Article 59 of the family code of the Russian Federation. The right of the child to express his opinion, the right of the child to a name, patronymic and surname. Changing the name and surname of a child - Personal non-property rights of children

From the moment of birth, he has the right to a name, patronymic and surname, which is provided for by the Declaration of the Rights of the Child (1959), international pact on civil and political rights (New York, December 19, 1966), the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989).

The right to a name, patronymic and surname is a personal non-property right of a child, individualizing him in society.

Consists of three constituent elements:

proper name (name in the narrow sense);

patronymic, formed from the name of the father;

surnames ( generic name) passed on to descendants.

Child's name

Name the child is given by agreement of the parents, the patronymic is assigned by the name of the father, unless otherwise provided by the laws of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation or is not based on national custom.

The right of the child to a name is exercised by the parents (and in their absence, by persons replacing them) during the registration of the birth of the child in statutory okay. As a rule, both parents choose the name of the child. When registering a birth on the application of one of them, it is assumed that the other agrees with the chosen name.

The registry office does not have the right to refuse to give the child the name chosen by the parents (this explains the appearance in children of such strange, and sometimes ridiculous, names as "Beauty Girl", etc.). They can only advise parents to abandon any dissonant or difficult to pronounce name. Until 2017, the law did not give grounds for refusing to register any child's name chosen by agreement of the parents, relying on the parents' common sense (because by default it is considered that parents act in good faith, reasonably and in the interests of the child), but in 2017 Paragraph 2 of Article 58 of the Family Code was amended, according to which, when parents choose a child's name (Federal Law No. 94-FZ of May 1, 2017)

it is not allowed to use numbers, alphanumeric designations, numerals, symbols and characters that are not letters, with the exception of the "hyphen" sign, or any combination of them or swear words, indications of ranks, positions, titles.

Russian regulatory legal acts do not regulate the issue of the impossibility of assigning a child a double, triple, etc. name, limited only to the provision that "the name of the child is given by agreement of the parents." The presence of a double (triple, etc.) name of the child, on the one hand, creates whole line inconveniences, for example, when forming a patronymic, officially addressing a person, and in everyday life, as a rule, one (first) name is used, but on the other hand, giving a child a double name can be one of the ways to overcome disagreements between parents about the name of the child, when each of them chose the name he liked, by which he wants to name the child.

In addition, the choice by parents of one or another name of the child can be explained by the peculiarities of national customs and traditions of each parent.

Surname of the child

The surname of a person denotes not only the name of the individual, but also his belonging to a certain genus (family).

The child's surname (as opposed to the given name) is not freely chosen. In accordance with article 47 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation, "the rights and obligations of parents and children are based on the origin of children, certified in the manner prescribed by law."

Surname The child is identified by the surname of the parents. At different surnames parents, the child is assigned the surname of the father or the surname of the mother by agreement of the parents, unless otherwise provided by the laws of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation.

In 2017, paragraph 3 of Article 58 of the Family Code was amended (Federal Law No. 94-FZ of May 1, 2017), according to which:

with different surnames of the parents, by agreement of the parents, the child is assigned the surname of the father, the surname of the mother or a double surname formed by joining the surnames of the father and mother to each other in any sequence, unless otherwise provided by the laws of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation;
it is not allowed to change the sequence of joining the surnames of the father and mother to each other when forming double surnames for full brothers and sisters;
the double surname of the child may consist of no more than two words, connected when written with a hyphen.

In the absence of an agreement between the parents regarding the name and (or) surname of the child, the disagreements that have arisen are resolved by the body of guardianship and guardianship.

If a child was born to an unmarried mother and paternity has not been established, then, according to the rules of Article 51 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation, the surname of the child's father is recorded by the mother's surname, and the name and patronymic of the child's father in the birth record book are recorded at the direction of the mother. At the request of the mother, information about the father may not be entered in the record of the birth certificate.

Middle name of the child

Middle name of the child(as well as a surname), unlike a given name, are not chosen freely. If the child was born from married persons, then the paternity of the spouse of the child's mother is certified by a record of their marriage. In this case, the patronymic is written by the name of the father.

The paternity of a person who is not married to the mother of a child is voluntarily established by submitting a joint application to the registry office by the father and mother of the child (paragraph 3 of Article 48 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation).

