

    SoherewehavetwovariationsofcorporationsbothendowedwithlegalstatusandarethuscalledLegalPersons,howevertheydohavesomedissimilaritiestothenaturalperson. Oneoftheseisimmortality,fornaturalpersonsdie,butlegalpersonsdonot. Thiswasinstigatedtofacilitatelongevityofthecorporateentity,otherwisethedeathoftheindividualmembersofagroup,wouldmeanthedeathofthecorporation.

    Unfortunatelythefieldofcorporationsistoowidetogointoanydepthherebutwhathasbeensaidshouldclarifytheissuesomewhat.Whatitdoesshowisthatalegalpersonis,asourpreviousdefinitionsays,anentitypermittedbylawwiththe

    abilityor

    capacity

    to

    have

    rights

    and

    duties.

    Now

    these

    legal

    persons

    generally

    have

    thesamerightsasnaturalpersonswithafewaddedperks.

    Sofarwehavedefinedwhatapersonisundertheeyesofthelawandthedualityofitsnatureintonaturalandlegal.Wenowknowthatrightsanddutiesarefundamentalpartofwhatmakesupalegalpersonalityandsubsequentlyaperson. Sowoulditnotbepursuantofustofindoutwhatourrightsare.

    TheRightsofaPersonThissubjectistoodeepforaperfectanalysisoftherightsofaperson. Butwewill

    lookatwhatsomecommentatorsonlawhavetosayaboutthesubject.AlsoyouwillfindthehumanrightsactslaiddownbylawinappendixB.Blackstoneinhiscommentariesdividestheabsoluterightsofanindividuali.e.In

    thiscaseanaturalpersonintothreeprincipalcategorieswhichare

    43JurisprudenceandthelawbyJohnSalmond,secondedition,StevenandHayes,1907,p.288

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    1. Therightofpersonalsecurity2. Therightofpersonalliberty3. Therightofprivateproperty

    Thefirst

    right

    as

    Blackstone

    says

    is:

    Therightofpersonalsecurityconsistsinapersonslegalanduninterruptedenjoymentofhislife,hislimbs,hisbody,hishealth,andhisreputation.44

    Astothesecondrightof:

    Personalsecurity,thelawofEnglandregards,asserts,andpreservesthepersonallibertyofindividuals.Thispersonallibertyconsistsinthepoweroflocomotion,ofchangingsituation,ormovingonespersontowhatsoeverplaceonesowninclination

    may

    direct,

    without

    imprisonment

    or

    restraint,

    unless

    by

    due

    course

    of

    law.

    45

    ThefinalrightaccordingtoBlackstoneis

    Thethirdabsoluteright,inherentineveryEnglishman,isthatofproperty:whichconsistsinthefreeuse,enjoyment,anddisposalofallhisacquisitions,withoutanycontrolordiminution,saveonlybythelawsoftheland.46

    Nowofcoursethiswaswrittenin1753,buttheydocoverwhatourbasicrightsareandmostotherrightselucidatedinappendixBwillfallunderthesethreecategories.OfcoursethisisjustacursoryglanceatwhatBlackstonewritestobemorethorough

    Isuggest

    the

    reader

    to

    read

    his

    commentaries

    which

    can

    be

    easily

    found

    in

    the

    public

    domain.Anotherauthorwehaveusedextensivelyherealsohassomedefinitionsofwhat

    ourrightsare. Salmondslistisasfollows.47

    1. Rightsovermaterialthings2. Rightsinrespectofonesownperson3. Therightofreputation4. Rightsinrespectofdomesticrelations5.

    Rights

    in

    the

    respect

    of

    others

    rights

    6. Rightsoverimmaterialproperty7. Rightstoservices.

    44CommentariesontheLawsofEnglandinFourBooksbyWilliamBlackstone,Philadelphia:J.B.LippincottCo.,1893,p.12845Ibidp.13446Ibid,p.13947JurisprudenceandthelawbyJohnSalmond,secondedition,StevenandHayes,1907,p.188190

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    ThesearewhatSalmondsuggestsourrightsare,whetherthisistrueornotitisnotmyplacetoarguethat. Onlytoelucidatewhatsomeauthorshavetostateonthesubject.AswithBlackstone,Salmondsbookcanbefoundinthepublic

    domainifyou

    want

    to

    have

    adeeper

    understanding.

