Austrian law barring aristocratic names is okay, EU court rules

Dec 22, 2010, 14:45 GMT

Brussels - An Austrian law which forbids its citizens from acquiring aristocratic titles does not breach any European Union rules, the bloc's top court ruled on Wednesday.

Judges had been asked to rule in the case of Ilonka Sayn- Wittgenstein, an Austrian living in Germany who, following her adoption as an adult by Prince Lothar von Sayn-Wittgenstein in 1991, had become 'Princess von Sayn-Wittgenstein.'

That title - including the 'von' preposition typical of German nobility - was recognized in a German driving licence and in the registration process of Sayn-Wittgenstein's real estate company, which operates in Bavaria as well as Austria.

Austrian authorities also recognized the title for 15 years. But following a 2003 constitutional court ruling on a similar case, the 'von' was stripped from Sayn-Wittgenstein's civil status register, in accorddance with a 1919 law which abolished nobility.

Sayn-Wittgenstein appealed, complaining that forcing her to use two different surnames in Austria and Germany would limit her freedom of movement - one of the fundamental freedoms of the EU - as the inconsistency might cause her problems with authorities.

But the EU's Court of Justice - which was asked for an opinion by an Austrian appeals court - opined that 'the general principle of equality before the law of all Austrian citizens,' deemed to be the foundation of the abolition of nobility law, trumped any possible freedom of movement considerations.

Judges said that 'it is not disproportionate for (an EU) member state to seek to attain the objective of equal treatment by prohibiting any acquisition, possession or use, by its citizens, of titles of nobility.'

The ruling gave Austrian appeal judges an interpretation of EU law, but left them to make the final decision on Sayn-Wittgenstein's case.