The Right to Legal Personhood of Marginalised Groups

Abstract Legal personhood is the state’s recognition of the individual as a legal entity whose decisions and actions are respected by the law. It is the predicate to power and privilege because it is required for political participation, contracting, consenting to marriage and sex, and other elements of our world. Marginalised groups are denied legal personhood in various ways that are creating and reinforcing social inequalities. For example, women in Saudi Arabia continue to be placed under the legal guardianship of male relatives—often leaving them unable to contract, marry, and take other legal actions independently. Moreover, racial minorities around the world lose part of their legal personhood via incarceration, which they experience at vastly higher rates than others. Undocumented migrants in the United States and elsewhere are similarly experiencing legal personhood denials because they are not recognised by the state and therefore cannot take many legal actions essential for daily living (e.g. engaging in employment contracts). The right to legal personhood has been enshrined in human rights law since its inception with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. However, it has been largely overlooked. This book explores the marginalisation occurring as a result of barriers to the right to legal personhood and how this can be rectified—how the right to legal personhood can be realised for marginalised groups. It presents a legal argument for the protection of the right and a normative analysis of the importance of the right in maintaining equality in socio-legal systems.