    Sotheseareourrights,andourdutiesarenottocommitwrongsinaccordancewiththeserights. Allthisiswhatwesayapersonhasintheeyesofthelaw. Nowwemustmoveontohowthepersonhasevolvedintheeyesofthelawsowecanconnectwiththefirstpartofthisworkandtheoriginalquestion;isahumanbeingaperson?

    Aperson

    in

    the

    history

    of

    law

    RememberthefirstquoteinthispartoftheworkbySalmond48wherewecannotsaythatapersonmeansahumanbeing,hopefullytheworkupuntilnowhasshownpartofwhythisistrue. Thissectionwilldealmorewithhowthisspecificallyappliestoman. ButletsbeginbyacuriousquotefromSalmond:

    inthelawthiswantofcoincidencebetweentheclassofpersonsandthatofhumanbeingsisstillmoremarked.Inthelawtheremaybemenwhoarenotpersons;slaves,forexample,aredestituteoflegalpersonality,inanysystemwhich

    regardsthem

    as

    incapable

    of

    either

    rights

    or

    liabilities.49

    Sointhepastithasbeenafactthatcertainhumanbeingswerenotconsideredpersonsundertheeyesofthelaw. Sobylogicaldeductionanyoneseennotpossessingrightsorliabilitieswasnotaperson.Aliabilityherejustmeanssomeonewhomisresponsibleforcommittingawrongi.e.heisliable(legallyresponsible)forthatactofwrong.

    Slavesasbeingtheprimeexampleofhumanbeingsnotconsideredpersons.Slaveryhasalonghistoryandistoocomplicatedtogointohere. Butconsidering

    when

    slavery

    was

    legally

    abolished

    it

    is

    not

    so

    long

    ago

    compared

    to

    the

    length

    of

    humanhistory. Isaylegallyabolishedbecausealthoughslaveryisagainstthelawofallnationsthatdoesnotmeanthatthepracticehasstopped,especiallyin

    48Itisnotpermissibletoadoptthesimpledeviceofsayingthatapersonmeansahumanbeing,foreveninthepopularornonlegaluseofthetermtherearepersonswhoarenotmen.JurisprudenceandthelawbyJohnSalmond,secondedition,StevenandHayes,1907,p.27549JurisprudenceandthelawbyJohnSalmond,secondedition,StevenandHayes,1907,p.275

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    developingcountries. InEnglandtherehasbeenalonghistoryofslaverydressedupinavarietyofnames. Forexample:

    EnglishpeoplewasdividedaftertheConquest50intotwoclasses,thefreeandtheserf.51

    Theserfwasownedbyhislordandwasbasicallyaslave,ofcoursethispracticeofserfdomeventuallyfadedbytheaidofthechurchandthecommonlawoftheland(bycustom). ItalsohelpedthattheseserfswerecountrymenandthereforewereaffordedtherightsthatanEnglishmanheld. Howeverthenextformofslaverywasoneofrace.AftertheBritishEmpireconqueredalotoftheworldmanyofthosewhowereconqueredbecamelegalslaves. ThiswasthentakenovertoAmericauntilthetimeofAbrahamLincolnandtheemancipationoftheslaves.YeteventhoughtheywereemancipatedalotoftheirrightswerewithheldwhichledtothecivilrightsmovementinAmerica.

    AnothergroupofhumanbeingshavealsohadtheirrightsrestrictedatvarioustimesinHistoryandtheycompriseofhalfthepopulationatanygiventime;namelywomen. Foralongtimewomenweredeniedmanyoftherightsofmen.Aswasthecasewiththeearlycatholicchurchundercanonlaw,asHeckerstates:

    Thecanonlawreaffirmswoman'ssubjectiontomaninnouncertainterms.Thewifemustbesubmissiveandobedienttoherhusband.Shemustnever,underpenalty,ofexcommunication,cutoffherhair,because"Godhasgivenittoherasaveilandasasignofhersubjection."Awomanwhoassumedmen'sgarmentswasaccursed;itwillberememberedthatthebreakingofthislawwasoneofthechargeswhich

    brought

    Joan

    of

    Arctothestake.52

    AndasHeckerstatesin1914

    TheattitudeoftheRomanCatholicChurchtowardswomen'srightsatthepresentdayispracticallythesameasithasbeenforeighteencenturies.Itstillinsistsonthesubjectionofthewomantotheman,anditisbitterlyhostiletowomansuffrage53

    Ofcourse,timeshavechangedandtherightsofwomenhaveimproved

    dramatically.

