Age of majority

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Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. The age of majority is the threshold of adulthood as it is conceptualized (and recognized or declared) in law. It is the chronological moment when minors cease to legally be considered children and assume control over their persons, actions, and decisions, thereby terminating the legal control and legal responsibilities of their parents or guardian over and for them. Most countries set majority at 18. The word majority here refers to having greater years and being of full age; it is opposed to minority, the state of being a minor. The law in a given jurisdiction may never actually use the term "age of majority" and the term thereby refers to a collection of laws bestowing the status of adulthood. The age of majority is a legally fixed age, concept, or statutory principle, which may differ depending on the jurisdiction, and may not necessarily correspond to actual mental or physical maturity of an individual.

Age of majority should not be confused with the age of sexual consent, marriageable age, school leaving age, drinking age, driving age, voting age, smoking age, etc., which all may be independent of, and sometimes set at a different age from, the age of majority.

Although a person may attain the age of majority in a particular jurisdiction, they may still be subject to age-based restrictions regarding matters such as the right to vote or stand for elective office, act as a judge, and many others.

Explanation

Age of majority can be confused with a similar concept, the age of license,[1] which also pertains to the threshold of adulthood but in a much broader and more abstract way. As a legal term of art, "license" means "permission", and it can implicate a legally enforceable right or privilege. Thus, an age of license is an age at which one has legal permission from government to do something. The age of majority, on the other hand, is legal recognition that one has grown into an adult.[2]

Age of majority pertains solely to the acquisition of control over one's person, decisions and actions, and the correlative termination of the legal authority of the parents (or guardian(s), in lieu of parent(s)) over the child’s person and affairs generally.

Many ages of license are correlated to the age of majority, but they are nonetheless legally distinct concepts. One need not have attained the age of majority to have permission to exercise certain rights and responsibilities. Some ages of license are actually higher than the age of majority. For example, the age of license to purchase alcoholic beverages is 21 in all U.S. states. Another example is the voting age, which prior to the 1970s was 21, while the age of majority was 18 in most states. In the Republic of Ireland the age of majority is 18, but one must be over 21 years of age to stand for election to the Houses of the Oireachtas.[3] Also, in Portugal the age of majority is 18, but one must be at least 25 years of age to run for public office.[4] A child who is legally emancipated by a court of competent jurisdiction automatically attains to their maturity upon the signing of the court order. Only emancipation confers the status of maturity before a person has actually reached the age of majority.

In almost all places, minors who are married are automatically emancipated. Some places also do the same for minors who are in the armed forces or who have a certain degree or diploma.[5]

Countries and subdivisions

The following list the age of majority in countries (or administrative divisions) in the order of lowest to highest:

Age 15

Age 16

Age 17

Age 18

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Age 19

Age 20

Age 21

Religion

In the Catholic Church, the age of majority is 18 years.[83] In Judaism, at age 13 for males (Bar Mitzvah), or at age 12 for females (Bat Mitzvah), a person is considered an adult.[citation needed]

See also

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Notes

  1. ↑ Amendments to existing laws have been drafted to raise majority age to 18.
  2. ↑ Those aged 16 or older can be emancipated upon marriage, by being approved for civil service, by graduating in college or for being economically independent
  3. ↑ If minor becomes a parent or marries – a judicial act is passed with prior hearing of minors parents and getting an opinion of the Social Care centre
  4. ↑ Iraq's Civil Code defines the age of majority as 18; however, due to the Iraqi constitution and instability, Note 1 (above) may apply as courts choose between Shari'ah law and the Civil Code
  5. ↑ (Poland) Or upon marriage which for women can happen at 16 the earliest, voting age is 18 always
  6. ↑ Minors are emancipated upon marriage or in case of working on a labour agreement or being engaged in business activities.
  7. ↑ Under the Age of Legal Capacity (Scotland) Act 1991, a 16-year-old has the full legal capacity to enter into any legal agreement. However in Scots law, the contract is classed as a "prejudicial transaction" until they are 18. The legal test being would a prudent adult have not entered into such a contract, and whether the person has been prejudiced by entering into such a contract.

