Facts
The appellant [A.] was born on June 15, 1977 in [U.] , California/USA and is a citizen of the United States. His mother is a Belgian national and his father [C.] is a Swiss citizen. The parents have never been married. On August 27, 2013, [C.] , residing in [V.] /BE, acknowledged the then 36-year-old [A.] as his child before the civil registry office in Bern. This acknowledgment of paternity was duly recorded in the civil status register. On November 27, 2017, [A.] filed a request with the Regional Court of Bern-Mittelland for the correction of the civil status register in accordance with Art. 42 para. 1 CC. He requested the correction to change the date of the acknowledgment of paternity (August 27, 2013) to "October 1, 1986" (or possibly October 2, 1986, or a date to be determined by the court), and the place of the acknowledgment of paternity (Bern) to "California (USA)". The Regional Court dismissed the request. [A.] appealed this decision to the Cantonal Court of Bern, which also dismissed the appeal. Subsequently, [A.] filed a civil law appeal to the Federal Supreme Court.Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court dismissed the appeal. It concluded that neither an earlier acknowledgment of paternity abroad nor foreign decisions could call into question the validity of the acknowledgment of paternity made in Bern on August 27, 2013: - An acknowledgment of paternity can be challenged by a judicial correction under Art. 42 CC if it was already incorrect at the time it was made. The appellant claims that he was validly acknowledged by his father at an earlier date, not on August 27, 2013. For this, he has the option to proceed under Art. 42 CC. - According to Art. 73 para. 1 PILA, an acknowledgment of a child made abroad is recognized in Switzerland if it is valid under the law of the child's habitual residence, the child's national law, the law of the domicile, or the national law of the mother or father. The Cantonal Court examined whether such an acknowledgment existed under…