See also:

• INFANT (in early forms enfaunt, enfant, through the Fr. enfant, from Lat. infans, in, not, and fans, the present participle of fari, to speak)

INFANT (in See also:

• EARLY
• EARLY, JUBAL ANDERSON (1816-1894)

early forms enfaunt, enfant, through the Fr. enfant, from See also:

• LAT

Lat. infans, in, not, and fans, the See also:

• PRESENT

present participle of fari, to speak)  , a See also:

• CHILD
• CHILD, FRANCIS JAMES (1825-1896)
• CHILD, L
• CHILD, LYDIA MARIA (1802-1880)
• CHILD, SIR FRANCIS (1642-1713)
• CHILD, SIR JOHN (d. 1690)
• CHILD, SIR JOSIAH (163o - 1699)

child; in non-legal use, a very See also:

• YOUNG
• YOUNG, A
• YOUNG, ARTHUR (1741-1820)
• YOUNG, BRIGHAM (1801-1877)
• YOUNG, CHARLES MAYNE (1777–1856)
• YOUNG, EDWARD (1683–1765)
• YOUNG, JAMES (1811-1883)
• YOUNG, THOMAS (1773-1829)

young child, a baby, or one of an See also:

• AGE (Fr. age, through late Lat. aetaticum, from aetas)

age suitable to be taught in an "See also:

• INFANT (in early forms enfaunt, enfant, through the Fr. enfant, from Lat. infans, in, not, and fans, the present participle of fari, to speak)

infant school "; in See also:

• LAW
• LAW (0. Eng. lagu, M. Eng. lawe; from an old Teutonic root lag, " lie," what lies fixed or evenly; cf. Lat. lex, Fr. loi)
• LAW, JOHN (1671—1729)
• LAW, WILLIAM (1686-1761)

law, a See also:

• PERSON, OFFENCES AGAINST THE

person under full age, and therefore subject to disabilities not affecting persons who have attained full age . This See also:

• ARTICLE (from Lat. articulus, a joint)

article deals with " infants " in the last sense; for the more See also:

• GENERAL
• GENERAL (Lat. generalis, of or relating to a genus, kind or class)

general sense see See also:

• INFANCY

INFANCY and CHILD . The See also:

• PERIOD
• PERIOD (Gr. irepioSos, a going or way round, circuit, aepi, round, and &Sis, way, road)

period of full age varies widely in different systems, as do also the disabilities attaching to nonage (non-age) . In See also:

• ROMAN

Roman law, the age of See also:

• PUBERTY (Lat. pubertas, from pubes, puber, mature, adult)

puberty, fixed at fourteen for See also:

• MALES

males and twelve for See also:

• FEMALES

females, was recognized as a dividing See also:

• LINE

line . Under that age a child was under the See also:

• GUARDIAN

guardian-See also:

• SHIP

ship of a See also:

• TUTOR (Lat. tutor, guardian, tueri, to watch over, protect)

tutor, but several degrees of infancy were recognized . The first was See also:

• ABSOLUTE (Lat. absolvere, to loose, set free)

absolute infancy; after that, until the age of seven, a child was infantiae See also:

• PROXIMUS

proximus; and from the eighth See also:

• YEAR

year to puberty he was pubertati proximus . An infant in the last See also:

• STAGE (Fr. 6/age; from Lat. stare, to stand)

stage could, with the assent of his tutor, See also:

• ACT (Lat. actus, actum)

act so as to bind himself by stipulations; in the earlier stages he could not, although binding stipulations could be made to him-in the second stage . After puberty, until the age of twenty-five years, a modified infancy was recognized, during which the See also:

• MINOR
• MINOR (Lat. for smaller, lesser)
• MINOR, ROBERT CRANNELL (1839-1904)

minor's acts were not void altogether, but voidable, and a See also:

• CURATOR (Lat. for " one who takes care," curare, to take care of)

curator was appointed to See also:

• MANAGE

manage his affairs . The difference between the tutor and thecurator in Roman law was marked by the saying that the former was appointed for the care of the person, the latter for the See also:

