Legal persons include (subject to particular jurisdiction):

• natural persons,
• cooperatives,
• corporations,
• unincorporated associations,
• partnerships,
• companies (which includes corporations but can also be trade unions, unlimited companies, trusts, limited liability companies)
• sovereign states,
• some international organisations (e.g. the UN, the EU),
• temples,
• the Whanganui River in New Zealand and the Ganges River in India.

Non-natural legal persons or persona ficta in Latin date from Roman times and their use was popularized by Pope Innocent IV in Catholic cannon law because it allowed monasteries to own infrastructure while the monks could maintain their vows of poverty.

In common law tradition only a person could sue or be sued because only a natural person could be guilty as only they had a soul. Prior to the industrial revolution this was not a problem as most businesses were conducted by individuals or small partnerships. However, with the rise of limited liability corporations, wronged parties couldn't sue the corporation (because it wasn't a person) nor could they sue the directors/shareholders because their liability was limited only to the value of their shares (which had usually already been paid).

To resolve this issue, a legal person was created with 5 legal rights, the right to:

• a common treasury or chest (i.e. the right to own stuff),
• the right to a corporate seal (i.e. the right to enter contracts),
• the right to sue and be sued,
• the right to hire agents (employees and contractors),
• the right to make by-laws (i.e. corporate governance).

Latter the courts added the rights and obligations of a citizen and/or resident of a sovereign state.

A natural person already has all of these rights and obligations.

Legal persons include (subject to particular jurisdiction):

• natural persons,
• cooperatives,
• corporations,
• unincorporated associations,
• partnerships,
• companies (which includes corporations but can also be trade unions, unlimited companies, trusts, limited liability companies)
• sovereign states,
• some international organisations (e.g. the UN, the EU),
• temples,
• the Whanganui River in New Zealand and the Ganges River in India.

Non-natural legal persons or persona ficta in Latin date from Roman times and their use was popularized by Pope Innocent IV in Catholic canon law because it allowed monasteries to own infrastructure while the monks could maintain their vows of poverty.

In common law tradition only a person could sue or be sued because only a natural person could be guilty as only they had a soul. Prior to the industrial revolution this was not a problem as most businesses were conducted by individuals or small partnerships. However, with the rise of limited liability corporations, wronged parties couldn't sue the corporation (because it wasn't a person) nor could they sue the directors/shareholders because their liability was limited only to the value of their shares (which had usually already been paid).

To resolve this issue, a legal person was created with 5 legal rights, the right to:

• a common treasury or chest (i.e. the right to own stuff),
• the right to a corporate seal (i.e. the right to enter contracts),
• the right to sue and be sued,
• the right to hire agents (employees and contractors),
• the right to make by-laws (i.e. corporate governance).

Latter the courts added the rights and obligations of a citizen and/or resident of a sovereign state.

A natural person already has all of these rights and obligations.