Lithuania hails EU court ruling in spat over Polish names
Photo European Court of Justice
(VILNIUS) - Lithuania Thursday hailed a European Court of Justice ruling backing its name-spelling rules, an issue that has fed into other spats with the Baltic nation's ethnic-Polish minority and neighbouring Poland.
"The court accepted the Lithuanian position that the spelling of names lies within the remit of the state," Justice Minister Remigijus Simasius told reporters.
Earlier Thursday, the European Union court ruled largely in Vilnius' favour in the case of an ethnic Pole who was not allowed to change her name on her identity papers from Malgozata Runevic-Vardyn to Malgorzata Runiewicz-Wardyn.
There is little difference in pronunciation, with the Polish rz and cz sounds represented in Lithuanian by z and c with an accent.
The Polish w is pronounced like the English v. Lithuania's alphabet has no w.
The plaintiff also faulted the spelling because Wardyn is the surname of her husband, a Polish citizen, claiming Lithuania had no business changing foreign names.
Her husband, Lukasz Pawel Wardyn, questioned the ruling.
"It is surprising. The same court probably would never judge that BMW needs to change its name solely for Lithuania," he told the Baltic News Service.
The couple live in Belgium, and charged that different spellings on their documents made life complicated when dealing with bureaucrats -- a fact acknowledged by the court.
The dispute tapped deep roots.
Lithuania and Poland forged a united state in the 14th century which lasted for 400 years until their neighbours carved it up. After re-emerging in 1918, they fought over territory, with Poland the victor.
Lithuania was seized by the Soviet Union during World War II, and border changes have left it with a Polish minority of seven percent of the population.
Poland, a nation of 38 million, and Lithuania, a minnow of 3.2 million, built close ties as NATO and EU members after emerging from Moscow's shadow as the Iron Curtain crumbled in 1989-1991.
But over the past year a war of words has marred relations, with Poland claiming Lithuania is breaching European rights accords, a stance Vilnius rejects.
They have also traded barbs over economic links, where Poland has major clout.
Judgement of the European Court of Justice in Case C-391/09 - Runevič-Vardyn and Wardyn - full texts