A different procedure for assigning a patronymic may be provided for by the laws of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation or based on national custom, as determined by paragraph 2 of Article 58 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation.

That. patronymic is assigned by the name of the person recorded as the father of the child.

In Russian, a patronymic is a patronymic, an indication of the name of the father. Not without reason, in ancient times, Russian patronymics had the endings "-ov", "-in" (the answer to the question "whose?"). For some peoples of Russia, patronymics are indicated differently. For example, among Chechens and Ingush, patronymic precedes the name, and among Turkic peoples it is formed with the help of the words "ogly" or "uly".

Russian regulatory legal acts do not provide for the procedure for changing the patronymic of a child, but since there is no direct prohibition, then it is possible:

when establishing paternity;

when the father's name is changed (i.e. when the child's father has changed his name).

It is impossible to change the patronymic of the child on the grounds, for example, that the father of the child left the family, does not live together for a long time, etc., it is impossible. Changing the patronymic of an adult is possible upon his application submitted to the registry office (paragraph 3 of Article 63 of the Law "On acts of civil status").

Changing the name, patronymic and surname of the child

As a rule, the name, patronymic and surname of the child is assigned for life, but the laws of the Russian Federation do not exclude the possibility of changing all three elements. Such a right is expressly provided for in Article 58 of the Law "On Acts of Civil Status".

The basis for changing the name (also patronymic and surname) of a child received at birth may be:

recognition or establishment of paternity;

adoption or revocation of adoption;

change of the name or surname of the parents;

dissonance of the surname of one of the parents, difficulty in pronunciation;

separation of parents, etc.

The right of a child to change his name and surname is established by Article 59 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation and the Law "On acts of civil status", according to which a change of name by a child under the age of 14, a change of surname to the surname of another parent is made at the joint request of the parents.

Satisfaction of the request of the parents is determined solely by the interests of the child, which must be observed in this situation. If one of the parents is against changing the name of the child, the guardianship and guardianship body is obliged to refuse to satisfy such a request, since it is authorized to change the name of the child only at the joint request of the parents.

If the child has not reached the age of 10, his consent to change the name and (or) surname is not required. A change in the name and (or) surname of a child who has reached 10 years of age is made only with his consent, and his opinion is mandatory for the guardianship and guardianship authority. In changing the name and (or) surname of the child without his consent, the body of guardianship and guardianship of the parents must refuse.

A change of name, surname, patronymic by a child who has reached the age of 14 (but has not reached the age of 18) is made at his request with the consent of both parents. A change of name, surname, patronymic by a person who has reached the age of 18 is possible without anyone's consent, as well as upon marriage, divorce.

If, during the separation of parents, the one with whom the child lives wishes to give him his last name, the guardianship and guardianship authority resolves this issue, taking into account the opinion of the other parent and necessarily depending on the interests of the child. Consent of a child who has reached 10 years of age to change the surname in this case Necessarily. If a child is accustomed to his last name, continues to communicate with a separately living father or mother who is still involved in his upbringing, then changing the child's last name may be contrary to the interests of the child and parent. Therefore, the guardianship and guardianship authority must evaluate the arguments of each of the parents and make a decision that is most in the best interests of the child.

In the following cases: impossibility to establish his location, deprivation of his parental rights, recognition as incapacitated, evasion of the parent without good reasons from the upbringing and maintenance of the child, permission to change the name of the child may be given by the guardianship and guardianship authority and without taking into account the opinion of the parent living separately from the child. In such cases, consideration of the opinion of the parent living separately from the child on assigning the child the surname of the other parent with whom the child lives is not required.

If the child has reached the age of majority, the change in the surname of the parents does not entail a change in the surname of their children.

Separately, it is necessary to mention the name adopted child. If a child is adopted, his first name, patronymic and surname are retained, but at the request of the adopter, the child may be given a different name, patronymic and surname (Article 134 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation). The court decision on the establishment of adoption indicates the change of the name of the child. On the basis of a court decision, appropriate changes are made to the act record. Changing the name and (or) surname of a child after his adoption is not allowed.

Article 19 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. Citizen's name

ATTENTION!