    For

    example

    it

    was

    less

    than

    100

    years

    ago

    that

    women

    fought

    for

    andwontherightofsuffrage(therighttovote). Thesubjugationofwomenhasalwaysandstillisacontentiousissue. Likesomanytopics,wehavetouchedon

    50BeingtheNormanconquestof106651TheBritishcitizen:Hisrightsandpriviliges,ashorthistory,1885,E.&J.B.Young,p.6952Ashorthistoryofwomensrights,ByEugeneHecker,Secondedition,1914,G.P.Putmanssons,p.10653Ibidp.117

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    onlythesurfaceofsuchimmenseissues,buttheyareusedtoillustratethatapersonisnotwhatitpurportstobe.

    Todaywomenareconsideredtobenaturalpersonsundertheeyesoflawwiththeequivalentrightsthatmenhold. Butthishasbeenthroughaprocessof

    evolutionlike

    the

    word

    person

    itself.

    Throughouthistorytherehasbeenthroughsomeformofsuppressionofamanorwomansrights,andthisisnolesstruetoday.Yetitisunclearifthesuppressionofsomerightsstripsthemanofhislegalpersonalityaltogether,ifsothenhewouldnolongerbeapersonintheeyesofthelaw;butthisismerelyasuppositiononmypart.

    IsaPersonaHumanBeinginLaw?

    Itisnowwemustbegintoanswerthequestionthatwastheimpetuousforthiswork.Wehaveseenthehistoryandetymologyofthewordperson,sowenowknowwhereitcomesfromandwhatitwasusedtouptoacertainpoint.Thepointthatleftuswasthatapersonwasmeantassomeonewithstatuslikeanofficialorpersonage.Wethenlookedatthemodernusagesoftheword,ofwhichtherearemany.Alotofthemeaningscouldbeexplainedbythereferringtotheetymologyoftheword,othershadnorelevancetothepresentinquiry.Butnothingexplainedwhyapersonisahumanbeing.

    Afterthis

    we

    had

    to

    look

    into

    law

    to

    find

    the

    next

    piece

    of

    the

    puzzle.

    What

    wasdiscoveredwasnotsosimple. Fortherearepersonswhoarenothumanbeings,andtherehavebeenhumanbeingswhowerenotregardedaspersons.

    AmorespecificmeaningofthewordpersonwasgivenbylookingintotheareaofJurisprudence,whichwewillrestatehere.

    PersonAnentitywiththeabilityorcapacitytohaverightsandduties

    Lawhoweverhasseenitnecessarytodividethisdefinitionbyeithersayingthe

    entity

    is

    formed

    by

    nature

    or

    permitted

    by

    law,

    so

    we

    are

    left

    with

    the

    division

    of

    naturalpersonandlegalpersons.Yethumanbeingisstillnotapparentbythisdefinition,andaswasshownforthousandsofyearstherehavebeenanineffableamountpeoplewhohadnorights,thereforetheseslavesintheeyesoflaw,werenotconsideredpersons. Itwasonlypeopleofstatusthatwereconsideredpersons.Thuswehavetheconnectionbetweenwhereweleftouretymologicalstudyhowithasbeenrelevanttolookintothelaw. Nowsinceonlypeopleofstatuswerepersonswiththeaccordingrightsandduties,those,bydeduction,whohadno

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    rights,werenotconsideredpersons. Itisonlyinthelast150yearsorsothat,atleastinthewesternworld,thatallpeoplehaveslowlygainedalltherightsahumanbeingshouldhave. Thisnaturallymakesthempersonsintheeyesofthelaw,whichiswhywecansupposethatperson(naturalatleast)meansahumanbeing.Yetthisistechnicallynottrueifwefollowthelogicoflanguageratherthan

    thetwisted

    logic

    of

    the

    law.