• ESTATE (through O. Fr. estat, mod. flat, from Lat. status, state, condition, position, stare, to stand)

estate of the See also:

• PUPIL (Lat. pupillus, orphan, minor, dim. of pupus, boy, allied to puer, from root pm- or peu-, to beget, cf. "pupa," Lat. for " doll," the name given to the stage intervening between the larval and imaginal stages in certain insects)

pupil . These principles apply only to See also:

• CHILDREN, LAW RELATING TO

children who are sui See also:

• JURIS

juris . The patria potestas, so See also:

• LONG, GEORGE (1800-1879)
• LONG, JOHN DAVIS (1838– )

long as it lasts, gives to the See also:

• FATHER

father the See also:

• COMPLETE

complete See also:

• CONTROL (Fr. contrdle, older form contre rolle, from Med. Lat. contra-rotulus, a counter roll or copy of a document used to check the original; there is no instance in English of the use of " control " in this, its literal, meaning)

control of the son's actions . The right of the father to appoint tutors to his children by will (testamentarii) was recognized by the Twelve Tables, as was also the tutorship of the agnati (or legal as distinct from natural relations) in See also:

• DEFAULT (Fr. defaut, from defailler, to fail, Lat. fallere)

default of such an See also:

• APPOINTMENT, POWER OF

appointment .

Tutors who held See also:

• OFFICE (from Lat. officium, " duty," " service," a shortened form of opifacium, from facere, " to do," and either the stem of opes, " wealth," " aid," or opus, " work ")

office in virtue of a general law were called legitimi . Besides and in default of these, tutors dativi were appointed by the magistrates . These terms are still used in much the same sense in See also:

• MODERN

modern systems founded on the Roman law, as may be seen in the See also:

• CASE
• CASE, JOHN (d. 1600)

case of See also:

• SCOTLAND
• SCOTLAND, CHURCH OF
• SCOTLAND, EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF

Scotland, noticed below . By the law of See also:

• ENGLAND
• ENGLAND, THE CHURCH OF

England full age is twenty-one, and all minors alike are subject to incapacities . The period of twenty-one years is regarded as complete at the beginning of the See also:

• DAY (O. Eng. dreg, Ger. Tag; according to the New English Dictionary, " in no way related to the Lat. dies")
• DAY, JOHN (1574-1640?)
• DAY, THOMAS (1748-1789)

day before the birthday: for example, an infant See also:

• BORN, IGNAZ, EDLER VON (1742–1791)

born on the first day of See also:

• JANUARY

January attains his See also:

• MAJORITY (Fr. majorite; Med. Lat. majoritas; Lat. major, greater)

majority at the first moment of the 31st of See also:

• DECEMBER (Lat. decent, ten)

December . The incapacity of an infant is designed for his own See also:

• PROTECTION

protection, and its general effect is to prevent him from binding himself absolutely by obligations . Of the contracts of an infant which are binding ab initio, the most important are those See also:

• RELATING

relating to " necessaries." By the See also:

• SALE
• SALE, GEORGE (c. 1697-1736)
• SALE, SIR ROBERT HENRY (1782—1845)

Sale of Goods Act 1893, an infant liable on a See also:

• CONTRACT
• CONTRACT (Lat. contract us, from contrahere, to draw together, to bind)

contract for necessaries can be sued only for a reasonable See also:

• PRICE
• PRICE, BARTHOLOMEW (1818–1898)
• PRICE, BONAMY (1807-1888)
• PRICE, RICHARD (1723-1791)

price, not necessarily the price he agreed to pay . The same See also:

• STATUTE

statute declares " necessaries " to mean " goods suitable to the See also:

• CONDITION (Lat. condicio, from condicere, to agree upon, arrange; not connected with conditio, from condere, conditum, to put together)

condition in See also:

• LIFE

life of the infant, and to his actual requirements at the See also:

• TIME (0. Eng. Lima, cf. Icel. timi, Swed. timme, hour, Dan. time; from the root also seen in " tide," properly the time of between the flow and ebb of the sea, cf. O. Eng. getidan, to happen, " even-tide," &c.; it is not directly related to Lat. tempus)
• TIME, MEASUREMENT OF
• TIME, STANDARD

time of the sale and delivery." In the case of goods having a See also:

• MARKET (Lat. mercatus, trade or place of trade)

market price, the market price is reasonable . In all other cases the question is one of fact for the See also:

• JURY

jury . The protection of infants extends sometimes to transactions completed after full age; the See also:

• RELIEF

relief of heirs who have been induced to See also:

• BARTER (from Fr. barater, to truck, to exchange)

barter away their expectations is an example . " Catching bargains," as they are called, throw on the persons claiming the benefit of them the See also:

• BURDEN, or BURTHEN

burden of proving their substantial righteousness . At See also:

• COMMON

common law a bargain made by an infant might be ratified by him after full age, and would then become binding .

See also:

• LORD
• LORD (O. Eng. hldford, i.e. hldfweard, the warder or keeper of bread, hlIf, loaf; the word is not represented in any other Teutonic language)
• LORD, JOHN (1810-1894)

Lord See also:

• TENTERDEN
• TENTERDEN, CHARLES ABBOTT

Tenterden's act required the ratification to, be in See also:

• WRITING
• WRITING (the verbal noun of " to write," O. Eng. writan, to inscribe)

writing . But now, by the Infants' Relief Act 1874, " all contracts entered into by infants for the repayment of See also:

• MONEY

money See also:

• LENT (0. Eng. lenclen, " spring," M. Eng. lenten, lente, lent; cf. Dut. lente, Ger. Lenz, " spring," 0. H. Ger. lenzin, lengizin, lenzo, probably from the same root as " long " and referring to " the lengthening days ")

lent or to be lent, or for goods supplied or to be supplied (other than contracts for necessaries), and all accounts stated, shall be absolutely void," and no See also:

• ACTION

action shall be brought whereby to See also:

• CHARGE
• CHARGE (through the Fr. from the Late Lat. carricare, to load in a carrus or wagon; cf. " cargo ")

charge any person upon any promise made after full age to pay any See also:

• DEBT (Lat. debitum, a thing owed)

debt contracted during infancy, or upon any ratification made after full age of any promise or contract made during infancy, whether there shall or shall not be any new See also:

• CONSIDERATION (from Lat. considerare, to look at closely, examine, generally taken to be from con-, and the base seen in sidus, sideris, a star, the word being supposed to be originally an astrological or astronomical term)

consideration for such promise or ratification after full age." For some years after the passage of this statute highly conflicting views were.held as to the meaning of the See also:

• PART

part of See also:

• SECTION
• SECTION (Lat. sectio, cutting, secare, to cut)

section 2 whereby it was enacted that " no action shall be brought whereby to charge any person . . . upon any ratification made after full age of any promise or contract made during infancy." Some authorities were of See also:

• OPINION (Lat. opinio, from opinari, to think)

opinion that the section only applied to the three classes of contract made void by the previous section, viz. for goods supplied, money lent and on See also:

• ACCOUNT
• ACCOUNT (through O. Fr. acont, Late Lat. comptum, cornputare, to calculate)

account stated . Others thought the effect to be that no contract, except for necessaries, made during infancy could be enforced after the infant came to full age . After several conflicting decisions it has been settled that both these views were wrong . Of the infant's contracts voidable at common law there were two` kinds . The first See also:

• KIND (O. E. ge-cynde, from the same root as is seen in " kin," supra)

kind became void at full age, unless expressly ratified . The second kind were valid, unless repudiated within a• reasonable time after full age was attained by the infant . The Infants' Relief Act (section 2) strikes only at the first class and leaves the second untouched . Thus a promise of See also:

• MARRIAGE

marriage made during infancy cannot be ratified so as to become actionable; but an infant's marriage See also:

• SETTLEMENT
• SETTLEMENT, ACT OF

settlement, being of the second class, is valid, unless it is repudiated within a reasonable time after the infant attains full age . What is a reasonable time depends on all the circumstances of the case . In a case decided in 1893 a settlement made by a See also:

• FEMALE

female infant was allowed to be repudiated See also:

• THIRTY

thirty years after she attained full age, but the circumstances were exceptional .

