Age of majority

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Ages of majority (2023):
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21 or older
20
19
18
17
16 or younger Age of Majority - Global.svg
Ages of majority (2023):
  21 or older
  20
  19
  18
  17
  16 or younger

The age of majority is the threshold of legal adulthood as recognized or declared in law. [1] It is the moment when a person ceases to be considered a minor and assumes legal control over their person, actions, and decisions, thus terminating the control and legal responsibilities of their parents or guardian over them. Most countries set the age of majority at 18, but some jurisdictions have a higher age and others lower. The word majority here refers to having greater years and being of full age as opposed to minority, the state of being a minor. The law in a given jurisdiction may not actually use the term "age of majority".

Contents

The term typically refers to a collection of laws bestowing the status of adulthood. Those under the age of majority are referred to as minors and are legally forbidden from enjoying certain privileges or rights (e.g. the right to vote, buy and/or drink alcohol, marry, sign a binding contract). However, there are exceptions in which those who have reached the age of majority can be referred to as minors. For example, if a country's age of majority is 18, but the legal drinking age is 21, then a 20 year old would still be considered a "minor" in situations involving buying or consuming alcohol. Another example is the age to consent to sexual activity, which in most of the cases in the world is under the age of majority. In other cases, it can be above the age of majority, and in that case the younger part, despite having already reached the legal adulthood, would be still referred to as minor or underage to consent to sexual activity. [2] [3] [4]

If a minor attempts to use adult privileges without being of age, they have committed a crime. Therefore, they could be prosecuted as a criminal and sentenced to fines or, more rarely, incarceration.

Age of majority should not be confused with the age of maturity, age of sexual consent, age of criminal responsibility, marriageable age, school-leaving age, legal working age, drinking age, driving age, voting age, smoking age, gambling age, etc., which each may be independent of and set at a different age from the age of majority.

Explanation

The term "age of majority" can be confused with the similar concept of the age of license, [5] which also pertains to the threshold of adulthood but in a much broader and more abstract manner. As a legal term of art, "license" means "permission", which leads to implications of a legally enforceable right or privilege. Thus, an age of license is an age at which one has legal permission from a given government to participate in certain activities or rituals. The age of majority, on the other hand, is a legal recognition that one is gradually becoming an adult, not necessarily stating that one is legally allowed to partake in any or all activities specified for adults. [6]

Many ages of license are correlated to the age of majority to recognize the transition to legal adulthood, but they are nonetheless legally distinct concepts. One need not have attained the age of majority to have permission to exercise certain rights and responsibilities. Some ages of license may be higher, lower, or match the age of majority. For example, to purchase alcoholic beverages, the age of license is 21 in all U.S. states. Another example is the voting age, which prior to 1971 was 21 in the US, as was the age of majority in all or most states. After the voting age was lowered from 21 to 18, the age of majority was lowered to 18 in most states. In most US states, one may obtain a driver's license, consent to sexual activity, and gain full-time employment at age 16 even though the age of majority is 18 in most states. [7] In the Republic of Ireland the age of majority is 18, but one must be over 21 to stand for election to the Houses of the Oireachtas. [8] Also, in Portugal the age of majority is 18, but one must be at least 25 years of age to run for public office and 35 to run for president. [9] A child who is legally emancipated by a court of competent jurisdiction automatically attains to their maturity upon the signing of the court order. Only emancipation confers the status of maturity before a person has actually reached the age of majority.

In almost all places, minors who marry are automatically emancipated. Some places also do the same for minors who are in the armed forces or who have a certain degree or diploma. [10] Minors who are emancipated may be able to choose where they live, sign contracts, and have control over their financial and medical decisions and generally make decisions free from parental control but are not exempt from age requirements set forth in law for other rights. For example, a minor can emancipate at 16 in the US (or younger depending on the state) but must still wait until 18 to vote or buy a firearm, and 21 to buy alcohol or tobacco.

