Cornelia NindlNamensersitzung – Ein Weg zu mehr Rechtssicherheit auf Basis des Vertrauensschutzes

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Globalization also increases the number of German citizens living abroad. They get married abroad, they get divorced, they become parents. In a lot of cases German registrar offices are not involved. Consequently, German identity documents are issued based on foreign civil certificates only.

If a passport issuing authority does not check the name according to German law in these cases, identity documents are issued with false names.

However, what happens if years later a competent authority realizes that legal and actual name differ? Often the intended name cannot be obtained anymore by name declaration: The marriage has been dissolved, children came of age and cannot choose a different naming right statute (until May 2025). A public name change depends on the evaluation of the competent authority and therefore is not a legally secure way.

Already in 2020 the working group on naming law demanded a regulation of aquisition by prescription for names. In her dissertation the author proves the necessity of a statute by applying existing rules on practical cases as well as applying fundamental rights. Taking into account not only existing regulations on aquisition by prescription in the German Civil Code and in the Law on German Citizenship but jurisprudence as well she proposes a wording for a naming regulation as contribution to the public discussion.