1. The intention to change the name of the child may arise from parents for various reasons (at the request of relatives, in memory of one of the relatives, under the influence of fashion, etc.). But such a desire of the parents should be mutual, meaning that the parents are married and live with the child. However, this parental right applies only to children under the age of 14. In addition, a possible change depends on the permission of the guardianship and guardianship authorities, and not the registry office. The position of these bodies is determined by the interests of a minor who is under 14 years of age. This takes into account the habits of the child, the fact that from birth he is already called differently, etc.
The decision of the guardianship and guardianship authorities, allowing the change of the name of the child, becomes the basis for making changes to the record of the birth of the child, after which a new birth certificate is issued (clause 4, article 63 of the Law on acts of civil status).
As for children who have reached the age of 14 and already have the right to obtain a passport, the change of their name is carried out in accordance with Art. 60 of the Civil Status Act.
State registration of a name change is carried out by the registry office on the basis of an application for a name change, which must be considered within a month. If there are valid reasons, this period may be extended by no more than two months by the head of the registry office. In the event that a person wishing to change his name is denied state registration change of his name, the head of the registry office is obliged to report the reason for the refusal in writing. Information on the state registration of a name change is reported to the internal affairs body at the applicant's place of residence within seven days from the date of state registration of the name change.
After the state registration of the name change, a certificate is issued that contains the following information:
- surname, first name, patronymic (before and after their change), date and place of birth, citizenship, nationality (if indicated in the record of the name change act) of the person who changed the name;
- date of drawing up and record number of the act of name change;
- place of state registration of the name change (name of the registry office that carried out the state registration of the name change);
- date of issue of the certificate of change of name (art. 62 of the Civil Status Act).
Since the parents of a child who are married may have different surnames, they have the right to request that their child under 14 years of age be given the surname of the other spouse, if they wish. Such a request can be explained by various reasons, but the main thing is that its satisfaction does not violate the interests of the minor, does not cause him mental trauma. The permission of this request is also within the competence of the guardianship and guardianship authorities, whose positive decision becomes the basis for state registration of the change, after which a new birth certificate is issued.
Since the name of a citizen is understood as his surname, first name and (or) patronymic, all the rules regarding the change of surname, including a child who has reached the age of 14, are provided not only by paragraph 1 of the commented article, but also by Art. 58-62 of the Civil Status Act. However, it should be noted that when the surname is changed by both parents and the name by the father, the surname and patronymic of the child under the age of 14 are changed in the record of his birth certificate (paragraph 1, clause 3, article 63 of the Civil Status Act). And when a surname is changed by one of the parents, the surname of their child under the age of 14 years old can be changed by agreement of the parents, and in the absence of an agreement - at the direction of the guardianship and guardianship authority (paragraph 2, clause 3, article 63 of the Law on acts of civil status ).
2. The separation of parents often gives rise to a situation where one of the parents, with whom the minor is constantly staying, has a surname that does not coincide with him. This is possible if, for example, after a divorce, the mother of the child remarries or returns to her premarital surname, or if a single mother who gave her surname to the child acquires the surname of the new husband, etc. As a result, all members of the same family have different surnames, which primarily affects children. Therefore, the UK does not put any formal barriers to the acquisition of one surname by all family members. The decision on assigning the child the surname of the parent with whom he lives is within the competence of the guardianship and guardianship authority, which takes into account the interests of the minor (the habit of the former surname or, conversely, the desire to bear the same surname with siblings, etc.) . At the same time, the UK does not contain a reservation regarding the application of these rules to children under 14 years of age. Consequently, paragraph 2 of the commented article applies to all minors, i.e. persons under the age of 18. At the same time, the said paragraph states that when deciding whether to change the surname of a child whose parents live separately, the opinion of the other parent is taken into account. But such an account is not required:
- if it is impossible to establish its location;
- deprivation of his parental rights;
- declaring him incompetent;
- as well as in cases of avoidance of the parent without good reason from the upbringing and maintenance of the child.
Taking into account the opinion of a separately living parent means that: firstly, he must be notified of the receipt by the guardianship and guardianship authority of an application to change the child's surname; secondly, it is necessary to obtain his consent (or, on the contrary, disagreement) to a possible change. If this parent gives serious arguments in favor of keeping the child's surname, which he bears, they should be taken into account when deciding the issue on the merits. The absence of any reaction (oral or written) of the parent living separately to the information he received means his indifference to what surname his child will have. But in any case, the consent of a parent who lives separately from his child does not apply to the mandatory, unconditional requirements formulated in the UK. Therefore, to change the name of the child in such a situation, his consent is not required.
3. According to paragraph 3 of Art. 51 of the UK, the surname of the child (in the absence of a joint statement on the establishment of paternity or a court decision that satisfied the claim on the establishment of paternity) is recorded by the surname of the mother. But she can change her surname for some reason, for example, by getting married, changing her dissonant surname, etc. As a result, the mother and her child will have different surnames. And if more children appear in the family, with whose father the woman is married, then her first, so-called bastard, will have a different surname from all family members. To prevent this from happening, the guardianship and guardianship authorities have the right to allow the minor to change his surname to the surname of the mother, which she bears at the time of making such a request. In other words, there are no obstacles to assigning a mother's surname to a child. It is only important that the guardianship and guardianship authority exercise its right based on the interests of the child, who can get used to the surname received at birth, etc. At the same time, the UK does not link the change of the minor's surname to the mother's surname with his 14-year-old age.
4. The SC connects the solution of a number of vital issues for the child with the obligatory obtaining of the consent of the child who has reached the age of 10 years. Among them is the question concerning the change of his name and (or) surname. Moreover, the name, surname of a person, including those who have not reached the age of majority, is associated with his own "I", distinguish him from those around him, in the family, educational institution, etc.
Takovo general rule, which, presumably, knows no exceptions. Even if the adoption is carried out without the consent of the minor (see the commentary to paragraph 2 of Article 132 of the UK), consent is required to change the name and (or) surname of a child who is 10 years old. The necessity, the desirability of such changes can be explained to the minor by any circumstances that do not violate the secrecy of adoption. The rule provided for in paragraph 4 of the commented article also does not distinguish between children under the age of 14 and older. All changes regarding the change of name, surname of the first, are carried out with the help of the guardianship and guardianship body, children aged 14 to 18 years - in accordance with Art. 58-63 of the Civil Status Act.

