The Constitutional Court Case on Personal Names of Lithuanian Citizens: Balancing the Official Language and the Rights of National Minorities

by Kiryl Kascian

Question(s) at stake

Whether the requirement to write personal names in the official language of the Republic of Lithuania in official documents potentially infringes upon the rights of national minority individuals to maintain their ethnic identity and privacy, as well as the principle of equality.

Outcome of the ruling

Country:

Lithuania

Official citation

Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania, Ruling of 21 October 1999, Case No. 14/98 "On the compliance of the Resolution of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Lithuania ‘On Writing Names and Family Names in Passports of Citizens of the Republic of Lithuania’ of 31 January 1991 with the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania” (1999 m. spalio 21 d. Lietuvos Respublikos Konstitucinio Teismo nutarimas dėl Lietuvos Respublikos Aukščiausiosios Tarybos 1991 m. sausio 31 d. nutarimo „Dėl vardų ir pavardžių rašymo Lietuvos Respublikos piliečio pase“ atitikimo Lietuvos Respublikos Konstitucijai” (bylos Nr. 14/98))

Topic(s)

• Personal Status, Family and Inheritance
• State recognition of Groups and Their Practices

Keywords:

First name Last name Linguistic rights Non-discrimination Official or administrative language Right to respect for private life Right to use one's name in a minority language Spelling Language

Tag(s):

Lithuania Minority Minority language Official language

Bibliographic information