Aspects of legal capacity

Legal capacity is a right that all people have because they are human. It has two essential parts, including:

1. Legal standing - Legal standing is the ability to hold rights and have responsibilities under the law, and to be recognised as a legal person before the law.
2. Legal agency - Legal agency is the ability to act on these rights and have the actions recognised by the law, or the ability to be answerable under the law when responsibilities are not met. That is, a person is seen as an agent with the power to enter into transactions and create, change, end or be accountable in legal relationships.

Legal standing gives a person the right to do (or have) something and legal agency is about the person actioning that right.

For example, a person may have the right to hold property in their name (legal standing), but they may not be recognised as being able to take action on that right, that is to sell or lease the property (legal agency). The law may require someone else to action that right for a person (for example, a substitute decision-maker such as an attorney under a power of attorney).

Further examples of legal standings include the right to have a birth certificate, the right to apply for a passport and the right to own property. However, things like getting married, voting at an election, dealing with property, for example: buying, selling or leasing property are not classified as legal standings.