    Letmetryandexplain.Thefirstthingthatshouldstrikethereaderisthatnounpersonisusedinaspecificway. Ifwecancompareittoanotherwordthismightclarifythings,forexamplethewordmammal. Nowahumanbeingisamammal,butnotallmammalsarehumanbeings. Doyouseethedifference?Amammaldescribesaclassofthingsandnotthethingsthemselves;itisatypeofcategorylikefurniture,liquids,plants,etc.Apersonisaclassofthings,oracategory,nothingmore. Nowifwedescribeourselvesasaperson,youonlydescribeyourselfasamemberofaclassofthings.Youcouldjustaswellsayyou

    are

    a

    mammal;

    a

    biped;

    an

    organism.

    If

    we

    take

    the

    example

    of

    the

    class

    of

    furniturethenwecanpointtoachairandsayitsachairwhichisthemostspecificnountodescribeit,butitisalsofurniture.

    Theproblemisthatweusethewordpersonlikeweusethewordchair;youseeamanandwomenbeforeyouandyoucallhimorheraperson,agenderneutralterm,andthewordsticks.Anotherexampletoillustratethepointisthatofwater. Nowwaterisaliquid,butwhenfrozenitisasolid,whenitboilsitbecomesgaseous. Indifferentstatesitfallsunderdifferentcategories. Thisissimilartotheperson,whenitisnatural,somethingformedbynature;whenlegal,somethingpermittedbylaw.

    Sobasicallycomesdowntothis.Ahumanbeinghasthecapacitytobeapersonifitfulfilsthecriteriai.e.havingtheabilityorcapacityforrightsandduties,butitisnotahumanbeingperse.Justasananimalcanbeamammalifitfulfilsthecriteriaofbeing,

    anyvertebrateoftheclassMammalia,havingthebodymoreorlesscoveredwithhair,nourishingtheyoungwithmilkfromthemammaryglands,and,withtheexceptionoftheegglayingmonotremes,givingbirthtoliveyoung.54

    But

    not

    all

    animals

    are

    mammals.

    Again

    we

    must

    refer

    to

    our

    maxim,

    The

    wordisnotthethingitrepresentsbutgetsitsmeaningfromitsuse,thusweseethatthewordpersonisuseddifferentlyinlawthaninordinarymodernusage. Itsjustthatitseemsnotmanyinvolvedinthefieldeitherknowthisorarewillingtotelleveryonethis.

    54http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/mammal

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    Sointheeyesofthelawapersonisnotahumanbeing,itneverhasbeenanddoubtfullywilleverbe. Itissimplyaclassofthings;nothingmorenothingless. Ifwereallywanttobepedantic,personreallyholdsitsoriginaluse,amask. Forrightsandduties,supposedlyaregiventousbyoursovereignpower,beitGod,Allah,thestateoryourself. Youputontheserights,likeamask,whichshows

    otherpeople

    what

    you

    are,

    to

    be

    able

    to

    move

    around

    in

    aworld

    full

    of

    other

    peoplewearingsimilarmasks. TohighlightthisdevelopmentwecanuseGreenoughandKittredgessdiagramandextenditmore.

    1. A Amask2. A+B characterindicatedbymask3. B characterorrolein(play)4. B+C onewhorepresentsacharacter5. C arepresentativeingeneral6. C+D arepresentativeofchurchinParish7.

    D

    a

    parson

    8. D+E aparsonwithhighrankoroffice9. E someonewithhighrankoroffice10. E+F highrank/officehasstatus11. F someonewithstatus12. F+G s/onewithstatushasrights13. G anyonewithrights14. G+H anyentitywithrights

    Tosumupthissection,wehavefoundamainpartofthepuzzle,debatableor

    not,that

    gives

    at

    least

    some

    clarity

    to

    the

    matter.

