Refusal of Finnish authorities to register forename ”Axl” brings claim for damages
|
|
The European Court of Human Rights has delivered a judgement on a violation of Article 8 (the right to respect for private and family life) of the European Convention on Human rights, following the refusal of the Finnish authorities to register the forename Axl Mick for the applicants’ son.
The State of Finland is liable to pay the applicants’ legal expenses as well as EUR 2,000 in compensation for damages.
In 1999 the Hyvinkää Population Registration Authority refused to register the forename Axl, claiming that according to the Names Act, the name could not be accepted, as this form of spelling did not comply with the Finnish name practice. The parents of the baby appealed against this decision.
In 2000, the Helsinki Administrative Court rejected the applicants’ appeal, concluding that the arguments presented by the parents were insufficient to allow the forename to be registered, and there were no other valid reasons, either.
This decision was upheld by the Supreme Administrative Court in 2001.
The parents considered that the name Axl could be accepted as it was pronounceable in Finnish and could be compared to the names Alf and Ulf.
They charged that Axl was niether an insulting name nor did it make the boy subject to ridicule.
Moreover, prior to this the Population Registration Authority had already registered the forename Axl for three other people, and since then more approvals have been given.
At the European Court of Human Rights, the State of Finland admitted that the name practice is changing constantly, arguing however that it is important to favour names which are characteristic of the Finnish language.
The parents challenged that the Population Registry already includes several names which deviate from the name practice, such as Minja, Tertta, Jonina, and Dersim.
Previously the European Court of Human Rights had rejected an appeal concerning the approval of the name Ainut Vain Marjaana, as the two first names are not proper forenames according to the Finnish name practice.
Helsingin Sanomat
|
| 7.9.2007 - TODAY |
 Refusal of Finnish authorities to register forename ”Axl” brings claim for damages |
|
