The European Foundation of Human Rights (EFHR) has once again detected the hypocrisy of contradictory legal acts and practices which concern the original spelling of names and surnames in official documents. Today dozens, if not thousands of Lithuanian citizens struggle with the problem of name spelling.
Article 2.20 part 1 of the Civil Code of Lithuania establishes that every person has the right to a name. Also, it includes the right to have a surname, first name (s) and a pseudonym. However, the existing legal framework is not sufficient to meet the rights and needs of the individuals. This conclusion was…
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On April 17, 2019, the District Court of Vilnius City announced one more decision in the case of original spelling of personal names. This time, a Lithuanian citizen who married a Polish citizen applied to the court after her new surname “Zaniewicz“ was not included in the documents with its original spelling, with the letter…
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On April 12, 2019 Panevėžys District Court has decided that the civil status record may contain a surname with the letter “x”. In 2018 the applicant married a Belgian national and chose the spouse’s name. However, when registering a marriage in Lithuania, Panevėžys Registrar’s Office did not satisfy the applicant’s request to enter her surname…
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