The age 18 is identified as the age of adulthood in the Jewish Talmud relative to having sound judgement to make monetary decisions as a judge. [11] Here, the Talmud says that every judgment Josiah, the sixteenth king of Judah (c.640–609 BCE), issued from his coronation until the age of eighteen was reversed and he returned the money to the parties whom he judged liable, due to concern that in his youth he may not have judged the cases correctly. Other Jewish commentators have discussed whether age 13 or 18 is the age to make decisions in a Jewish Court. [12]

The highest known age of majority historically was around age 30, during the age of the Roman Empire, where young males were placed under the guardianship of adults known as "Curatores" whose permission was needed to engage in formal acts and sign contracts until the youth turned 30. [13] This was later lowered to 25, and eventually 21 became the common age of majority. In some places historically, 23 or 27 could have also been this age. [14] It has also been as low as 14 or 15 years of age. They are somewhat arbitrarily chosen, but have rarely been designated outside of this approximate age range. It has not always been 18 or 21 but a variety of ages. In Medieval England, the age of majority was 15 but later raised to 21. [15] [16] [17]

Since 2015, some countries have lowered the voting age to 16. [18] [19] Some countries, like England and Wales, are even considering lowering the age of majority to 16, [20] similar to how it already is in Cuba and Scotland. [21] The main argument for lowering is that, on average, young people are much more educated (both because of better individual educational outcomes and being raised by more educated parents) than in the past (the same argument was made in the 1970s when most countries lowered the age of majority from 21 to 18, which remains the age used for most countries).[ citation needed ] [22] In addition, compared to the past, information is much more easily accessible as a result of the spread of the Internet, which can be accessed through both the personal computer and the smartphone.

A person reaches the age of majority at midnight at the beginning of the day of that person's relevant birthday; under English common law this was not always the case. [23] [ better source needed ]

Civil law

In many countries minors can be emancipated: depending on jurisdiction, this may happen through acts such as marriage, attaining economic self-sufficiency, obtaining an educational degree or diploma, or participating in a form of military service. In the United States, all states have some form of emancipation of minors. [24]

The age of majority in countries (or administrative divisions) in the order of lowest to highest:

Up to age 15

Age 16

Age 17

Age 18

Coming of Age Day in Japan. The ceremony still targets age 20, even though age of majority was decreased from 20 to 18. Coming of Age Day Ceremony.jpg
Coming of Age Day in Japan. The ceremony still targets age 20, even though age of majority was decreased from 20 to 18.

Age 19

Age 20

Age 21 and above

Unknown age

Religious law

Religions have their own rules as to the age of maturity, when a child is regarded to be an adult, at least for ritual purposes:

Effects

In some countries, reaching the age of majority carries other rights and obligations, although in other countries, these rights and obligations may be had before or after reaching the aforementioned age.

See also

Notes

  1. Amendments to existing laws have been drafted to raise majority age to 18. However, the body is considered to be developed and to have reached adulthood at age 15 in Yemen.
  2. Age of Legal Capacity (Scotland) Act 1991
  3. Article 25. Minor and adolescent: minor is the person who has not turned eighteen. This Code refers to the adolescent as the minor who turned thirteen years of age.
  4. Article 24. The age of majority shall be 18.
  5. Those aged 16 or older can be emancipated upon marriage, by being approved for civil service, by graduating college or for being economically independent.
  6. §30 Majority. An individual acquires full legal capacity upon reaching the age of majority. The age of majority is reached upon reaching eighteen years of age. Before reaching the age of majority, full legal capacity is acquired by being granted legal capacity or by entering into marriage. Legal capacity acquired by entering into marriage is not terminated upon termination or invalidation of marriage.
  7. A minor is an individual of either sex who is not yet eighteen years old.
  8. The age of majority is 15 Islamic lunar years for boys, and nine lunar years for girls.
  9. Iraq's Civil Code defines the age of majority as 18. However, due to the Iraqi constitution and existing national instability, Note 1 (above) may apply as courts may choose between Shari'ah law and the Civil Code.
  10. Constitution of Kenya. Article 260. "Adult" means an individual who has attained the age of eighteen years, "child" means an individual who has not attained the age of eighteen years. Age of Majority Act, 1977. Section 2 Age of majority. A person shall be of full age and cease to be under any disability by reason of age on attaining the age of eighteen years.
  11. Constitution of Kosovo. Articles 45 and 71. Every citizen who is 18 years old or older can vote (article 45) and is eligible to become a candidate (article 71) for the Assembly of Kosovo
  12. Or at 16 or 17, upon marriage.
  13. Or upon marriage, which, for women, can happen as early as 16. The legal voting age is invariably 18.
  14. Minors are emancipated upon marriage or in case of working on a labour agreement or being engaged in business activities.
  15. Children's Act, 2005 Article 1. "child" means a person under the age of 18 years, article 17. Age of majority – A child, whether male or female, becomes a major upon reaching the age of 18 years.
  16. Constitution article 12. Spaniards come legally of age at eighteen years. Civil Code article 315. Legal age begins upon turning eighteen. The date of birth shall be included in full for the calculation of legal age.
  17. In all states and Washington, D.C., the legal alcohol purchase and smoking age is 21.
  18. In the light of article 16 of the Family Code, which provides that majority is attained at the age of 21 years, it may be inferred that the status of minor is retained in Honduras until the age of 21. However, according to article 36 of the Constitution of Honduras, all Hondurans over 18 years of age are citizens. This means that the quality of citizen is attained while a person is still a minor, thus involving the assumption of the status of minor adult. The latter contracts all the obligations of persons of full age and acquires the specific rights that are reserved for such persons, with a few exceptions. [126]
  19. In Mississippi, 18 is the age of majority for executors and administrators, and "in case letters testamentary or of administration shall be granted to any one under twenty-one (21) years, the bond executed by such person for the performance of the duties shall be as valid and binding as if such person were of full age." By contrast, any person between the ages of 18 and 21 is defined as a minor for trusts and estates, and transfers to that person. [134]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Age of consent</span> Minimum age for agreement to sexual activities

The age of consent is the age at which a person is considered to be legally competent to consent to sexual acts. Consequently, an adult who engages in sexual activity with a person younger than the age of consent is unable to legally claim that the sexual activity was consensual, and such sexual activity may be considered child sexual abuse or statutory rape. The person below the minimum age is considered the victim, and their sex partner the offender, although some jurisdictions provide exceptions through "Romeo and Juliet laws" if one or both participants are underage and are close in age.

Sex and the law deals with the regulation by law of human sexual activity. Sex laws vary from one place or jurisdiction to another, and have varied over time. Unlawful sexual acts are called sex crimes.

Child sex tourism (CST) is tourism for the purpose of engaging in the prostitution of children, which is commercially facilitated child sexual abuse. The definition of child in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is "every human being below the age of 18 years". Child sex tourism results in both mental and physical consequences for the exploited children, which may include sexually transmitted infections, "drug addiction, pregnancy, malnutrition, social ostracism, and death", according to the State Department of the United States. Child sex tourism, part of the multibillion-dollar global sex tourism industry, is a form of child prostitution within the wider issue of commercial sexual exploitation of children. Child sex tourism victimizes approximately 2 million children around the world. The children who perform as prostitutes in the child sex tourism trade often have been lured or abducted into sexual slavery.

In law, a minor is someone under a certain age, usually the age of majority, which demarcates an underage individual from legal adulthood. The age of majority depends upon jurisdiction and application, but it is commonly 18. Minor may also be used in contexts that are unconnected to the overall age of majority. For example, the smoking and drinking age in the United States is 21, and younger people below this age are sometimes called minors in the context of tobacco and alcohol law, even if they are at least 18. The terms underage or minor often refer to those under the age of majority, but may also refer to a person under other legal age limits, such as the age of consent, marriageable age, driving age, voting age, working age, etc. Such age limits are often different from the age of majority.

Marriageable age, marriage age, or the age of marriage is the general age, a legal age or the minimum age marriage. Age and other prerequisites to marriage vary between jurisdictions, but in the vast majority of jurisdictions, the marriage age as a right is set at the age of majority. Nevertheless, most jurisdictions allow marriage at a younger age with parental or judicial approval, especially if the female is pregnant. Among most indigenous cultures, people marry at fifteen, the age of sexual maturity for both the male and the female. In industrialized cultures, the age of marriage is most commonly 18 years old, but there are variations, and the marriageable age should not be confused with the age of majority or the age of consent, though they may be the same.

Emancipation of minors is a legal mechanism by which a minor before attaining the age of majority is freed from control by their parents or guardians, and the parents or guardians are freed from responsibility for their child. Minors are normally considered legally incompetent to enter into contracts and to handle their own affairs. Emancipation overrides that presumption and allows emancipated children to legally make certain decisions on their own behalf.

The legal age of consent for sexual activity varies by jurisdiction across Asia. The specific activity engaged in or the gender of participants can also be relevant factors. Below is a discussion of the various laws dealing with this subject. The highlighted age refers to an age at or above which an individual can engage in unfettered sexual relations with another who is also at or above that age. Other variables, such as homosexual relations or close in age exceptions, may exist, and are noted when relevant.

The ages of consent for sexual activity vary from age 15 to 18 across Australia, New Zealand and other parts of Oceania. The specific activity and the gender of its participants is also addressed by the law. The minimum age is the age at or above which an individual can engage in unfettered sexual relations with another person of minimum age. Close in age exceptions may exist and are noted where applicable. In Vanuatu the homosexual age of consent is set higher at 18, while the heterosexual age of consent is 15. Same sex sexual activity is illegal at any age for males in Papua New Guinea, Kiribati, Samoa, Niue, Tonga and Tuvalu; it is outlawed for both men and women in the Solomon Islands. In all other places the age of consent is independent of sexual orientation or gender.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Age of consent in Europe</span> Legal ages for sexual activities in Europe

The age of consent for sex outside of marriage varies by jurisdiction across Europe. The age of consent – hereby meaning the age from which one is deemed able to consent to having sex with anyone else of consenting age or above – varies between 14 and 18. The majority of countries set their ages in the range of 14 to 16; only four countries, Cyprus (17), Ireland (17), Turkey (18), and the Vatican City (18), set an age of consent higher than 16.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Age of consent in North America</span>

In North America, the legal age of consent relating to sexual activity outside of marriage varies by jurisdiction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Age of consent in Africa</span>

The age of consent in Africa for sexual activity varies by jurisdiction across the continent, codified in laws which may also stipulate the specific activities that are permitted or the gender of participants for different ages. Other variables may exist, such as close-in-age exemptions.

Rape is a type of sexual assault initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, under threat or manipulation, by impersonation, or with a person who is incapable of giving valid consent.

Restrictions on sexual activity involving minors in the United Kingdom and its predecessors have existed since medieval times. During the 1970s, there was some political advocacy in favour of significantly reducing the age of consent, supported by various 'youth liberation' organizations and mostly by members of the Paedophile Information Exchange. Meanwhile, over a similar time period, the unequal age of consent for straight and gay young people was campaigned against by the LGBT rights movement. More recently arguments have occasionally been made in favour of reducing the age of consent, generally to an earlier point in adolescence.

Laws regarding incest vary considerably between jurisdictions, and depend on the type of sexual activity and the nature of the family relationship of the parties involved, as well as the age and sex of the parties. Besides legal prohibitions, at least some forms of incest are also socially taboo or frowned upon in most cultures around the world.

Laws against child sexual abuse vary by country based on the local definition of who a child is and what constitutes child sexual abuse. Most countries in the world employ some form of age of consent, with sexual contact with an underage person being criminally penalized. As the age of consent to sexual behaviour varies from country to country, so too do definitions of child sexual abuse. An adult's sexual intercourse with a minor below the legal age of consent may sometimes be referred to as statutory rape, based on the principle that any apparent consent by a minor could not be considered legal consent.

In common law jurisdictions, statutory rape is nonforcible sexual activity in which one of the individuals is below the age of consent. Although it usually refers to adults engaging in sexual contact with minors under the age of consent, it is a generic term, and very few jurisdictions use the actual term statutory rape in the language of statutes. In statutory rape, overt force or threat is usually not present. Statutory rape laws presume coercion because a minor or mentally disabled adult is legally incapable of giving consent to the act.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sodomy law</span> Laws criminalising certain sexual acts

A sodomy law is a law that defines certain sexual acts as crimes. The precise sexual acts meant by the term sodomy are rarely spelled out in the law, but are typically understood and defined by many courts and jurisdictions to include any or all forms of sexual acts that are illegal, illicit, unlawful, unnatural and immoral. Sodomy typically includes anal sex, oral sex, manual sex, and bestiality. In practice, sodomy laws have rarely been enforced to target against sexual activities between individuals of the opposite sex, and have mostly been used to target against sexual activities between individuals of the same sex.

Child pornography is erotic material that depicts persons under the designated age of majority. The precise characteristics of what constitutes child pornography varies by criminal jurisdiction.

Revenge porn is the distribution of sexually explicit images or videos of individuals without their consent, with the punitive intention to create public humiliation or character assassination out of revenge against the victim. The material may have been made by an ex-partner from an intimate relationship with the knowledge and consent of the subject at the time, or it may have been made without their knowledge. The subject may have experienced sexual violence during the recording of the material, in some cases facilitated by psychoactive chemicals such as date rape drugs which also cause a reduced sense of pain and involvement in the sexual act, dissociative effects and amnesia.

The age of consent is the age at which a person is considered to be legally competent to consent to sexual acts and is thus the minimum age of a person with whom another person is legally permitted to engage in sexual activity. The distinguishing aspect of the age of consent laws is that the person below the minimum age is regarded as the victim, and their sex partner is regarded as the offender, unless both are underage.

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