Chapter 7
Citizenship, legal status, and proof
of identity: identity as a legal
concept
Legal identity
The natural person is a core pillar of the present world order, which is grounded
upon normative universal principles, such as Article 1 of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR): ‘All human beings are born free and
equal in dignity and rights.’ Jurists interpret this article as meaning that every
human being has a legal personality with rights and duties. Historically this was
not always so. In some pre-modern societies, slaves and serfs were denied
‘dignity and rights’, being considered objects rather than persons.
The idea that personal autonomy and self-identity are inalienable features of all
human beings took time to be universally accepted. Especially in regards to
children it has been necessary explicitly to affirm their personal autonomy and
individual identity; for they are unable to sustain themselves and depend on their
parents, who are required (morally or legally) to provide for them and are
responsible for their actions. Because this should not imply that children are
deprived of identity, building on an earlier declaration of the League of Nations,
the UN in 1989 adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Its Article 7
stipulates that a child is entitled to have a legal identity by being registered, to
have a name and a nationality.
International law recognizes the right to a personal identity and the obligation to