Rectification of the Family Name Registration

Facts

The applicant, born in Egg near Zurich and domiciled in Grüningen, district of Hinwil, is registered in the civil status registers with the family name "Vontobel". He wishes to have the spelling "von Tobel" recognized, which he claims has been used for centuries. After having his request for a name change rejected twice by the State Council of the Canton of Zurich, he filed a lawsuit before the District Court of Hinwil, concluding that the spelling "Vontobel" in the parish registers of Grüningen, which served as the basis for the registration of his name in the civil status register, be declared incorrect and that his family name be spelled "von Tobel". The municipality of Grüningen opposed the applicant's request.

Considerations

The Federal Tribunal considers that, although the request formally aims at a rectification of the registers, it is actually a civil dispute over the family name within the meaning of Art. 29 CC, which makes the appeal for reform to the Federal Tribunal admissible.

However, the request must be dismissed because it concerns entries that do not relate to the applicant himself. Indeed, the births, marriages and deaths of the applicant and his family have taken place outside the municipality of Grüningen, so that the entries to be rectified are not in the…