The Age of Legal Capacity (Scotland) Act 1991 (c.50) is an
Act of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...
applicable only in
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
. It replaced the pre-existing rule of pupillage and
minority with a simpler rule that a person has full
legal capacity
Legal capacity is a quality denoting either the legal aptitude of a person to have rights and liabilities (in this sense also called transaction capacity), or altogether the personhood itself in regard to an entity other than a natural person ( ...
at the age of 16.
[(1)(b)]
Background
Under the previous Scots law (derived from Roman law), a child to the age of 12 if female, or 14 if male, had legal status of "pupil" and was under legal control of an adult (usually parent or parents) deemed "tutor". From that age until the
age of majority
The age of majority is the threshold of legal adulthood as recognized or declared in law. It is the moment when minors cease to be considered such and assume legal control over their persons, actions, and decisions, thus terminating the contr ...
the child had legal status of a "minor", and might have a responsible adult deemed "curator" or have no responsible adult (being referred to as "fors familiated"). The Scottish age of majority was originally 21 until reduced to 18 by the
Age of Majority (Scotland) Act 1969
The Age of Majority (Scotland) Act 1969 (c.39) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom applicable only in Scotland. The act reduced the age of legal majority from the age of 21 (or in some cases 25), to the age of 18.
The Act affects a ...
. Pupils lacked any capacity to enter into legal contracts. Minors had capacity to enter into contracts, which included the capacity to make a
will
Will may refer to:
Common meanings
* Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death
* Will (philosophy), or willpower
* Will (sociology)
* Will, volition (psychology)
* Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will
...
, but subject to rights to have these reduced by a court in certain circumstances, and sometimes requiring their curators consent. The rules as to when contracts did or did not require consent, and which were potentially reducible by court were complex. The age to enter into marriage was originally the age of minority, but this was raised to 16 years by the Age of Marriage Act 1929, and confirmed in the Marriage (Scotland) Act 1977.
Act
The Age of Legal Capacity (Scotland) Act 1991 (c.50)
Act of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...
is applicable only in
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
. It replaced the pre-existing rule of
pupillage
A pupillage, in England and Wales, Northern Ireland, Kenya, Malaysia, Pakistan and Hong Kong, is the final, vocational stage of training for those wishing to become practising barristers. Pupillage is similar to an apprenticeship, during which bar ...
and minority with a simpler rule that a person has full legal capacity at the age of 16.
Under the Age Legal Capacity Scotland Act 1991 the old rules and terms were replaced. The basic rule under the replacement regime is that under 16s have no legal capacity. This is qualified by section 2 which provides that under 16s can:
# enter into a contract of a kind commonly entered into by persons of their age group, and on terms which are not unreasonable;
# from age 12, make a Will, and are deemed to have capacity to instruct a lawyer to act on their behalf.
The right to consent to an adoption was also subsequently inserted into this section by the Children (Scotland) Act 1995.
In all other cases the legal Guardian of the under 16 has legal right to deal with all contractual and consent matters on the child's behalf.
From age 16 a person has full legal capacity to enter into any form of agreement. This subject to protection for younger persons by means of a right (under section 3) while under the age of 21, to have a contract made between the ages of 16 and 18 set aside as a "prejudicial transaction". The test is whether a reasonably prudent adult would not have entered into such a contract, and the person has been prejudiced by entering into that contract. Under section 4 a contract may be approved in advance by a court, in which case it cannot later be reduced. Contracts entered into in the course of the young person's business, or where they misrepresented their age also cannot be reduced.
There is also specific provision for persons having their birthday on 29 February; under section 6 they are treated as having their birthday on 1 March in every non-leap year for purposes of calculating their age.
See also
*
Age of majority
The age of majority is the threshold of legal adulthood as recognized or declared in law. It is the moment when minors cease to be considered such and assume legal control over their persons, actions, and decisions, thus terminating the contr ...
*
Age of Majority (Scotland) Act 1969
The Age of Majority (Scotland) Act 1969 (c.39) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom applicable only in Scotland. The act reduced the age of legal majority from the age of 21 (or in some cases 25), to the age of 18.
The Act affects a ...
*
Capacity in Scots law Legal capacity is the ability of an individual to transact with others. It should be distinguished from consent, where the individual with capacity, agrees for another to commit an act involving the consenter, such as consent to sexual relations un ...
References
{{Reflist
1991 in Scotland
United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1991
Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning Scotland
Capacity (law)
Children's rights in Scotland
Children's rights legislation
Juvenile law
Youth in Scotland
Youth rights in the United Kingdom