A child’s given name and surname is registered in the Birth Register together with the registration of the child’s birth. The registration is done by the General Registry Office in your municipality.
The General Registry Office may refuse the registration of your child’s name if it does not conform to certain restrictions such as the rules of literary language.
A refusal to register the name you have chosen infringes your right to a private and family life.
Lawfulness
There are four questions that need to be examined to evaluate whether your right to choose a child’s name has been restricted lawfully and, therefore, does not violate your right to a private and family life. If, in your situation, any of the answers to these questions is negative, your right to a private and family life may have been violated. In such a case, you have the right to complain.
The refusal to register a child’s name must be allowed by law. The Law on Registration of Civil Status Documents stipulates that the registration of a name may be refused if the documents you submitted, or the name you have chosen, does not correspond to legal requirements.
example The registration of a child’s name and surname may be refused because it does not comply with legal provisions about the writing and use of a person’s name in the Latvian language.
A decision refusing the registration of your child’s name must contain reference to the legal basis for such decision.
If a refusal to register a child’s name is based on grounds that are not stated in law, your right to a private and family life has been violated. In that case, there is no need to examine the other questions.
The refusal to register a child’s name has to be aimed at the protection of certain legitimate interests. These legitimate interests may, for example, be:
- the protection of a child’s interests
- the public interest to protect the national language
example The choice of a given name may be restricted to protect the child and society as well from possible inconvenience caused by a name which is very difficult to pronounce. Society also has an interest in using and preserving the Latvian language as an official language in Latvia. To protect that interest, the choice of a name which does not correspond to the rules of literary language, may be restricted.
If the refusal to register a child’s name does not have a legitimate aim, it is not lawful and your right to a private and family life may have been be violated. There is no need to examine the necessity for, and the proportionality of, the refusal.
The refusal to register a child’s name must be necessary and suitable for the protection of the legitimate interests (legitimate aim). This means that the restriction of your choice must have the effect of protecting the interests the state considers to be the legitimate aim.
To protect these interests, the state must also choose a measure that has the least negative impact on your rights. If there is a less restrictive alternative choice to protect the legitimate aim, the state must use it.
example If you have chosen a name that has letters which are not familiar to the Latvian alphabet, an alternative measure might be the possibility of adapting the name you have chosen to the existing norms of Latvian literary language. This could be done without changing the pronunciation of the name. Adaptation might also be tolerable if it does not prevent the use of the name you originally chose by the family and acquaintances.
Both competing interests – your right to a private and family life and other legitimate interests such as those of society or your child - have to be balanced against each other in order to find a fair balance for both sides. If your rights are restricted, there must be sufficient arguments as to why the other interests in your particular case outweigh your rights.
The following questions should be asked and answered in the balancing process:
a) Is the deviation from the rules of Latvian literary language in a child’s name significant?
Not every deviation has a substantial impact on language as a system. This has to be carefully assessed by a court in each individual case.
b) Has the name you have chosen already been registered in the Civil Status Register before?
You may argue that your choice of a child’s name is lawful if the name is already registered in Latvia. States practice should be uniform and equal towards all parents who have chosen the same name for their children. If your choice has been refused, the prohibition against unequal treatment may have been be violated.
c) Would the refusal to register the name prevent its use by family and acquaintances?
In certain situations, it might be possible to adapt the name to the rules of Latvian literary language and to use it in official documents. At the same time, it would not prevent use of the originally chosen name by your family and acquaintances.
Read more about how to complain in a situation where the General Registry Office has refused to register the name you have chosen for your child.