non-legal

07:32 Jul 17, 2017 

special thanks to Charles for his time and sharing his reflections

22:24 Jul 14, 2017 

is there any text to go with the term? which country has it been used in? etc. etc.

20:46 Jul 14, 2017 

you stumbled of the term "non-legal" (in which context? any samples?) and you want to clarify the meaning?

or

there is something you want to describe (what exactly?) and you think that "non-legal" could be used?

14:22 Jul 14, 2017 

I don't think it implies anything shady; non-legal is not illegal. A non-legal entity, as far as I can tell, is simply an entity of some kind that is not a legal entity, that is, not endowed with legal personality, not able to enter into contracts. It can be a trade name, or a grouping of legal entities that is not a legal entity in itself; see here:
"The Governance of Non‐Legal Entities
An exploration into the challenges facing collaborative, multistakeholder enterprises that are hosted by institutions"
https://www.iisd.org/sites/default/files/publications/govern...
(The IISD, International Institute for Sustainable Development, is a Canadian organisation)

I don't think it's an exact synonym of unincorporated, though its meaning may depend on the jurisdiction, as AllegroTrans has said. I think something can be a legal entity without being incorporated.

As far as I can see "non-legal" always goes with "entity". You don't describe a company as "non-legal", for example; you say it's a "non-legal entity" (if it is).

13:34 Jul 14, 2017 

thank you for your input, our little discussion here shows that this term is at least a) not so readily recognised/understood b) ambiguous even for native-speaking language professionals

13:32 Jul 14, 2017 

from this viewpoint, non-legal seems like "not legal any more/yet", but what about those organisations that did not aspire to be a legal entity from the start?

13:21 Jul 14, 2017 

I would think that 'non-legal' implies 'not recognised' (as a legal entity) because it does not comply with any defined legal entity's terms, whereas 'illegal' means that it may well be recognised (as a legal entity) but it is doing something wrong and contravenes the terms that the given legal entity must stick to?

08:26 Jul 14, 2017 

my first reaction when I saw the word was "oh come on", non-legal seems practically the same as illegal, but then deep into Google I delved, and saw a lot of relevant hits, like the ones Charles quoted.

21:17 Jul 13, 2017 

If the answer to this question is no, and "non-legal" is meaningless, a lot of people who ought to know better have got this wrong. Including, for example:

The Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division (USA)
"a “complaint by a non-legal entity should not be entertained.”   Options v. Lawson, 287 N.J.Super. 209, 221 (App.Div.1996)"
http://caselaw.findlaw.com/nj-superior-court-appellate-divis...

The Government of Queensland (Australia)
"If an organisation stops being a legal entity—for example if a company is de-registered with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC)—it is then known as a non-legal entity."
https://www.qld.gov.au/transport/registration/transfer/non-l...

Edinburgh City Council (Scotland, UK)
"In the event of non-payment, legal action cannot be taken against a non-legal entity."
http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/download/downloads/id/5170/corpo...

13:10 Jul 13, 2017 

I only intended to say that you posted the term. Have a great day...

13:09 Jul 13, 2017 

this is not _my_ term, quite to the contrary, it is emphatically not mine :)

13:02 Jul 13, 2017 

Partnerships and associations are not always legal entities by virtue of formal establishment and registration - it depends entirely on the jurisdiction. In the UK, Ireland and many commonwealth countries, for example, simple partnerships and sole traders are unincorporated. The asker's term "non-legal" has no meaning at all in this context.

09:28 Jul 13, 2017 

Partnerships and associations are often legal entities by virtue of formal establishment and registration. Nonlegal entities would be informal groups that have not been registered, or perhaps a brand name/trade name.