A contract of marriage maybe lawfully made by persons under age . Marriageable age is fourteen in males and twelve in females . So, generally, an infant may bind himself by contract of See also:

• APPRENTICESHIP (from Fr. apprendre, to learn)

apprenticeship or service . Since the passing of the See also:

• WILLS, WILLIAM GORMAN (1828-1891)

Wills Act, an infant, except he be a soldier in actual military service or a See also:

• SEAMAN, OWEN (1861– )

seaman at See also:

• SEA (in O. Eng. sae, a common Teutonic word; cf. Ger. See, Dutch Zee, &c.; the ultimate source is uncertain)
• SEA, COMMAND OF THE

sea, is unable to make a will . Infancy is in general a disqualification for public offices and professions, e.g. to be a member of See also:

• PARLIAMENT (Anglo-Lat. parliamentum, Fr. parlement, from parler, to speak)

parliament or an elector, a See also:

• MAYOR (Lat. major, greater)
• MAYOR, JOHN EYTON BICKERSTETH (1825– )

mayor or See also:

• BURGESS (Med. Lat. burgensis, from burgus, a borough, a town)
• BURGESS, DANIEL (1645-1713)
• BURGESS, THOMAS (1756–1837)

burgess, a See also:

• PRIEST (Ger. Priester, Fr. pretre)

priest or See also:

• DEACON (Gr. S&& ovos, minister, servant)

deacon, a See also:

• BARRISTER

barrister or See also:

• SOLICITOR

solicitor, &c . Before 1886 the custody of an infant belonged in the first See also:

• PLACE (through Fr. from Lat. platea, street; Gr. IrAar6s, wide)

place, and against all other persons, to the father, who was said to be " the guardian of his children by nature and nurture "; and the father might by See also:

• DEED (in O. Eng. dead, from the stem of the verb " to do ")

deed or will dispose of the custody or tuition of his children until the age of twenty-one . The Guardianship of Infants Act 1886 placed the See also:

• MOTHER

mother almost on the same footing as the father as to guardianship of infants . On the See also:

• DEATH

death of the father the mother becomes guardian under the statute, either alone when no guardian has been appointed by the father, or jointly with any guardian appointed by him under 12 Chas . II. c . 24 . A See also:

• CHANGE (derived through the Fr. from the Late Lat. cambium, cambiare, to barter; the ultimate derivation is probably from the root which appears in the Gr. «a urmu', to bend)

change of the law even more important is that whereby the mother may by deed or will appoint a guardian or guardians of her infant children to act after her death . If the father survives the mother, the mother's guardian can only act if it be shown to the See also:

• SATISFACTION (Lat. salisfacerc, to satisfy)

satisfaction of the See also:

• COURT
• COURT (from the O. Fr. court, Late Lat. cortis, curtis, a popular form of class. Lat. cohors, gen. cohortis; the mod. Fr. form tour is due to the influence of the Lat. curia, the word used in medieval documents to translate " court " in the feudal sense)
• COURT, ANTOINE (1696-176o)

court that the father is unfitted to be the See also:

• SOLE (Solea)

sole guardian .

