Facts
Gerhard Koch, a German national who has lived in Switzerland for over 30 years, married Léone Grayo, a French national who lived in France until the marriage, on February 24, 1989. At the time of the marriage, the unmarried names of the spouses were recorded in the civil registry. The spouses appealed to the Justice, Police and Military Directorate of Basel-Landschaft against this, as Léone Grayo had "from the date of the marriage" settled in Reinach and Gerhard Koch had initiated the naturalization procedure.
The Justice, Police and Military Directorate of Basel-Landschaft dismissed the appeal, as under the Swiss Private International Law Act (IPRG), the name of a person with a foreign domicile is subject to the law of the state of domicile. Since Léone Grayo lived in France until the marriage, French law applies to her name, according to which a French woman retains her unmarried name.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court overturned the decision of the Justice, Police and Military Directorate of Basel-Landschaft. It decided that in deciding on the use of the name of a wife who had her domicile abroad until the marriage and whose partner was already living in Switzerland, the intention expressed by the spouses in the pre-procedure or in the announcement procedure to establish their first marital…