    In

    the

    third

    and

    final

    part

    of

    this

    workwewillseehowthisappliestothecommonmanbylookingintosomelawsofEngland,seeinghowtheyareinterpretedandhowthisallappliestotheperson.

    Thenextsectionwillbethemoredemandingbecausewemustdelvemoreintothelanguageofthelaw,whichalwaysproducesaheadache. This,nevertheless,isnecessarytoseehowthisonelittlewordaffectsyourlifesoprofoundly.

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    Part3TheLawsofBritain

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    Introduction

    ToputthissectionintocontextwewillfirstbeginbygivingasmallintroductiontowhattheactuallawofEnglandis. Fromthisbasicunderstandingof

    how

    the

    law

    works

    will

    be

    of

    great

    utility,

    for

    the

    following

    sections

    is

    where

    wewillgodeeperintoactuallaws,howtheyareinterpretedandwhatrelevancethishastotheperson. Thispartwillbethemosttechnicalofthethreebecausewehavetobegintointroducelegaltermsandexplaintheirusage,sopatienceisrequiredfromthereader.

    ThetwodivisionsofEnglishlaw

    ItissaidtherearetwodivisionsoflawinEngland. ThefirstbeingthemoreancientsystemweknowasCommonLawandthesecondbeingthemoremodernStatuteLaw. Soitistothesetwodivisionsacursoryoverviewmustbegiven,whichwewillstartwiththeolderofthetwodivisions:CommonLaw.

    CommonLaw

    Commonlaw

    is

    generally

    known

    as

    the

    unwritten

    law

    of

    England

    (Lex

    non

    scripta)forasRueggsays:

    Itoriginallyconsistedofacollectionofunwrittenmaximsandcustoms,whichweresupposedtohaveexistedimmemoriallyinthiscountry.55

    SoCommonlawisgenerallyknownascustomarylawasitderivesitsauthorityfromthecustomsofthenationovertime,whichwasneverformallywrittendown,likeanactofparliament.Agoodexampleofthiswouldbemurder,forthereisnowrittenrulethatmurderisforbidden,butasacustom,andthisbeing

    partof

    common

    law,

    it

    is

    forbidden

    to

    murder

    anyone.

    Blackstone

    divides

    these

    customsintothreetypes

    55AnElementaryCommentaryonEnglishLawbyAlfredRuegg,1920,GeorgeAllen&UnwinLtd,p.12

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    Thisunwritten,orcommon,lawisproperlydistinguishableintothreekinds:1.Generalcustoms;whicharetheuniversalruleofthewholekingdom,andformthecommonlaw,initsstricterandmoreusualsignification.2.Particularcustoms;which,forthemostpart,affectonlytheinhabitantsofparticulardistricts.3.Certainparticularlaws;which,bycustom,areadoptedandusedbysomeparticularcourts,ofpretty

    generaland

    extensive

    jurisdiction.56

    Thesecustomsorlawsweredeterminedbyjudges,whichwhythecommonlawisoftenreferredtoasJudgemadelaw,orcaselawwhereprecedentsaresetdownasaguideforfuturegenerationstofollow,asRueggsays.

    Whetheracustom,generalorparticular,isapartoftheCommonlawofEngland,canonlybefinallydeclaredbythejudges,whosedecisionswhenpronouncedareafterwardsbindinguponthemselvesandallinferiorcourts.57

    Of

    course

    this

    is

    not

    to

    say

    that

    everything

    is

    not

    written,

    but

    they

    do

    not

    include

    actsofparliament,forasHalesays:

    whenIcallthosepartsofourlawslegesnonscripta,Idonotmeanasifthoselawswereonlyoral,orcommunicatedfromtheformeragestothelater,merelybyword;forallthoselawshavetheirseveralmonumentsinwriting,wherebytheyaretransferredfromoneagetoanother,andwithoutwhichtheywouldsoonloseallkindofcertaintyButIthereforestilethosepartsofthelawlegesnonscripta,becausetheirauthoritativeandoriginalinstitutionsarenotsetdowninwritinginthatmannerorwiththatauthoritythatactsofparliamentare.58

    SoCommon

    Law

    is

    the

    oldest

    system

    of

    law

    of

    England

    and

    continues

    today.

