Facts
Spouses Jean-Paul and Simone Zürcher-Mathez divorced on February 2, 1968. The wife, originally from Neuchâtel but having become a resident of Bern upon her marriage, obtained authorization from the Bern Cantonal Council on April 23, 1968, to bear the name of her ex-husband. On April 12, 1970, she gave birth to an illegitimate child, who was registered in the civil status records of Neuchâtel under the name of Igor Mathez. Simone Zürcher exercises parental authority.
Simone Zürcher requested the Neuchâtel civil registrar to register her son under the name of Zürcher. The registrar rejected this request, based on a circular from the Federal Department of Justice and Police, according to which the natural child of a divorced woman, authorized by a name change decision to retain her ex-husband's name, bears the maiden name of his mother.
The Cantonal Court of Neuchâtel ultimately upheld Simone Zürcher's conclusions and ordered that the child Igor be registered under the name of Zürcher. Jean-Paul Zürcher appealed against this judgment.
Considerations
According to the Federal Tribunal, Simone Zürcher's request aims to have the disputed name of her son Igor definitively determined by the judge, which constitutes a civil dispute within the meaning of Art. 29 CC and not a simple gracious procedure to rectify the name registered in the civil status records.
Interpreting Art. 324 para. 1 CC in light of the preparatory work, the Federal Tribunal considers that the legislator did not…