On the death of the father, the guardian so appointed by the mother acts jointly with any guardian appointed by the father . The Guardianship of Infants Act 1886 also gives See also:

• POWER [WILLIAM GRATTAN] TYRONE (1797-1841)

power to the high court and to See also:

• COUNTY (through Norm. Fr. comae, cf. O. Fr. cunte, conk', Mod. Fr. comae, from Lat. comitatus, cf. Ital. comitato, Prov. comtat; see COUNT)

county courts to make orders, upon the application of the mother, regarding the custody of an infant, and the right of See also:

• ACCESS (Lat. accessus)

access thereto of either See also:

• PARENT, SIMON NAPOLEON (1855– )

parent . The court must take into consideration " the welfare of the infant, and . . . the conduct of the parents, and . . . the wishes as well of the mother as of the father." The same statute also empowers the high court of See also:

• JUSTICE (Lat. justitia)

justice, " on being satisfied that it is for the welfare of the infant," to " remove from his office any testamentary guardian or any guardian appointed or acting by virtue of this act," and also to appoint another in place of the guardian so removed . The same statute gives power to a court sitting in See also:

• DIVORCE

divorce practically to take away from a parent guilty of a matrimonial offence all rights of guardianship . When a See also:

• DECREE (from the past participle, decretus, of Lat. decernere)

decree for judicial separation or divorce is pronounced, the court pronouncing it may at the same time declare the parent found guilty of misconduct to be unfit to have the custody of the children of the marriage . " In such case the parent so declared to be unfit shall not, upon the death of the other parent, be entitled as of right to the custody or guardianship of such children." The court exercises this power very sparingly . When the See also:

• DECLARATION (from Lat. declarare, to make fully clear, clams)

declaration of unfitness is made, the See also:

• PRACTICAL

practical effect is to give to the See also:

• INNOCENT (INNOCENTIUS)
• INNOCENT (POPES)

innocent parent the sole guardianship, as well as power to appoint a testamentary guardian to the exclusion of the guilty parent . Another See also:

• RADICAL (Lat. radix, a root)

radical change has been made in the rights of parents as to guardianship of their children . In consequence of several cases where, after children had been rescued by philanthropic persons from squalid homes and improper surroundings, the courts had See also:

• FELT (cognate with Ger. Filz, Du. vilt, Swed. and Dan. fill; the root is unknown; the word has given Med. Lat. filtrum, " filter ")

felt See also:

• BOUND, or BOUNDARY (from O. Fr. bonde, Med. Lat. bodena or butina, a frontier line)

bound by law to redeliver them to their parents, the Custody of Children Act 1891 was passed . It provides that when the parent of a child applies to the court for a See also:

• WRIT (O. Eng. gewrit, writ, from writan, to write)

writ or See also:

• ORDER
• ORDER (through Fr. ordre, for earlier ordene, from Lat. ordo, ordinis, rank, service, arrangement; the ultimate source is generally taken to be the root seen in Lat. oriri, rise, arise, begin; cf. " origin ")
• ORDER, HOLY

order for the See also:

• PRODUCTION (Lat. productionem, from producere, to pro-duce)

production of the child, and the court is of opinion that the parent has abandoned or deserted the child, or that he has otherwise so conducted himself that the court should refuse to enforce his right to the custody of the child, the court may, in its discretion, decline to issue the writ or make the order .

If the child, in respect of whom the application is made, is being brought up by another person (" person " includes " school or institution "), or is being boarded out by poor-law guardians, the court may, if it orders the child to be given up to the parent, further order the parent to pay all or part of the cost incurred by such person or guardians in bringing up the child . A parent who has abandoned or deserted his child is, prima facie, unfit to have the custody of the child . And before the court can make an order giving him the custody, the onus lies on him to prove that he is See also:

• FIT

fit . The same See also:

• RULE

rule applies where the child has been allowed by the parent "to be brought up by another person at that person's expense, or by the guardians of a poor-law See also:

• UNION
• UNION (known locally as Union Hill and officially as Town of Union)

union, for such a length of time and under such circumstances as to satisfy the court that the parent was unmindful of his parental duties." The 4th section of the Custody of Children Act 1891 preserves the right of the parent to control the religious training of the infant . The father, however unfit he may be to have the custody of his child, has the legal right to require the child to be brought up in his own See also:

• RELIGION
• RELIGION, FOLKLORE, CUSTOM

religion . If the father is dead, and has See also:

• LEFT

left no directions on the point, the mother may assert a similar right . But the court may consult the wishes of the child; and when an infant has been allowed by the father to grow up in a faith different from his own, the court will not, as a rule, order any change in the See also:

