02/06/2016 (Agence Europe) - Change of name in one member state does not necessary mean it is recognised in another. In a ruling delivered on Thursday 2 June (C-438/14), the European Court of Justice endorsed the refusal by the German authorities to recognise the change of name in the United Kingdom by one of its citizens, who also has British nationality. In the United Kingdom, the interested party, Nabiel Peter Bogendorff von Wolffersdorff, added the following terms to his name "Graf" and "Freiherr", which respectively mean "count" and "Baron" in German. He subsequently sought recognition of this change in Germany. The German authorities refused this request because the Constitution of Weimar in 1919 abolished the privileges and titles of nobility and banned the creation of titles conferring the appearance of belonging to the nobility. The Court of Justice ultimately found in its favour, given that this decision appears to respond to the objective of guaranteeing respect for the principle of equality in law for all German citizens. (JK)