The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled “Discriminatory”, Tuesday October 26, the automatic attribution to a child, in the event of disagreement of the parents, of the name of the father followed by that of the mother, considering that “The impossibility of derogating from it [était] excessively rigid “. The court had been seized for discrimination by a Spanish woman who had separated from her partner during her pregnancy.
The judges of the ECHR considered that this rule of attribution of names could “Prove to be necessary in practice and[était] not necessarily in contradiction “ with the European Convention on Human Rights. But they nevertheless judged that “The impossibility of derogating from it [était] excessively rigid and discriminatory against women ”, and that the “Difference in treatment” suffered by the complainant was not justified and thus constituted a violation of the Convention.
10,000 euros for “moral damage”
The European magistrates justified their decision by the particular circumstances of the situation: the complainant’s child was not immediately recognized by her father and therefore only bore her mother’s surname. “For more than a year”, until recognition of paternity. Spain was ordered to pay the complainant 10,000 euros for “Moral damage”.
In the meantime, the situation has changed in the country. Since a law dated 2011, it is up to the judge in charge of civil status to decide, in the event of disagreement, the order of attribution of surnames, taking into account as the main criterion. “The best interests of the child”. In the case of mutual recognition, children born in Spain always inherit their father’s first name followed by their mother’s first name.