Art. 682 Individuals having procedural capacity

If you're an adult who is legally competent, you have the right to file a lawsuit on your own. This means you can go to court and act as a party in a case without needing someone else to do it for you.

The same right applies to emancipated minors, as long as they are also competent. An emancipated minor is someone under 18 who has been legally freed from their parents' control, usually through a court order, marriage, or similar legal action. If a minor has been emancipated and is competent, they can sue in court just like an adult.

"Competent" here means the person has the mental ability to understand what they're doing and to make decisions about their own case. If someone is not competent, whether due to age, mental incapacity, or lack of emancipation, they generally cannot file a lawsuit on their own behalf. Instead, someone else, like a parent, guardian, or legal representative, would need to act for them in court.