今天看到了一个法人的另外一种译法，“ artificial person”，其含义与自然人natural person 相对。

比如：“The court noted that neither the United States Bankruptcy Code nor the MLCBI define "body", but that the context suggested that it would include an artificial person created by a legal authority as that foreign representative.”

那么，这个词与常用的法人，legal person 有什么区别呢？

通过查找相关资料，根据LexisNexis Law English-Chinese Dictionary的说法，

An entity on which a legal system confers rights and imposes duties. A legal person includes a natural person, and an artificial or statutory body such as a company, or partnership.

legal person可以解释为法律主体，包括自然人、artificial person ，以及合伙等“其他组织”。

因此，不妨如此理解，legal person 是指宽泛意义上的法人，包括自然人在内，而artificial person则是指严格意义上的法人，不包括自然人。