Ortyns'ka N.M.

Ph.D., assistant of Department of
Administrative and Information Law
Institute of Law and Psychology
National University "Lviv Polytechnic”

Delictual dispositive capacity as an element of a minor's legal personality

Legal personality is the most significant prerequisite for the empowerment of the subject with rights and duties, so is the main legal providing element of legal status. As we've already mentioned, in certain historical stages of the legal doctrine the concept of "legal status" and "legal personality" was equated. Nowadays the scientific community nevertheless agrees with the position of a broader nature of the category of "legal status" than "legal personality".

The term "legal personality" in the scientific literature is defined in two aspects. According to our observations, the legal personality is interpreted as a precondition for participation in legal relations [1] and qualitative characteristics of the individual as a juridical entity [2], his/her legal feature (thus, I. Maleyin stressed that to have it - is to be the subject of law [3]).

So, concerning minors to determine the nature of legal personality means to find out whether a person in this age group to be the subject of law and to what extent. International standards (e.g. Art. 6 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, art. 16 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights) declare that every person, wherever he/she may be, has the right to recognition of his/her legal personality Legal personality - is an inalienable category. It cannot be taken away from a person; this category is a defined possibility of the subject to be the subject of law from the birth. The ability to have rights in a democratic society does not depend on age or other discriminatory factors. Legal personality - is a category that defines a minor as a juridical entity.

To recognize a minor as a legal subject we should determine in which areas of legal relations he/she can enter. Let's group them:

1) legal relations of domestic nature, ensure normal living conditions of the minor. They are concentrated in the area of a minor’s interaction with the family, his/her educational space, employment, etc;

2) legal relations that are characterized in the absence of a proper family environment, such as relations for guardianship, adoption, paternity, a struggle with homelessness and so on;

3) legal relations associated with improper minor’s health condition - determination of disability, social security for children with disabilities, rehabilitation of a minor’s health, alimony legal relations, etc.;

4) exclusive legal relations arising in case of military conflicts and extreme situations that require special role of government bodies in protecting the lives and health of minors;

5) relations arising in connection with offenses committed by minors or against them, and their subsequent structuring depending on the child's age, the type of offense committed and applied measures of liability;

6) legal relations arising in connection with the functioning of the various human rights mechanisms of child rights.

The peculiarity of legal personality of minors still exists. The legal personality defines the limits of legal possibilities of person [4], it affects the potential scope of rights and obligations. The legal personality means on the one hand, granting of subjects with certain social and legal possibilities, on the other - securing their borders. It has no particular meaning, and therefore cannot perform these functions. In all cases, the law, recognizing the person’s legal personality indicates in what exactly his/her legal personality is revealed [5]. The scope of legal personality in minors is different than in adults because the rights and responsibilities of minors have a number of features, including the possibility of their implementation. The fact that juveniles exercise certain rights through their legal representatives does not indicate their lack of legal personality. They still are the subjects of law and participants of legal relations, but with peculiarities. Even some scientists deduce the concept of "minors" from the characteristics of their legal personality: a minor - is the one who has not reached a certain age, which the law associates his full civil capacity, i.e. the possibility to implement in full the Constitution and other laws of subjective rights, freedoms and legal obligations. [6]

The legal personality, as an element of personality’s status that defines (determines) the presence or absence, the amount and terms of realization of rights and freedoms of a person – has crucial, essential meaning. The legal personality is a composed category covering legal capacity, capacity and delictual dispositive capacity of legal entity. Within this scientific message we'll focus on the last one.

Delictual dispositive capacity - is the ability to be responsible for the committed offense. Highlighting the delictual dispositive capacity as an independent element of legal personality that allows distinguishing different legal possibilities and in its limits; to consider all the scope and specifics of responsibility actions for specific category of individuals with regard to the amount of legal capacity and capacity. [7]

According to some researchers, delictual dispositive capacity is an element of minor’s legal personality, unlike other age groups of children. According to S. Suleymanova, contrary to the dominant legal literature understanding delictual dispositive capacity as a kind of capacity, we must admit that the ability to be responsible for the delict is one of the elements of the individual’s legal capacity. This item appears only with reaching 14 years old [8].

Professor V. Nersesyants indicates that "in various areas of law delictual dispositive capacity of individuals comes from different ages." It is delictual dispositive capacity an element that provides responsible part in the legal status of a minor. In other words the presence of delictual dispositive capacity directly affects the liability as a significant element of the person’s legal status.

In general, the person who caused the harm may have delictual dispositive capacity fully, or doesn’t have it at all. As a result, a person is endowed with delictual dispositive capacity is independently responsible for the harm on general terms. In turn, the person that does not have delictual dispositive capacity isn't responsible for his/her behavior, and the duty for compensation of the caused damage is put typically on legal representatives and / or guardian of such person [9].

Minors aged from 14 to 18 are considered to have material delictual dispositive capacity, i.e. are responsible for property damage caused by their actions. However, if the minor doesn’t have assets or earnings sufficient for compensation of harm, the damage must be compensated by his parents.

If a minor committed a legal action that goes beyond his capacity, without the written consent of his legal representatives or their subsequent approval, then such an agreement, the court may find invalid. However, if such agreement is fully in the interests of a minor, it can be considered valid, in case of further approval by its legal representatives. Therefore, the amount of material delictual dispositive capacity depends on the availability of the minor’s financial resources and the type of legal action in which he enters.

Delictual dispositive capacity in other areas of law is predetermined by age occurrence of the relevant type of liability, in this case on legal representatives cannot be transferred an obligation of incurring negative consequences if a minor committed offenses.

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