Swiss parliament agrees to allow double surnames again

Parliament wants to allow double names on marriage again Keystone-SDA

The two parliamentary chambers in Switzerland have reached an agreement on the reintroduction of double surnames.

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After a brief debate, the Senate agreed with the House of Representatives proposal on Monday. The bill is now ready for the final vote.

According to the proposal, it should be possible to choose a double surname from the available names of the engaged couple. A minority in the Senate wanted to restrict this choice to unmarried names. The majority of the responsible committee prevailed by 25 votes to 17.

+ Why double surnames are stirring controversy in Switzerland

With the adopted regulation, names from previous marriages are not excluded when creating a double surname. However, children cannot bear the double surname. They will only receive a name chosen by their parents.

With this decision, the long-standing parliamentary dispute could soon be resolved.

Translated from German by AI/jdp

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