Changing surname often means appealing to Council of State
Greek local government organizations reject most applications to change somebody’s surname, as the law is unclear on the reasons that justify such an action, forcing many applicants to appeal to the Council of State (CoS).
Antonios Kepesidis, a lawyer who has handled many such cases, told Kathimerini that the reasons are not explicitly mentioned in the law, nor are they numerically limited. The relevant circular of the interior ministry provides an indicative list of “serious reasons”, which include possible psychological problems created by surnames that: a) sound bad, b) cause hilarity or contempt, c) are difficult to pronounce or are foreign, d) are linked to a bad reputation as a result of another person’s actions (for example, in the case of the murder of Caroline Crouch by her husband, her parents, who are exercising parental care, requested a change of the child’s surname), e) are contrary to society’s perceptions of morality.
“Although there have been other related [positive] judgments by the Council of State, the municipalities continue to not accept the absence of an emotional bond as a reason for changing the surname,” says Kepesidis. “Obviously, not all people can afford to appeal to the Council of State to get justice.”
“[Local government] employees accept a change in the case of a foreign or bad-sounding name, based on an old law that did not provide for psychological reasons. And yet the case of abandonment by a parent is very common, as is the case of domestic violence,” he continued. “That is, for a child to ask, after reaching adulthood, not to bear the name of the father who abused him or his mother, as it obviously awakens bad memories.”
He says municipalities reject requests even when both parents want it, in the context of some negotiation. “A client of mine wanted to change his surname because he had no contact with his father. In the end, he only succeeded because his father was a foreigner and [his case] fell within the foreign surname category.”
Kathimerini contacted the relevant department of a large municipality in the country to ask whether someone can change his or her last name due to abuse. “And how can the abuse be proven?” was the director’s response. “Anyone can claim anything, how am I supposed to know?”
In relation to the jurisprudence of the Council of State, she stated that, according to a circular, the scope of the court’s decisions does not extend beyond the specific cases. “Whoever has complaints can appeal to the decentralized administration and then to the Council of State”.
The director said there are several requests to change a surname every month, with most of them fallen into the category of bad-sounding names. “We cannot justify everyone’s obsessions. Each case, however, is examined with great care and detail,” she added.