    Yet

    howdoesthisconnecttotheotherdivisionoflawwehavetoday?WelltoseethisthenwemustlookintothebirthoftheParliamentastheyarethebrachwhichwrite,enactandenforcestatutes. Blackstonewritesaboutthebeginningofparliament,

    Iholditsufficientthatitisgenerallyagreed,thatinthemaintheconstitutionofparliament,asitnowstands,wasmarkedoutsolongagoastheseventeenthyearofkingJohn,ad1215,inthegreatchartergrantedbythatprince59

    Thatisnttosaythatbeforethistimenothingofthelikeexisted,butwiththe

    writing

    of

    the

    Magna

    Charta

    a

    general

    summons

    was

    issued

    to

    various

    personages

    by

    theking. Thusparliamentwasbornandoveritlonghistory,whichisofsuchagreatvolumetogodeeplyintohere,wearriveatthestatewherewearetoday. Common

    56CommentariesontheLawsofEnglandinFourBooksbyWilliamBlackstone,Philadelphia:J.B.LippincottCo.,1893,p.6757AnElementaryCommentaryonEnglishLawbyAlfredRuegg,1920,GeorgeAllen&UnwinLtd,p.1558ThehistoryofthecommonlawofenglandbyMatthewHale,1820,sixthedition,Butterworths,p.2159CommentariesontheLawsofEnglandinFourBooksbyWilliamBlackstone,Philadelphia:J.B.LippincottCo.,1893,p.149

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    Lawisacomplexentityandcannotbesummeduplightly,itadvisabletoreaduponthesubject,wherethereareplentyofauthoritativeworksinthepublicdomain.

    Whatwecansayisthatitisfromcommonlaw thatournextdivisionoflawderivesitsauthority,namelyStatutelaw.

    StatuteLaw

    Statutelawisreferredtoasthewrittenlaw(LexScripta).SinceRueggputsitbestwewilllethimgiveaconciseexplanation.

    Statutelaw SinceParliamentarygovernmentwasfullyestablishedStatutelawmeanstheActsofParliamentpassedbytheHouseofLordsandHouseofCommons,

    and

    assented

    to

    by

    the

    King.

    These

    Statutes

    have

    always

    necessarily

    been

    in

    writing

    or

    print,andthuscollectivelyarecalledtheLexScripta.60

    SobasicallyStatutesareactsofparliaments,ofwhichtherehavebeenthousandsofinitslonghistory,althoughmanyhavebeenrepealed,orrevised. Howeverastatuteisnotsimplyanactofparliament. Itisknownthatuniversitiesusestatutesastherulesoftheirorganisation,soitisnotthesoledomainofParliamenttohavestatutes.

    ThefirstwrittendocumenttopasslawswastheMagnaChartaof1215,thisisdebatablewhetheritisastatute,butitwasthefirstformofwrittenlaw. Subsequently

    adifferent

    version

    of

    the

    Magna

    Charta

    was

    put

    on

    the

    statute

    rolls,

    but

    not

    the

    original,whichisoneofthefoundingdocumentsoftheunwrittenEnglishConstitution.

    NowadaysitwouldseemtothecommonmanthatStatuteLawisthelawofthelandbutonemustmakeadistinctionherebetweenthelawandalaw. Thelawiswhatwethinkofascommonlaw,whilstanactofparliamentisalaw,usuallygiventheforceoflaw. StatuteLawwasintroducedtoprovidearemedyforamischiefthatcommonlawdidnotprovide.

    To

    make

    this

    is

    easier

    to

    understand

    an

    analogy

    might

    clarify

    things.

    Imagine

    a

    mightyoaktree. NowtherootsarethecustomsandtraditionsofEnglandthathavedevelopedovertime. Thetrunkofthetreeisthecommonlaw,whichhasgrownbiggerandbiggerastheroots(customs)growstronger. NowthebranchesandleavescanbecomparedtoStatuteLaw. Simpleenough,Ihope! Nowstatutescomeandgoasnoparliamentcanbeboundbythepreviousone,likethebranchesandleaves

    60Ibid,p.11

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    whichwitherawayanddiewhennewshootstakeover. Theproblemtodayisthatpeopletakethebranchesandleavestobethewholeofthetree,ignoringthetrunkandtheroots.

