Quiz: Private Law Persons and Legal Entities — 36 questions

1. What does capacity of rights refer to, as distinct from capacity of exercise?

A. The ability to make medical decisions independently

B. The aptitude to exercise rights personally

C. The authority to represent another person legally

D. The aptitude to hold legal rights and duties

Answer: (D)

Explanation

Capacity of rights is the aptitude to hold legal rights and duties, while capacity of exercise concerns exercising those rights personally.

2. What is the general rule regarding a human person’s capacity of exercise?

A. It is presumed, unless restricted by law or judicial decision

B. It depends exclusively on parental authorization

C. It exists only after a court expressly confirms it

D. It is absent until the person reaches eighteen years of age

Answer: (A)

Explanation

Capacity of exercise is presumed. A restriction applies only when established by law or by a judicial decision.

3. When does the existence of a human person begin for purposes of legal protection as an unborn person?

A. At the end of the first trimester of pregnancy

B. When the parents formally register the pregnancy

C. At conception inside the woman’s body

D. At birth, once the child breathes independently

Answer: (C)

Explanation

The existence of a human person begins at conception, and full protection as an unborn person applies to conception inside the woman’s body.

4. What happens to rights acquired by an unborn person through donation or inheritance if the person is born alive, even for an instant?

A. They disappear unless confirmed by a court

B. They transfer automatically to the parents

C. They become irrevocable

D. They remain conditional until adulthood

Answer: (C)

Explanation

Rights acquired through donation or inheritance become irrevocable when the unborn person is born alive, even for an instant. A stillbirth causes them to disappear retroactively.

5. Which statement correctly distinguishes a minor from an adolescent?

A. An adolescent is a person over eighteen who requires representation

B. A minor becomes an adolescent only after obtaining judicial authorization

C. Every adolescent is a minor, but a minor under thirteen is not an adolescent

D. Every minor is an adolescent, regardless of age

Answer: (C)

Explanation

A minor is under eighteen, while an adolescent is a minor who has reached thirteen. Therefore, minors under thirteen are not adolescents.

6. A fifteen-year-old wants to perform an act permitted by law and demonstrates sufficient maturity. Which rule best applies?

A. The minor may act personally because sufficient age and maturity can permit it

B. The minor must act through representatives in every legal matter

C. The minor automatically has the same capacity as an adult

D. The minor may act only after being emancipated through marriage

Answer: (A)

Explanation

Representation remains the general rule, but progressive capacity allows minors with sufficient age and maturity to perform acts personally when the legal order permits it.

7. A fourteen-year-old adolescent needs treatment that is invasive. Who must provide or assist with the medical decision?

A. The legal representatives decide without involving the adolescent

B. The adolescent decides with parental assistance

C. The adolescent decides alone without parental involvement

D. A court must decide before any treatment can occur

Answer: (B)

Explanation

From thirteen to sixteen, an adolescent decides alone regarding non-invasive treatment but requires parental assistance for invasive treatment.

8. Under the applicable rule, at what age may a minor begin working, with employment-related acts presumed authorized by the parents?

A. Sixteen years of age

B. Thirteen years of age

C. Eighteen years of age

D. Seventeen years of age

Answer: (A)

Explanation

A minor may work from sixteen under Law 26.390. This does not mean that ordinary minority ends at sixteen.

9. Which event emancipates a minor before the age of eighteen, provided the required judicial dispensation was obtained beforehand?

A. Marriage

B. Beginning employment at age sixteen

C. Obtaining a professional qualification

D. Divorce

Answer: (A)

Explanation

Marriage emancipates a minor before eighteen through prior judicial dispensation, and the emancipation is anticipatory and irrevocable. Divorce does not end it.

10. Which act is prohibited even for an emancipated minor?

A. Managing property obtained through the minor’s own work

B. Guaranteeing another person’s obligations

C. Litigating in a matter connected with the minor’s profession

D. Administering earnings from authorized employment

Answer: (B)

Explanation

An emancipated minor may never guarantee another person’s obligations. The other activities may be permitted under the applicable rules.

