Laws on the personal name violate human rights

According to the current law, a person that changes their name has to have both names on the birth certificate.

Representatives of the lesbian group Kontra, in association with Croatian Women's Network and Iskorak, delivered a proposal to the Croatian Constitutional Court in which they challenge the validity of the current law on personal names.

Associations believe that current laws on the birth certificates and personal names violate the Constitutional right on privacy.

President of the Kontra, Sanja Juras, clarifies that the personal name Act violates the right to privacy because it requires all the changed names to be published on a bulletin board.

State law on birth certificates says that changes to a personal name and sex must be recorded as additional entries and notes. This means, explains the association, that a person changing the name from Marko to Ana will have a birth certificate that looks like the original; that is, bearing the name of Marko, with other name (Ana) added only in the subsequent notes.

Since there are no legal exceptions for sex change, the association warns that all citizens and individuals can find out about sex change through the bulletin board or documents like birth certificates.

Associations are hoping that legislators will check the constitutionality of the controversial law and change it on their own before it gets to the Constitutional Court.

Transphobia a negative attitude, feeling, discomfort, prejudice, hostility or discriminatory attitude towards transgender people, transsexuals or persons who are in the process of changing their sex.