Refusal to Add the Particle "von" to a Surname

Facts

The applicant, Martin Kaspar Reding, domiciled in Arth (SZ), requested authorization to bear the surname "von Reding". This request was rejected by the Department of Justice of the Canton of Lucerne on August 2, 1991, and then by the State Council on February 22, 1994. The applicant then appealed to the Federal Tribunal, which also rejected his request.

Considerations

According to Art. 30(1) CC, the government of the canton of domicile may authorize the change of a person's name for just cause. However, in the present case, it is not a change of name per se, but the addition of the particle "von" to a surname already registered without this addition.

The Federal Tribunal considers that the addition of the particle "von" is generally inadmissible, as it can be interpreted as a title of nobility, which would be contrary to the principle of equality enshrined in Art. 4 Cst. Indeed, when the federal civil register was introduced, the practice was to simply reproduce the entries from the…