Nuevos interrogantes y nuevas respuestas sobre la STJCE de 14 de octubre de 2008, Grunkin-Paul

Abstract

The Grunkin-Paul decision issued by the Eorupean Court of Justice on October the 14th 2008 has rapidly became a leading case. It has provoked numerous controversial questions underlined by the doctrine of the legal scholars. The aim of this article is to point out the methodological innovation contained in the Grunkin-Paul decision and to shed some light on the above mentioned controversial questions. Especially, this article examines the scope of application of the Community Law with regard to private international law situations, the incompatibility of the German Law with the Community Law in the filed of surnames, the effect of the principle of no-discrimination by nationality as stated by art. 12 of the European Treaty in the Grunkin-Paul judgment, the impact of the free movement of individuals in the EU in this decision as well as the impact of the Freedom, Security and Justice Area in the UE. In addition to that, some observations on the party autonomy as a connecting factor in the field of surnames will be made.