11. What is the key distinction between a support system and a curator for a person declared incapable?

A. A support system replaces the person’s will, while a curator merely offers advice

B. A support system applies only to minors, while a curator applies only to employees

C. A support system protects family assets, while a curator prevents compulsive spending

D. A support system assists without replacing the person’s will, while a curator represents the person

Answer: (D)

Explanation

A support system helps a person understand and make decisions without replacing that person’s will. A curator represents someone who has been declared incapable.

12. Which distinction correctly compares domicile, residence, and habitation?

A. Domicile is habitually stable, residence is accidental, and habitation is legally fixed

B. Domicile is legally fixed, residence is habitually stable, and habitation is temporary or accidental

C. Domicile is accidental, residence is temporary, and habitation is legally fixed

D. Domicile is temporary, residence is legally fixed, and habitation is habitually stable

Answer: (B)

Explanation

Domicile is a person’s legally fixed seat, residence is the place habitually inhabited with some stability, and habitation is merely temporary or accidental. Residence is therefore not the temporary category; habitation is.

13. What two elements are required to establish real domicile?

A. Temporary presence and an intention to travel

B. Family relationship and judicial authorization

C. Legal ownership and a formal declaration

D. Physical presence and the intention to remain

Answer: (D)

Explanation

Real domicile requires corpus, meaning physical presence, and animus, meaning the intention to remain. Both elements must be present together.

14. Which person is most clearly subject to a legal domicile presumed by law?

A. A public official assigned to a government position

B. A student temporarily living near a university

C. A tenant who recently moved to a new apartment

D. A tourist staying in a hotel for several weeks

Answer: (A)

Explanation

Legal domicile applies restrictively to categories including public officials. It is presumed by law as a permanent residence without admitting contrary proof.

15. A contract designates a particular court for disputes. What is the legal effect of this contractual domicile?

A. It may extend jurisdiction to the courts chosen by the parties

B. It creates a legal domicile that cannot be changed by agreement

C. It automatically transfers ownership of the contractual property

D. It prevents either party from receiving judicial notifications

Answer: (A)

Explanation

A contractual domicile is freely chosen for a contract and may extend jurisdiction to the selected courts. The rule concerns contractual jurisdiction, not ownership or an absolute prohibition on changing domicile.

16. Why is a person’s name characterized as both a right and a duty?

A. It identifies the person in society and must be used in its corresponding form

B. It identifies only the person’s family and not the individual

C. It is chosen freely by the person at any stage of life

D. It can be sold or transferred like other personal property

Answer: (A)

Explanation

The name is a right and duty of identity: it identifies a person in society, and the person must use the corresponding forename and surname. It is not freely disposable property.

17. Which choice complies with the restrictions on selecting forenames?

A. Choosing four forenames to reflect several family traditions

B. Giving a child the same first forename as a living sibling

C. Choosing two distinctive forenames that are not surnames and do not harm dignity

D. Using the surname of a respected ancestor as the first forename

Answer: (C)

Explanation

Parents may choose up to three forenames, but may not use surnames as forenames, repeat the first forename of a living sibling, or choose extravagant names that harm dignity.

18. How must the surnames of children of the same marriage generally be determined?

A. They must be selected by the Civil Registry after each child’s birth

B. They must use only the surname of the spouse listed first on the marriage record

C. They must follow the same surname combination chosen for the first child

D. Each child may receive a different combination chosen independently by the parents

Answer: (C)

Explanation

A child of married parents receives the first surname of either spouse, and all children of the same marriage must use the same combination selected for the first child.

19. What distinguishes a title of status from possession of status?

A. A title is formal proof through a public instrument or judgment, while possession is public treatment as if the status existed

B. A title is temporary evidence, while possession is an irrevocable public judgment

C. A title concerns surnames, while possession concerns only a person’s domicile

D. A title is social conduct, while possession is formal proof issued by a court

Answer: (A)

Explanation

A title of status is official proof established by a public instrument or judgment. Possession of status consists of public treatment and conduct as though the civil status existed.