According to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, every child has the right to a name from the moment of birth. The name of the child is given by agreement of the parents, the patronymic is assigned by the name of the father, the surname of the child is determined by the surname of the parents. With different surnames of the parents, the child is assigned the surname of the father or the surname of the mother by their agreement. If there are disagreements between the parents when choosing the name or surname of the child, they are resolved by the body of guardianship and guardianship.
In accordance with Article 59 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation, at the joint request of the parents, before the child reaches the age of fourteen, the guardianship and guardianship authority, based on the interests of the child, has the right to allow changing the name of the child, as well as changing the surname assigned to him to the surname of another parent.

If the parents live separately and the parent with whom the child lives wishes to give him his last name, the guardianship and guardianship authority resolves this issue depending on the interests of the child and taking into account the opinion of the other parent. It is not necessary to take into account the opinion of the parent if it is impossible to establish his location, deprive him of parental rights, recognize him as incompetent, as well as in cases where the parent avoids raising and maintaining the child without valid reasons.
If a child is born from persons who are not married to each other, and paternity has not been legally established, the guardianship and guardianship authority, based on the interests of the child, has the right to allow changing his surname to the surname of the mother, which she bears at the time of making such a request.
A change in the name and (or) surname of a child who has reached the age of ten years can be made only with his consent.
The consent of the body of guardianship and guardianship to the commission of actions related to changing the name of the child depends solely on the interests of the child. The procedure for changing the surname is reflected in the Federal Law of November 15, 1997 No. No. 143-FZ ""On acts of civil status"". Paragraph 2 of Article 58 of the Law provides that the name change is carried out by the civil registry office at the place of residence or at the place of state registration of the person's birth.
You can also resolve this issue in civil proceedings.
If it becomes necessary to change the name or surname of a child under the age of fourteen, for example, due to dissonance, difficulty in pronunciation, or for any other reason, parents must apply with a corresponding application to the guardianship and guardianship authority. Having considered the application of the parents, the guardianship and guardianship authority, based on the interests of the child, may allow a change of name or surname, while changing the surname is allowed only in the cases of transition from the surname of one parent to the surname of the other. A positive decision of the guardianship and guardianship authority will be the basis for the state registration authority to change the child's name (the child's surname to the surname of the other parent).
It must be borne in mind that a change in the name or surname of a child who has reached the age of ten years can be made only with his consent. Upon reaching the age of fourteen, a teenager has the right to apply to the registry office with a request to change his first name, surname or patronymic, however, he will have to submit to the registry office the written consent of both parents, adoptive parents (if the applicant was adopted in accordance with the law) or guardian (if in the applicant is under guardianship in accordance with the procedure established by law), since in the absence of such consent, the registry office performs state registration of a change of name, only on the basis of a court decision.
If the parents of a child under fourteen years of age live separately and the parent with whom the child lives wishes to give the child his own surname, he may also apply to the guardianship and guardianship authority with a corresponding application. The body of guardianship and guardianship considers the application of the parent with whom the child lives, taking into account the opinion of the other parent. At the same time, the legislation, as indicated above, defines a number of cases when the opinion of the second parent may not be taken into account, these are:
- if the second parent is recognized as incapacitated or missing by a court decision that has entered into force (or its location cannot be established);
- if the other parent is deprived of parental rights in relation to the child;
- in cases where the parent avoids the upbringing and maintenance of the child without good reason (for example, evasion from paying alimony by a court decision).
In accordance with the Federal Law of November 15, 1997 No. 143-FZ “On acts of civil status”, like any act of civil status, a change of name is subject to state registration and is carried out by the registry office at the place of residence or at the place of state registration of birth of a person who wants to change his surname , first name or patronymic. When state registration of a name change, a person who has reached the age of 14, or before the person reaches the age of 14 - his parents, the registry office issues an appropriate certificate (Certificate of name change).
Below are the articles of the federal law, regulating the change of name, including the change of the surname and directly the name of the child.

