Two MPs from Belgium’s Green parties want to give people in Belgium the unconditional right to change their surnames once in their lives.
Under the draft law, the change will apply if they switch to their other parent’s family name or a combination of both.
The draft law was proposed by Claire Hugon (Ecolo) and Stefaan Van Hecke (Groen), with the Flemish MP telling De Standaard that “the town hall’s registrar won’t be able to refuse” Belgians’ future surname changes.
The MPs aim to do away with the current system which sees Belgians only be allowed to change their surnames after a year-long process with the Ministry of Justice, having to provide them with a "valid" reason.
In total, only 1,120 Belgians opted to change their surnames in 2022.
However, with Hugon and Van Hecke’s proposal, “any child who no longer wants to carry their father's surname for whatever reason, for example, will then simply be able to apply for their mother's maiden name at the town hall.”
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Moreover, their bill has garnered support from legal experts and civil society organisations, who even argued that the bill should go further and allow all surname changes.
Frederik Swennen, a lawyer in Antwerp, reminded De Standaard that the European Court of Human Rights provides the legal right to change one’s same.
Mirian Ben Jattou, President of the feminist NGO, Femmes de Droit, argued that a change to the other parent’s name should not be obliged as “we regularly receive victims of family violence who no longer want anything to do with either parent."