20. How are a birth or death occurring in the country principally proved?

A. By a Civil Registry certificate, with supplementary evidence used in exceptional circumstances

B. By possession of status alone, without requiring documentary evidence

C. By witness testimony in every case, regardless of registry records

D. By private family records unless a court orders a registry search

Answer: (A)

Explanation

Civil Registry certificates are the principal and generally exclusive proof of births and deaths occurring in the country. Supplementary evidence is admitted when the record is absent, void, or destroyed.

21. What event legally ends the existence of a human person under the Civil Code?

A. The opening of succession

B. A prolonged period of absence

C. Biological death

D. A declaration of civil death

Answer: (C)

Explanation

A human person’s existence ends with biological death. The former institution of civil death is no longer recognized.

22. Which combination satisfies the legal requirements for organ removal after death?

A. One fixed pupil observed by a single physician

B. Six uninterrupted hours of all required irreversible neurological and respiratory signs, with technical confirmation of brain inactivity

C. The absence of a heartbeat confirmed by the transplant team

D. A permanent coma lasting twenty-four hours without further testing

Answer: (B)

Explanation

The required signs must be present cumulatively and continuously for six hours, including confirmed brain inactivity. One isolated sign is insufficient.

23. Who must sign a death certificate when death is certified for organ removal?

A. Two physicians, including a neurologist or neurosurgeon, neither from the removal or transplant team

B. One physician and the hospital director

C. Two transplant surgeons from the organ-removal team

D. A neurologist alone after consulting the family

Answer: (A)

Explanation

Two doctors must sign, at least one being a neurologist or neurosurgeon. Neither doctor may belong to the organ-removal or transplant team.

24. What is the legal consequence when two people die and the order of their deaths cannot be established?

A. The older person is presumed to have died first

B. Both are presumed to have died simultaneously, preventing inheritance between them

C. The matter is resolved by the surviving family members

D. The younger person is presumed to have died first

Answer: (B)

Explanation

The law presumes simultaneous death when the order cannot be established. Consequently, neither person inherits from the other.

25. Which situation constitutes simple absence?

A. A person dies in a disaster with identified remains

B. A person is missing for three years, automatically opening succession

C. A person disappears without news, has no adequate representative, and owns assets needing urgent protection

D. A person leaves voluntarily while appointing an agent to manage all property

Answer: (C)

Explanation

Simple absence involves disappearance without news, lack of an adequate representative, and assets requiring urgent protection. It is aimed at protecting property rather than opening succession.

26. After what period may presumed death ordinarily be requested when there has been no news of the person?

A. One year

B. Six months

C. Two years

D. Three years

Answer: (D)

Explanation

In the ordinary case, presumed death may be requested after three years without news. Different shorter periods apply after certain disasters or the loss of a ship or aircraft.

27. What restriction applies to heirs who receive assets after a declaration of presumed death?

A. They hold imperfect ownership and generally cannot sell or mortgage the assets without judicial authorization for extreme necessity

B. They may use the assets only for charitable purposes

C. They receive unrestricted ownership and may immediately sell the assets

D. They must transfer all assets to a court-appointed curator

Answer: (A)

Explanation

Heirs receive the assets subject to inventory and prenotation, holding imperfect ownership. Sale or mortgage is restricted unless a judge authorizes it for extreme necessity.

28. When does prenotation generally end, allowing heirs to acquire full ownership?

A. Five years after the presumptive death date or when the absent person reaches eighty years from birth

B. Ten years after the person was last seen

C. When the heirs complete the mandatory inventory

D. Immediately upon the declaration of presumed death

Answer: (A)

Explanation

Prenotation lasts five years from the presumptive death date or until the absent person reaches eighty years from birth. At that point, the heirs acquire full ownership.

