Legal Literacy – This article discusses legal subjects which are divided into three types, namely natural persons (natuurlijke persoon), legal entities (rechts persoon), and figures/officials. The article also informs about changes in determining the age of majority according to Article 39 paragraph 1 of Law No. 30 of 2004 concerning Notary Positions.

Legal subjects are everything that can have rights and obligations under the law, or everything that supports rights and obligations under the law. This means that every creature that is permitted to have, acquire, and exercise rights and obligations in law is included as a legal subject. Legal subjects have certain characteristics such as being independent, protected (in cases of underage or incapable circumstances), and acting as intermediaries.

  1. Natural person (natuurlijke persoon)
  2. Legal entity (rechts persoon)
  3. Figures/ officials

In general, the classification of legal subjects is divided into two, namely humans or natural persons and legal entities or legal persons.

a. Human/ Person

Every person, whether a citizen or a foreigner, has a position as a legal subject. Therefore, it can be said that every person is considered a legal subject from birth to death.

As a legal subject, every person has rights that can be exercised and guaranteed by applicable law.

Article 1 of the Civil Code states that citizenship rights can be enjoyed by anyone, regardless of their citizenship status. In addition, everyone is considered capable of acting as a legal subject unless the Law states otherwise.

Requirements for having legal capacity include:

  • A person who is of legal age (21 years or older)
  • A person who is under 21 years old but is married
  • A person who is not currently serving a sentence
  • Of sound mind and not mentally disturbed

Whereas the conditions that do not have legal capacity include:

  • A person who is not of legal age
  • A person suffering from memory loss
  • A person who is not level-headed
  • A person placed under guardianship
  • A married woman (Article 1330 of the Civil Code).

Some people consider adulthood for a teenager to be an achievement worth celebrating. In general, if a person has celebrated their 17th birthday and has an ID card or driver's license, they are considered an adult. This means that they have changed from child status to adult and can be legally responsible for themselves.

A person's age of majority is very important in the eyes of the law because it is related to the legality of legal actions carried out by a person or the acceptance of legal subject status. In other words, when a person reaches the age of majority, he has the right to make agreements with other people and take certain legal actions, such as selling or buying land or houses in his own name without assistance from his parents as guardians. However, is a 17-year-old considered an adult in the eyes of the law?