TOWARDS A SINGULAR CONCEPT OF LEGAL PERSONALITY

Abstract

This paper argues that the only two categories of legal persons recognized in Canadian law are natural persons and the corporation, and that the essential attributes of a corporation are name, state sanction, and perpetual succession. This essential attribute approach to corporations has the benefit of certainty and ease of application in classifying foreign entities and in clarifying the status of Indian bands. There is no compelling argument in favour of recognizing a third category of legal person, and doing so would only create unnecessary uncertainty.