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Forwarded: human rights / corp. entities
Lief M. Hendrickson (hendrick@NOSC.MIL)
Fri, 30 Dec 1994 12:28:04 PST
> = post by James Barnes on Dec. 30
>The position of corporations and other corporate identities has come up
>a couple of times and I thought I would throw in a clarification.
>
>Under the law a corporation is not a group, it is an individual.
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To: James Barnes
Your point is correct with regard to how a corporation is treated
"under the law". In actuality, however, most corporations
represent an underlying group, namely the officers and
stockholders. The individual who incorporates him or herself is
is an exception. How our legal system identifies and treats this
entity called a corporation does not change the fact that it is
really a group in terms of being a number of persons related in
some way. It's a matter of whether you want to use a legal
definition or one based on actual composition. By the way, legal
treatment of a corporation is similar to that of an individual in
some respects but not all. For example, a corporation is
considered to have a (theoretical) infinite life under the law.
A legal partnership presents a similar situation. The
partnership is an entity under the law but is composed of a group
of individuals- the partners. In the case of a limited
partnership, only the general partner is accountable for the
actions of the partnership.
Perhaps there are some more aspects of cultural label vs. actual
composition that may be of further interest.
Lief Hendrickson
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