1. At the joint request of the parents, before the child reaches the age of fourteen years, the guardianship and guardianship body, based on the interests of the child, has the right to allow changing the name of the child, as well as changing the surname assigned to him to the surname of the other parent.

2. If the parents live separately and the parent with whom the child lives wishes to give him his last name, the guardianship and guardianship authority resolves this issue depending on the interests of the child and taking into account the opinion of the other parent. It is not necessary to take into account the opinion of the parent if it is impossible to establish his location, deprive him of parental rights, recognize him as incompetent, as well as in cases where the parent avoids raising and maintaining the child without valid reasons.

3. If a child is born from persons who are not married to each other, and paternity has not been legally established, the guardianship and guardianship authority, based on the interests of the child, has the right to allow changing his surname to the surname of the mother, which she bears at the time of making such a request.

4. A change in the name and (or) surname of a child who has reached the age of ten years can be made only with his consent.

Commentary on Article 59 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation

1. As a rule, the name, patronymic and surname assigned to the child are not subject to change, and the citizen wears them all his life. However, as follows from paragraph 1 of the commented article, at the joint request of the parents, before the child reaches the age of fourteen, the guardianship and guardianship authority, based on the interests of the child, has the right to allow changing the name of the child, as well as changing the surname assigned to him to the surname of another parent. The law does not specify what is meant in this case by the interests of the child, granting the right to resolve this issue in each specific case separately.

2. The issue of assigning a surname to a child is resolved in a special way in the case when the parents live separately and the parent with whom the child lives wants to assign his surname to him. This issue is resolved by the guardianship and guardianship body depending on the interests of the child and taking into account the opinion of the other parent.

The consent of the other parent is not required to change the child's last name. But it is necessary to take into account the opinion of this parent, if he is capable, not deprived of parental rights or not limited in them. This kind of necessity also disappears when it is impossible to establish the place of his location, and also when he, without good reason, is not engaged in raising a minor, does not support him.

3. Paragraph 3 of the commented article establishes the right of a mother who is not married to the father of her child to change the name of a minor to the one she bears. It follows from this that a child may, without adoption, acquire the surname of the stepfather if, after marriage, the mother began to bear his surname.

4. According to paragraph 4 of the commented article, a change in the name and (or) surname of a child who has reached the age of ten years can be made only with his consent. This is due to the fact that by the age of ten the child reaches a certain degree of maturity and his consent or disagreement in this particular case has legal significance.

4. A change in the name and (or) surname of a child who has reached the age of ten years can be made only with his consent.

Chapter content

Publications in the press:

October 27, 2011

Juvenile justice in Russia - reality and development prospects
Interview with the Commissioner for Children's Rights in St. Petersburg