Section 1: Declarations of birth.

The birth record will state the day, time and place of birth, the child's sex, the forenames to be given to him or her, the family name, followed, where applicable, by a mention of the parents' joint declaration as to the choice made, as well as the forenames, surnames, ages, occupations and residences of the father and mother and, where applicable, those of the declarant. If the child's father and mother, or one of them, are not designated to the civil registrar, no mention of this will be made in the registers.

If it is medically impossible to determine the child's sex on the day the record is drawn up, the public prosecutor may authorise the civil registrar not to include the sex immediately on the birth record. The medically confirmed sex is recorded at the request of the child's legal representatives or the public prosecutor within a period of no more than three months from the date of the birth declaration. The public prosecutor orders that the sex be entered in the margin of the birth certificate and, at the request of the legal representatives, that one or more of the child's forenames be rectified.

The child's forenames are chosen by its father and mother. The woman who asked for her identity to be kept secret during childbirth may make known the forenames she wishes the child to have. Failing this, or if the child's parents are not known, the civil registrar will choose three first names, the last of which will take the place of the child's surname. The civil registrar immediately enters the chosen forenames in the birth certificate. Any forename entered in the birth record may be chosen as the usual forename.

When these forenames or one of them, alone or in combination with the other forenames or the surname, appear to the civil registrar to be contrary to the child's interests or to the right of third parties to have their surname protected, the civil registrar immediately notifies the public prosecutor. The latter may refer the matter to the family court.

If the court considers that the forename is not in the child's best interests or does not respect the right of third parties to have their surname protected, it will order it to be deleted from the civil status registers. Where appropriate, the court will give the child another forename, which it will determine itself if the parents fail to make a new choice that is in accordance with the aforementioned interests. A note of the decision is made in the margin of the child's civil status records.