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Age of majority
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Age of majority
The age of majority is the legal age of adulthood as declared in law. It is the moment when a person ceases to be considered a minor, and assumes legal control over their person, actions, and decisions, gaining rights denied to them prior to that moment, while also terminating the rights a parent has 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". The term refers to a collection of laws bestowing the status of adulthood.
The term age of majority can be confused with the similar concept of the age of license. As a legal term, license means permission, referring to a legally enforceable right or privilege. Thus, the age of license for a specific activity, e.g. the age of licence to drive a motorcar or a motorcycle of a given mechanical power, is the minimum age at which a person may be authorised for that activity. The age of majority, on the other hand, recognises that the person has become a legal adult in that jurisdiction.
Many ages of license coincide with 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. In the Republic of Ireland the age of majority is 18, but one must be 21 or over to stand for election to the Houses of the Oireachtas. Also, in Portugal the age of majority is 18, and citizens who have reached that age are also eligible to run for Parliament, but they need to be 35 or over in order to run for president.
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.
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 Jewish 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.
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Age of majority
The age of majority is the legal age of adulthood as declared in law. It is the moment when a person ceases to be considered a minor, and assumes legal control over their person, actions, and decisions, gaining rights denied to them prior to that moment, while also terminating the rights a parent has 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". The term refers to a collection of laws bestowing the status of adulthood.
The term age of majority can be confused with the similar concept of the age of license. As a legal term, license means permission, referring to a legally enforceable right or privilege. Thus, the age of license for a specific activity, e.g. the age of licence to drive a motorcar or a motorcycle of a given mechanical power, is the minimum age at which a person may be authorised for that activity. The age of majority, on the other hand, recognises that the person has become a legal adult in that jurisdiction.
Many ages of license coincide with 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. In the Republic of Ireland the age of majority is 18, but one must be 21 or over to stand for election to the Houses of the Oireachtas. Also, in Portugal the age of majority is 18, and citizens who have reached that age are also eligible to run for Parliament, but they need to be 35 or over in order to run for president.
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.
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 Jewish 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.
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