Definition
Civil responsibility refers to the legal capacity of a person to exercise civil rights and perform civil obligations — entering contracts, making wills, giving consent, marriage, managing property, etc.
General Principle
- Mere mental illness does not automatically remove civil rights.
- Capacity depends upon the individual's ability to understand the nature and consequences of the act at the time it is performed.
1. Contract
- A person of unsound mind is incompetent to contract.
- A valid contract requires soundness of mind at the time of making the contract.
- A contract made during a lucid interval is valid.