Title: Transmission of the father's surname constitutes discrimination based on the parent's sex (case Cusan and Fazzo v. Italy, European Court of Human Rights, 7 January 2014)

Authors: Katerina Sp. Papadopoulou

Addresses: Department of Public Law, Faculty of Law, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 33 Ippokratous str., 10680, Athens, Greece

Abstract: The European Court of Human Rights found that the administrative practice of automatically giving a child the father's surname, even when the parents wish to give their child the mother's surname, is a form of sex-based discrimination that is not compatible with the European Convention of Human Rights. The case underlines the importance of the prohibition against discrimination, taken together with the right to family and private life.

Keywords: discrimination prohibition; parent's sex; right to family life; right to private life; parental rights; name selection; child naming; children's names; European Court of Human Rights; sex-based discrimination.

DOI: 10.1504/IJHRCS.2014.067877

International Journal of Human Rights and Constitutional Studies, 2014 Vol.2 No.4, pp.399 - 403

Published online: 13 Mar 2015 *

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