Belgian-Moroccan Woman Battles Bureaucracy to Reclaim Misspelled Surname

Born in Morocco on January 5, 1952, Nawal Berrada* arrived in Saint-Gilles on July 3, 1976. She has been registered in the population register of the Brussels municipality since November 12, 1982. Her surname is correctly spelled with "2 r’s" on her birth certificate, established and corrected in Morocco. Her name Berrada is also spelled with "2 r’s" on her driver’s license, on the business license, as well as on the birth certificate of her daughter born in Belgium, all issued by the municipality of Saint-Gilles. But on February 18, 2019, the municipal employee wrote Berada with a single "r" on a residence certificate. He justifies this name change by the law signed by the Minister of Justice who granted naturalization to the Moroccan woman on December 8, 2000. On January 10, 2001, the Official Gazette published it and wrote Berada with a single "r". This is the beginning of the fight of the Belgian-Moroccan woman, reports La Dernière Heure.

In 2019, the MRE (Moroccan Resident Abroad) undertakes administrative steps to have her surname corrected. She files a request for a name change with the Federal Public Service Justice. The latter responds to her on March 1. In its response, it specifies that it is not a "name change", but rather a "correction" for which the municipality of Saint-Gilles is solely competent. Nawal then turns to the municipality of Saint-Gilles to obtain the correction of her surname. She is met with the refusal of the municipality. Saint-Gilles explains to her that a simple civil registrar cannot modify her name, given that it is the law of 8/12/2000 that granted naturalization and spelled Berada with one "r". These explanations cause incomprehension for Nawal, who goes back to the Federal Public Service Justice on Boulevard de Waterloo to explain the situation. At the FPS, the name and first name change service sends her back once again to the municipality.

In December 2021, she turns to the municipality again. She is once again met with refusal. She initiates a procedure called "civil status correction" before the Brussels family court, asking it to order the municipality to correct the civil status registers, to write Berrada with "2 r’s". On January 27, 2023, the court does not decide. For it, "the correction of the population registers falls under the exclusive competence of the municipal authority". The court ends up declaring itself incompetent to correct it itself. Nawal does not give in to despair. She files another request with the municipality. The MRE insists on the explanations of the FPS.

Two and a half months later, she does not prevail. The civil registrar now claims that "no error has been made since in 2001, the MRE would have presented a birth certificate issued in Morocco where her name is written with a single "r". Another refusal for Nawal. She is forced to turn to the FPS again. Nothing is moving forward. Assisted by her lawyer, she filed a request on June 23, 2024 to the Council of State, the highest administrative court in Belgium. The latter in turn declares itself incompetent and invites the municipality, the FPS Justice and the septuagenarian to attempt mediation with the Federal Mediation Commission.

*Names changed