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Statutory and Judicial Emancipation of Minors in the United States, 2001–2002 analysis by law students of Northeastern University
  6. ↑ http://www.youthpolicy.org/factsheets/country/iran/
  7. ↑ http://www.youthpolicy.org/factsheets/country/saudi-arabia/
  8. ↑ http://www.youthpolicy.org/factsheets/country/yemen/
  9. ↑ http://www.youthpolicy.org/factsheets/country/cuba/
  10. ↑ http://www.youthpolicy.org/factsheets/country/cambodia/
  11. ↑ http://www.youthpolicy.org/factsheets/country/vietnam/
  12. ↑ http://www.youthpolicy.org/factsheets/country/myanmar/
  13. ↑ http://www.youthpolicy.org/factsheets/country/timor-leste/
  14. ↑ http://www.youthpolicy.org/factsheets/country/north-korea/
  15. ↑ [1] Civil Code of the Republic of Albania
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Interpol report on Andorra law[dead link]
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Interpol report on Bahamas[dead link]
  22. ↑ Interpol report on Barbados[dead link]
  23. ↑ Interpol report on Belarus[dead link]
  24. ↑ Article 476 Civil code of Belgium.
  25. ↑ Interpol report on Bosnia and Herzegovina[dead link]
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.[dead link]
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Interpol report on Denmark[dead link]
  30. ↑ Interpol report on Djibouti (in French)[dead link]
  31. ↑ Code for the Protection of the Rights of Children and Adolescents
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ http://www.fosigrid.org/africa/guinea-bissau Guinea-Bissau
  35. ↑ Indian Majority Act
  36. ↑ Iraqi Civil Law: Its Sources, Substance, and Sundering
  37. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  38. ↑ http://www.reunite.org/edit/files/Islamic%20Resource/Kyrgyzstan%20text.pdf Kyrgyz text
  39. ↑ 39.0 39.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  40. ↑ [2] APC.org [3] Malta Civil Code Section 157
  41. ↑ http://info4.juridicas.unam.mx/ijure/fed/1/659.htm?s=
  42. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  43. ↑ Republic Act No. 6809, 13 December 1989, Chan Robles Law library
  44. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  45. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  46. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  47. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  48. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  49. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  50. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  51. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  52. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  53. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  54. ↑ http://www.youthpolicy.org/factsheets/country/tajikistan/ Tajikistan Profile
  55. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  56. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  57. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  58. ↑ 58.0 58.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  59. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  60. ↑ Age of Legal Capacity (Scotland) Act 1991
  61. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  62. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  63. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  64. ↑ Age of Majority (Jersey) Law 1999
  65. ↑ The Age of Majority (Alderney) Law, 2001, guernseylegalresources.gg.
  66. ↑ 66.0 66.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  67. ↑ 67.0 67.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  68. ↑ 68.0 68.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  69. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  70. ↑ https://www.fidh.org/IMG/pdf/ubhrrl_report_2013.pdf Humans rights in Uzbekistan
  71. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  72. ↑ :::: 법률지식정보시스템 ::::. Likms.assembly.go.kr. Retrieved on 11 April 2012.
  73. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  74. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  75. ↑ 75.0 75.1 75.2 75.3 75.4 75.5 Sexual Offences Laws – Countries. Interpol.int (2011-01-31). Retrieved on 11 April 2012.
  76. ↑ http://www.youthpolicy.org/factsheets/country/cameroon/
  77. ↑ http://www.youthpolicy.org/factsheets/country/gabon/
  78. ↑ http://www.youthpolicy.org/factsheets/country/grenada/}
  79. ↑ http://www.youthpolicy.org/factsheets/country/cote-divoire/
  80. ↑ Ordonnance 62-041 du 19 septembre 1962 relative aux dispositions générales de droit interne et de droit international privé
  81. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  82. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  83. ↑ Can. 97, § 1 CIC.

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