Article 11 of the Institute of International Law Resolution on Human Rights and Private International Law: Recognition of Names and Protection of Personal Identity

The continuity of a name across borders makes it possible to preserve one of its essential functions: that of identifying an individual and constituting his or her identity. The guarantee of this continuity, pursued by national and conventional provisions of private international law and by the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights through different techniques, thus responds to the need to protect a fundamental right of the individual. Article 11 of the Resolution of the Institut de droit international on human rights and private international law is in line with this orientation, affirming the principle of recognition in much broader terms than those defined in Article 10 of the same resolution on the recognition of personal status. For the name to be recognized, no connection of the individual in question with the State of registration is in fact required; moreover, the possibility of opposing recognition on the basis of public order grounds must take into account human rights.