The legal framework
Names are an exclusive national competence. The Court of Justice nonetheless held, in Garcia Avello in 2003 and Grunkin-Paul in 2008, that refusing to recognise a name lawfully acquired in another member state creates serious inconvenience incompatible with free movement. Regulation (EU) 2016/1191 separately abolished the apostille for civil status documents circulating between member states.
The basis is not a right to a name but free movement: it is the concrete inconvenience — diplomas, accounts and passports in different names — that makes refusal contrary to Union law.
The Court has accepted limits: a state may refuse a name contrary to its public policy, such as a noble title in a republic that abolished them.
Key points
| Instruments | No directive; Court of Justice case law |
|---|---|
| Garcia Avello (2003) | Recognition of a double surname acquired in another member state |
| Grunkin-Paul (2008) | A name registered at birth in another state must be recognised |
| Competence | The law of names remains national |
| Civil status documents | Exempt from apostille between member states since 2019 |
In practice
- Check first what kind of instrument it is: a regulation applies directly, a directive must be transposed and leaves differences between states.
- Consult the consolidated version on EUR-Lex, which incorporates every amendment.
- Identify the national transposing statute: that is what a court will actually apply.
- Where the meaning is disputed, look for Court of Justice judgments on the point.
- For a cross-border dispute, check whether a national contact point or a European network can help.
Cost and coverage
Consulting Union law costs nothing: EUR-Lex publishes every text free of charge, in twenty-four official languages and in consolidated form. Any cost lies in legal advice, where the interaction between the European text and the national transposing statute becomes decisive — common with directives, rare with regulations.
Where to go
- EUR-Lex, the official portal of Union law, publishing every text in twenty-four languages
- The European e-Justice Portal, for cross-border procedures
- Your Europe, the Commission's information service for citizens
- SOLVIT, the network that resolves misapplication of Union law by an administration
- The European Consumer Centre in your country, for cross-border consumer disputes
Worth knowing
Do not confuse the European Union with the Council of Europe: the European Convention on Human Rights and the Strasbourg Court are not EU bodies and cover forty-six states, including Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a European law of names?
No directive. Only the Court's case law, based on free movement, requires recognition of a name acquired elsewhere.
Can my child bear the same name in two states?
Yes, that is precisely what Grunkin-Paul guarantees for a name registered at birth in another member state.
Can a state refuse a name?
Yes, on public policy grounds, but not merely because it does not match its own rules on how surnames are transmitted.
Do I need an apostille for a birth certificate?
Not between member states, since Regulation (EU) 2016/1191.
Official sources and links
- UN Human Rights Office — ratified treaties and country reviews
- ILO NATLEX — national legislation database