    Statutesaretherulesofsociety,whichcanbechanged,anditisthelawwhich

    enforces,or

    not,

    these

    rules.

    Never

    mistake

    the

    rules

    for

    the

    entity

    which

    enforces

    them.Anexampleofthisisthatthereisnostatuteformurder,forithasbeenanimmemorialcustomthatmurderiswrong,thereforeitisunderCommonlaw.However,thecrimeofspeedingisastatutelaw,enforcedbycommonlaw,fordrivingfastisanewphenomenon,whichcommonlawhadnoremedyfor.

    Theproblemwithstatutelawisthatitisopentoabusebycorruptpeopleforpower,forifonecanpushthroughalawthatisunjust,commonlawhastoenforceit.Thisiswhatweareseeinghappeningtodayasthousandsofnewoffenceshavebeencreatedsincetheseventies,tothepointthateveryboyorchildborninBritainwillbe

    a

    criminal

    at

    some

    point

    in

    their

    lives,

    unwillingly

    or

    not.

    Itwasinitiallythisimbalanceofstatutelawthatpromptedthisenquiryintotheperson.

    ThisisaverysimplisticoverviewofthetwodivisionsoftheEnglishsystemofLawanditwouldbenefitthereadertodelvedeeperintothesubjectforabetterunderstanding,unfortunatelythisisbeyondthescopeofthiswork.Whatyoudohaveisasimpleunderstandingofhowthesystemworks,whichwasnecessaryfortheproceedingpart. Fornowwedelvemoreintotheworldofstatutesandseewhyitisrelevanttothepersonandtothereader.

    StatutoryDefinitionofthePerson

    Ifonehaseverreadastatute,thenyouwillknowthatwhenyoudosoyouenteralabyrinthoflanguage,consistingoftwists,turnsanddeadends. Thelanguageusedbythedraftsmenofsuchdocumentsisascienceinitself,asisthereadingofthemanart

    form.

    For

    this

    we

    have

    solicitors,

    barristers,

    lawyers,

    judges

    all

    to

    help

    us

    (please

    note

    theironyinthis). Butwhycannotthecommonmansimplyreadthelawandbeabletounderstandit? Simplybecauseanindustrywouldcollapse,anindustrythatmakesalotofmoneyeveryyear.

    Sowhatdoesthewordpersonhavetodowithstatutes? Theansweriseverything.Forstatutesonlydealwithpersons,thetypewementionedinthesecondpartofthiswork;eitherthenaturalpersonorthelegalperson. Allthethingsthelawdealswith

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    liesunderthesetwoentities,sowhenonereadsastatuteapersonwill inevitablybementionedor implied. This is thereasonthatunderstandingwhat thewordpersonmeansisessentialtothereader,becauseaswillbeshownalotofvaguenessarisesintheseactsofparliamentwhichcontrolourlives.

    Howthen

    does

    astatute

    define

    what

    aperson

    is?

    To

    do

    this

    the

    government

    has

    givenusahandintheformoftheInterpretationactof1978,thisasthepreamble(orsynopsis)oftheact:

    AnActtoconsolidatetheInterpretationAct1889andcertainotherenactmentsrelatingtotheconstructionandoperationofActsofParliamentandotherinstruments,withamendmentstogiveeffecttorecommendationsoftheLawCommissionandtheScottishLawCommission.61

    Basicallyithelpsoutbygivingsomeinstructionstohowactsofparliamentareconstructed. Thisisrelevanttousbecauseitalsoprovidesdefinitionsofwordsusedoften,personbeingoneofthem. Soletusdelvefurtherintothisactandtheconstructionandinterpretationofstatutes.

    TheInterpretationAct1978

    This1978actwasarevisionofthe1889Interpretationact. Itlayssomeclear

    guidelineson

    the

    construction

    of

    statutes,

    and

    consolidates

    certain

    ubiquitous

    terms.

    Thiswastoaidthelegislatureinthedraftingoffutureacts.Anexampleofthisisthisprovision.