• CHARACTER (Gr. xapareri7p, from xap&crew, to scratch)

character of religious instruction . This is especially the case where the infant appears to be settled in his convictions . In the same direction as the Custody of Children Act 1891 is the Children Act 1908, whereby considerable See also:

• POWERS, HIRAM (1805-1873)

powers have been conferred on courts of See also:

• SUMMARY

summary See also:

• JURISDICTION
• JURISDICTION, CRIMINAL LAW, DIVORCE

jurisdiction (see CHILDREN, LAW RELATING TO) . There is not at common law any corresponding See also:

• OBLIGATION

obligation on the part of either parent to maintain or educate the children . The legal duties of parents in this respect are only those created by the poor See also:

• LAWS

laws, the See also:

• EDUCATION

Education Acts and the Children Act 1908 . An infant is liable to a See also:

• CIVIL

civil action for torts and wrongful acts committed by him .

But, as it is possible so to shape the pleadings as to make what is in substance a right arising out of contract take the See also:

• FORM (Lat. forma)

form of a right arising from civil injury, care is taken that an infant in such a case shall not be held liable . With respect to See also:

• CRIME (Lat. crimen, accusation)

crime, See also:

• MERE
• MERE, ADALBERT (1838-1909)

mere infancy is not a See also:

• DEFENCE
• DEFENCE (Lat. defendere, to defend)

defence, but a child under seven years of age is presumed to be incapable of committing a crime, and between seven and fourteen his capacity requires to be affirmatively proved . After fourteen an infant is deli capax., The law of Scotland follows the leading principles of the Roman law . The period of minority (which ends at twenty-one) is divided into two stages, that of absolute incapacity (until the age of fourteen in males, and twelve in females), during which the minor is in pupilarity, and that of partial incapacity (between fourteen and twenty-one), during which he is under curators . The guardians (or tutors) of the pupil are either tutors-nominate (appointed by the father in his will) ; tutors-at-law (being the next male agnate of twenty-five years of age), in default of tutors-nominate; or tutors-See also:

• DATIVE (Lat. dativus, giving or given, from dare, to give)

dative, appointed by royal See also:

• WARRANT (Med. Lat. warantum; O. Fr. garant, warant, derived from O.H.G. root represented in modern German bygewdhren)

warrant in default of the other two . No act done by the pupil, or action raised in his name, has any effect without the interposition of a guardian . After fourteen, all acts done by a minor having curators are void without their concurrence . Every deed in nonage, whether during pupilarity or minority, and whether authorized or not by tutors or curators, is liable to reduction on See also:

• PROOF (in M. Eng. preove, proeve, preve, &°c., from O. Fr . prueve, proeve, &c., mod. preuve, Late. Lat. proba, probate, to prove, to test the goodness of anything, probus, good)

proof of " See also:

• LESION (through Fr. from Lat. laesio, injury, laedere, to hurt)

lesion," i.e. of material injury, due to the fact of nonage, either through the weakness of the minor himself or the imprudence or See also:

• NEGLIGENCE (Lat. negligentia, from negligere, to neglect, literally " not to pick up ")

negligence of his curators . Damage in fact arising on a contract in itself just and reasonable would not be lesion en-titling to restitution . Deeds in nonage, other than those which are absolutely null ab initio, must be challenged within the quadriennium utile, or four years after majority . The Guardianship of Infants Act 1886, the Custody of Children Act 1891 and the Children Act 1908, mentioned above, all apply to Scotland . In the See also:

• UNITED

United States, the principles of the See also:

• ENGLISH

English common law as to infancy prevail, generally the most conspicuous See also:

• VARIATIONS
• VARIATIONS, CALCULUS
• VARIATIONS, CALCULUS OF

variations being those affecting the age at which See also:

• WOMEN

women attain majority .

In many states this is fixed at eighteen . There is some diversity of practice as to the age at which a person can make a will of real or See also:

• PERSONAL

personal estate .