What effect does a person’s age have on their legal options and responsibilities? When can a child legally act independently and how is liability for damage caused by minors assessed? What is the difference between partial and full legal capacity, and when is a limitation of legal capacity approached?
A child’s legal personality, i.e. the capacity to be a bearer of rights and obligations, is established at birth. However, the Czech legal system also provides certain rights to unborn children (nasciturus) if they are born alive. If you are asking yourself what the unborn child’s legal personality is for, the answer is simple: for example, when the father dies during the mother’s pregnancy and the unborn child can become an heir. The foetus is also protected by criminal law and other legislation. From the moment of birth, the child becomes a natural person with legal personality, which guarantees him or her fundamental rights enshrined in the constitutional order and international conventions, such as the right to life, a name, nationality and family background. It is essential that no one can be deprived of his or her legal personality, nor can it be renounced.
One of the most important aspects of a child’s legal personality is his or her right to care and protection. Parents have a duty to ensure the child’s healthy development until he or she acquires full legal capacity. This includes, for example, decisions about education, health care and the management of property.
The child also has the right to protection from abuse and neglect, which is guaranteed not only by the Civil Code but also by criminal law. Should parents or other persons violate their obligations towards the child, the State may intervene through the child welfare authorities.
A child’s legal personality is therefore formed at birth, although the ability to act independently and to take responsibility for his or her actions develops gradually as the child grows older and more mature.
The termination of the legal personality of a natural person occurs upon death, but may also be brought about by a declaration of death, in which case the court determines the date of death. This too can play a significant role in inheritance law.
However, not all living beings have legal personality. Although you can have your dog insured, operated on or wear a cape, it does not have legal personality. So he cannot inherit from you, for example, and although you give him presents for his birthday, there is no classic gift contract in legal terms.
The Civil Code says that legal capacity is the capacity to acquire rights and to bind oneself to obligations (i.e. to act legally) by one ‘ s own legal action. Children develop their legal capacity gradually, depending on their age and maturity. The Czech legal system distinguishes between full legal capacity, which is acquired when a person reaches the age of 18, and partial legal capacity, which enables children and adolescents to perform legal acts appropriate to their intellectual and voluntary maturity.
Young children can only perform ordinary acts of daily life, such as buying small items like a lollipop or a toy. Older children, such as those aged 10-14, can buy things of higher value, such as sports equipment, if this is reasonable in relation to their capacity and reasoning ability.
Significant legal actions, such as entering into a contract, are only possible with the prior consent of a parent or guardian. Without this consent, the act could be invalid. Specific situations, such as the administration of an inheritance or the use of large sums of money, fall exclusively under the supervision of the legal guardian or the court.
On our 18th birthday, we are adults and therefore able to enter into any contract, acquire all kinds of rights and assume all kinds of obligations. However, in the life of some adults, situations arise in which they are unable to understand the consequences of their legal actions and to understand what ordinary communication at the office or in a shop entails. One way of protecting these people is to limit their legal capacity in certain areas by having a guardian act for them. Complete deprivation of legal capacity is not possible today, and even restrictions must always be temporary and have clear rules.
We can help you protect the safety, property or other interests of a person who is no longer able to act legally on their own. We will also protect you if someone is trying to limit your legal capacity without justification. Contact us and we will discuss with you what your options are for help.
Tort capacity, the ability to be held liable for harm or other wrongful acts, is another important legal aspect of a child’s development. In the Czech legal system, tort capacity is closely linked to the age and intellectual maturity of the child. In general, children under the age of 15 are not criminally liable because their capacity to recognise the consequences of their actions is presumed to be limited.
However, this does not mean that their actions have no legal consequences. If a child under the age of 15 causes damage, the responsibility for compensating for this damage passes to the child’s legal representatives, usually the parents or the person who supervises the child. However, there are limits to this liability – the parents are not obliged to compensate for the damage if they can prove that they did not neglect to supervise.
From the age of 15, the child becomes criminally liable, but specific conditions apply here too. Juvenile offenders are punished more leniently than adults, with an emphasis on re-education and re-socialisation. Punishments such as conditional release or educational measures aim to promote rehabilitation and prevent recidivism.
This system allows the individual maturity of the child to be taken into account and the child’s offences to be dealt with appropriately.
Tip: What is the situation with the restriction of legal capacity today? Can someone be deprived of their legal capacity completely? And how exactly do the court proceedings for the restriction of legal capacity work? We have addressed these questions in our separate article.
Tip: Are you in trouble and don’t know where to go to escape domestic violence or other dangers? For example, a shelter offers help.
Entering the age of 15 brings significant legal changes for a child, even though he or she is still not fully competent. Reaching this age allows minors to enter the workforce, but only under strict conditions.
At this age, it is also assumed that the child will already be performing a number of legal acts independently. For example, he or she can purchase items appropriate to his or her age, such as a mobile phone or clothes, and enter into simple contracts on his or her own. On the other hand, more complex transactions, such as buying a car or property, require the consent of a legal guardian or the court.
Criminal liability in the Czech Republic starts at the age of 15. Until then, children cannot be prosecuted even if they commit an act that would otherwise be considered a criminal offence. However, this does not mean that their behaviour does not have legal consequences. In the case of younger children, the child welfare authorities or schools may take measures of an educational nature, such as increased supervision.
Juveniles, i.e. persons aged 15 to 18, are criminally liable, but under the special conditions laid down in the Youth Justice Act. The main objective of this Act is not punishment but the reformation and re-socialisation of the juvenile. Punishments are therefore lighter than for adults and often include alternative measures such as supervision by a probation officer, educational programmes or community work.
Serious cases, such as serious violent offences, may lead to imprisonment, but with a limitation on the length of the sentence. The maximum prison sentence for juveniles is 5 years, or up to 10 years in exceptional cases.
Emancipation and marriage are situations where a minor child can be granted full legal capacity before the age of 18. Emancipation, i.e. the child’s independence, can occur if the minor demonstrates sufficient maturity and capacity to act independently. However, emancipation requires the consent of the court, which must assess whether the child is capable of taking full responsibility for his or her actions.
Marriage is another exception that allows a minor to acquire full autonomy. In the Czech Republic, the court may authorise marriage from the age of 16 if there are compelling reasons, such as pregnancy. After marriage, the minor becomes fully competent and can perform all legal acts without restriction. This status does not cease even if the marriage ends in divorce before the age of 18.
These legal institutions allow minors to acquire adult legal status if their life circumstances require a greater degree of autonomy. At the same time, however, the law ensures that these exceptions are only applied in cases where it is in the best interests of the minor.
The legal treatment of children’s legal capacity and responsibility varies across countries, with differences based on the cultural, historical and legal traditions of each country. For example, the minimum age of criminal responsibility is significantly lower in some countries than in the Czech Republic. In the UK, children can be held criminally responsible from the age of 10, while in Scandinavian countries such as Sweden and Norway, the age limit is set at 15, which corresponds to the Czech regulation.
In terms of employment law, the European Union has introduced a directive setting the minimum age for employment at 15, similar to the Czech Republic. However, in some countries, such as Germany, children under the age of 15 can do certain light work, for example in family businesses. In contrast, in the US, rules for underage work are strictly regulated at both federal and state level.
The regulation of the age of majority is also an interesting comparison. While in the Czech Republic the age of majority is set at 18, in Japan it was until recently 20, although some legal actions could be taken by young people earlier.
We can help you protect the safety, property, or other interests of a loved one who is no longer able to act fully legally on his or her own through a motion to limit capacity. We will also protect yourself if someone is trying to limit your legal capacity without justification.
Ondřej is the attorney who came up with the idea of providing legal services online. He's been earning his living through legal services for more than 10 years. He especially likes to help clients who may have given up hope in solving their legal issues at work, for example with real estate transfers or copyright licenses.
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