    AnyActmaybeamendedorrepealedintheSessionofParliamentinwhichitispassed.62

    Or,

    InanyAct,unlessthecontraryintentionappears,

    (a)Wordsimportingthemasculinegenderincludethefeminine;(b)Wordsimportingthefemininegenderincludethemasculine;(c)Wordsinthesingularincludethepluralandwordsinthepluralincludethesingular.63

    61InterpretationAct1978(c.30),preamble62Ibid,Section2

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    Themostimportantsectiontousisthefollowing:

    InanyAct,unlessthecontraryintentionappears,wordsandexpressionslistedinSchedule1tothisActaretobeconstruedaccordingtothatSchedule.64

    ToseetheentiretyoftheactofthisactlooktoAppendixC,buttherelevantdefinitionforusishiddenawayinthatschedule1. Therelevancyisthatitdefinesthewordpersonandhowitshouldbeinterpreted,itisasfollows:

    Person"includesabodyofpersonscorporateorunincorporate.65

    Asmalldefinitionandconcisedefinition,ifwecanevencallitadefinition,foritdefinesitselfusingthewordpersoninthedefinition. Socanweevencallthisisadefinition? Itlooksmorelikeguidanceonhowtousetheword,notwhatitmeans.

    We

    will

    compare

    this

    with

    the

    original

    definition

    of

    the

    1889

    act,

    which

    is

    as

    follows:

    InthisActandineveryActpassedafterthecommencementofthisActtheexpression"personshall,unlessthecontraryintentionappears,includeanybodyofpersonscorporateorunincorporate66

    Soweseethattheoriginal1889definitionwasdividedandputindifferentsections.

    Firstweshouldalreadybecognizantofthewordpersonsonoexplanationis

    neededhere,

    but

    the

    second

    word

    to

    appear

    in

    the

    phrase

    is

    of

    definite

    importance

    andthatisthewordinclude.

    Thisisanothercontentiouswordinlawandtherehasbeengreatconfusioninitsuse. Soitisnecessarytoclarifythiswordbeforewecangoonwithourdeconstruction. Ithinkmostpeoplebelieveincludemeanstobecomeapartofsomething,asIdidatonepoint,butthisisjustthecommonusage. Togiveanexampleofadictionarydefinitionincludemeans

    Toconfinewithin;tohold;tocontain;toshutup;toenclose;.67

    Whatweseehereistherealmeaning,whichiswhywesaythatitmeanstobecomeapartofsomething,becausethetruemeaningistoconfinewithin. So

    63Ibid,Section664Ibid,Section565Ibid,Schedule166 InterpretationAct1889takenfromStroudsJudicialDictionary67"include."Webster'sRevisedUnabridgedDictionary.MICRA,Inc.01Jul.2009.

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    whensomeoneincludesyouinanactivityyoubecomeconfinedwithinthatactivity,whichisanotherwayofsayingtobecomeapartofsomething.

    Inlawthewordincludeusesitsoriginalmeaning,asintoconfinewithin,thuswhenusedinastatuteitisnotthesameasordinaryusage. Thisisoneofthe

    fundamentalguides

    to

    statutory

    construction

    and

    interpretation,

    which

    are

    expressedinafamousmaxim;

    Expressio unius est exclusio alterius (The express mention of one thing excludes all

    others)

    Itmustbeunderstoodthatthisisaguidetoconstructionandnotaruletofollowobediently. Sayingthatitdoesprovidelightontothewordinclude. Ifweweretofollowthewisdomofthemaximandseetheconnectiontothestandardmeaningofthewordinclude,wecangainabetterunderstanding.OrasBennionstates:

    Theexpressiouniusprincipleisalsoappliedwhereaformulawhichinitselfmayormaynotincludeacertainclassisaccompaniedbywordsofextensionnamingonlysomemembersofthatclass.Theremainingmembersoftheclassarethentakentobeexcluded68

    ForexamplebyapplyingtheabovemaximtothephrasePersonincludesabodyofpersonscorporateorunincorporatewecouldsaythatbyexpressingthatapersonisabodyofpersonscorporateorunincorporate,whichwouldonlyimply