Revising the Distinction between Persons and Things. Is the Name Property?
7 Pages Posted: 28 Oct 2008
Date Written: September 27, 2006
Abstract
This paper studies how the law conceives the relations between society and a person around one component of an individual's identity: the person's name. By giving a name, and transcribing it into the civil status registers, society recognizes an individual's existence. However, society may also seek to regulate the change and acquisition of a name, thus revealing the State's approach towards the person (liberty or control). In France, there is a right to the name, but not a property right; on the contrary, the current doctrine in England and Wales is that there is no right to the name, i.e. no property right to defend one's name against the use by another. However, French law requires prior authorization to change one's names, which seems contrary to the idea of a right, whereas English law barely regulates the change of names, leaving an individual free to do what s/he chooses. This is an early investigation on the subject
Keywords: Surname, immutability, person, identity, French Law, English Law
JEL Classification: K10, K11, K00
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation