Facet 3 — Taxonomy

Participants

Persons, property and obligations typically involved in legal work. Three groups of simple concepts to describe these independently of work type, area of law or jurisdiction.

3 groups Core facet 2 extension packs

The three groups

Person · Property · Obligation

Group 1 · par-per

Person

A human, family or organisation that can hold rights, owe duties or otherwise act in legal work.

Individual — a single living human, including sole traders
Family — humans in a recognised family relationship
Organisation — corporate, unincorporated, or authority

Group 2 · par-prp

Property

Things capable of being owned — physical or intangible — and the interests in them that legal work creates, transfers, secures or disputes.

Land & buildings — real property and interests in it
Tangible property — goods, chattels, things in possession
Intangible property — IP, shares, debts, derivatives, accounts

Group 3 · par-obg

Obligation

Legal relationships of right and duty between persons — and between persons and the state — that exist independently of any particular property.

Contracts — contractual relationships
Non-contractual — tort / delict, restitution
Public obligation — public powers and liabilities

Group 1

Person

5 sub-types

A person — in the noslegal sense — is any human, family unit or organisation capable of holding legal rights or owing legal duties. The three top-level types (Individual, Family, Organisation) cover the full range; Organisation breaks down further into Corporate body, Unincorporated body and Authority.

Individual Family Organisation ↳ Corporate body ↳ Unincorporated body ↳ Authority

Individualpar-per-1

A single living human being. An individual operating under a trading name (a sole trader) is still an individual, not an organisation — even though they may carry on a business.

e.g. a private client, a witness, a director acting in personal capacity, a sole trader.

Familypar-per-2

Humans in a family relationship with each other — whether legally formalised (marriage, civil partnership, registered parent–child) or recognised in fact. Use as a unit when the work concerns the family rather than its individual members.

e.g. a family in a probate matter, parties to a separation, beneficiaries of a family trust.

Corporate bodypar-per-3.1sub-type of Organisation

A private, commercial, charitable or not-for-profit entity (other than a human) with legal personality and independent of the state. Most companies fall here.

e.g. a public company, a private limited company, an LLP, a registered charity, a co-operative.

Unincorporated bodypar-per-3.2sub-type of Organisation

A group of humans with a shared interest, not formalised into a corporate body. Legal treatment varies by jurisdiction — some general partnerships, clubs and traditional communities sit here.

e.g. a general partnership, a members' club, a chamber of commerce, an unincorporated association.

Authoritypar-per-3.3sub-type of Organisation

A state, international or other body carrying out a public or quasi-public function and exercising governmental, regulatory or professional-standards powers. Sits next to corporate bodies — there is some legitimate scope for argument at the edges.

e.g. a regulator, a court, a government department, a professional standards body, an international organisation.

Group 2

Property

3 sub-types

Something which can be owned. Three high-level types: land and buildings, other types of tangible property and intangible property. These have free-standing definitions intended to be relevant across legal systems rather than following technical local distinctions between real and personal property or moveable and immoveable property.

Land & buildings Tangible property Intangible property

Group 3

Obligation

3 sub-types

Obligation captures rights, powers and duties. Three high-level types are offered: contracts, non-contractual obligations of a private law nature and public powers or liabilities.

Contracts Non-contractual obligation Public obligation

Features extension pack

Add-on attributes for persons - particularly relevant to legal service providers for classifying clients

→

UK Organisations extension pack

Different types of organisation existing under UK law

→

View the Participants spreadsheet

Full taxonomy of 3 groups, their types and definitions. Apache 2.0 licence.

View spreadsheet