29. What is a legal entity?

A. An organization recognized by law as capable of acquiring rights and assuming obligations for its object and purposes

B. A collection of assets without a legally defined purpose

C. A natural person acting through a representative

D. A group whose members automatically become liable for every group obligation

Answer: (A)

Explanation

A legal entity is an organization to which the legal order grants the capacity to acquire rights and assume obligations within its object and purposes. Its members remain distinct persons.

30. Under the free-constitution system, when does a legal entity generally begin to exist?

A. Upon constitution, unless the law requires prior state authorization

B. After it has operated continuously for one year

C. Only when all members assume personal liability

D. Only after a court has approved every transaction

Answer: (A)

Explanation

The general rule is that a legal entity begins upon constitution. Civil associations and foundations are exceptions requiring prior state authorization.

31. What is the usual effect of a legal entity’s separate personality and patrimony?

A. The entity’s assets automatically belong to its members

B. Members must personally pay every debt incurred by the entity

C. Creditors may choose whether to sue the entity or any member without limitation

D. Entity creditors generally cannot seize members’ personal assets, and members do not personally answer for entity debts

Answer: (D)

Explanation

The entity has personality and patrimony separate from those of its members. Therefore, entity creditors generally cannot seize members’ personal assets, and members are not personally liable for entity debts.

32. What happens when a legal entity is used to violate the law, public order, good faith, or third-party rights?

A. The conduct is attributed to the direct or indirect controllers, who become jointly and unlimitedly liable

B. The members receive immunity because the entity has separate personality

C. The entity is automatically dissolved without further consequences

D. Only the injured third party becomes liable for the entity’s conduct

Answer: (A)

Explanation

Inopposability allows the fraudulent conduct to be imputed to the direct or indirect controllers. They then become jointly and unlimitedly liable.

33. Which description best defines a civil association?

A. A foundation created by one person through a unilateral contribution of property

B. A public agency exercising governmental powers for a defined administrative function

C. A stable union of persons pursuing a common-good or general-interest purpose principally without profit

D. A group of investors distributing earnings among members for a private commercial purpose

Answer: (C)

Explanation

A civil association is a stable union of persons pursuing a purpose compatible with the common good or general interest, principally without profit. Unlike a foundation, it is based on members or associates.

34. A civil association earns revenue from selling services and uses all of that revenue to advance its stated social purpose. Is this arrangement permissible?

A. Yes, because objective profit is permitted when proceeds are reinvested in the association’s purposes

B. No, because civil associations may receive donations but may not earn income from activities

C. Yes, but only if the association distributes a portion of the revenue to its members

D. No, because any revenue-generating activity transforms the association into a commercial company

Answer: (A)

Explanation

Civil associations may conduct profitable activities, provided the resulting proceeds are not distributed to members and are reinvested in their purposes. Objective profit is therefore allowed, while subjective profit for members is prohibited.

35. Which organizational structure is required for a civil association with more than 100 members?

A. A board of shareholders and a mandatory profit-distribution committee

B. A single administrator and an external commercial auditor

C. A founder, a council of trustees, and a ministerial representative

D. An assembly, a commission of directors, and a supervisory body

Answer: (D)

Explanation

A civil association requires an assembly and a commission of directors containing at least a president, secretary, and treasurer. When membership exceeds 100 people, it must also have a supervisory body.

36. Under what circumstances may a foundation’s original purpose be changed?

A. When the founder’s heirs approve the change through a private agreement

B. Whenever the foundation has generated insufficient income for two consecutive years

C. When fulfilling the original purpose becomes absolutely impossible, followed by a two-thirds council vote and state approval

D. Whenever a simple majority of members requests the change and a court confirms it

Answer: (C)

Explanation

A foundation’s purpose may be changed only if fulfilling the original purpose becomes absolutely impossible. The change requires a two-thirds council vote and subsequent state approval that prioritizes the founder’s original will.