On June 6, 2005, the Jambarak branch of the Civil Status Acts Registry Agency (CSARA) duly registered the birth of Karineh Meliki Khachatryan. In May of 2008, Lusineh Mkhitaryan, who has headed the same CSARA branch office for eight years, handed Karineh Khachatryan a copy of her birth certificate. The only difference was that there was a different last name on the copy. It read Karineh Makaryan. Karineh, in essence, had been given another surname.

Karineh asked the CSARA branch head, “You have given me a copy of my birth certificate where my name, that of an ROA citizen, has been changed. How do you account for this?” Ms. Mkhitaryan, attempting to remain composed, tossed the document aside and tried to reply with a question of her own, “How did you find out the discrepancy?” And there were other errors on the copy of the birth certificate. Even the last name of Karineh’s father, Melik, had been changed from Khachatryan to Makaryan. There is yet one more discrepancy between the original and the copy. The copy doesn’t show the father’s name of Karineh’s mother. The branch head also didn’t have an answer when we asked, “The original certificate must exist somewhere. What exactly happened for all the changes from one to the other?”

We also showed the Jambarak CSARA branch head other such examples where their official copies showed name changes. In one such case the name Ashot Roberti Asatryan had been changed to Ruben Roberti Asatryan. “That’s just a simple oversight on my part. However attentive you try to be we’re only human beings like you and we can make mistakes,” Ms. Mkhitaryan tried to argue. When we suggested that she take a look at yet another case of ‘oversight’, where the name Aghasi Khachiki Martirosyan had morphed into Artur Khachiki Martirosyan, Ms. Mkhitaryan declared that, “I had sent the file to the Justice Ministry and they confirmed the name change. That’s the name I issued the certificate with.”

In the words of the head of the CSARA’s Jambarak branch, citizens mainly apply to make corrections to names appearing in birth, marriage and death certificates. She observed that in the 1980’s, when village municipalities handled such registrations, mistakes were fairly common. When it comes time for notary certification of documents it becomes necessary to correct such mistakes and that’s why, according to Ms. Mkhitaryan, people apply to her office.

In what cases are name changes permissible? According to Law #N941 (Regulations and Conditions for Name Changes) passed on June 23, 2005, there are several conditions noted that could account for the name changes mentioned above.

“Registration is permitted is the following reputable reasons exist:

1) Unpleasant sounding first name, father’s name or last name
2) Difficult to pronounce first name, father’s name or last name
In all other cases, names changes are permitted as exceptions when documentation justifying the individual’s request is taken into consideration.

In the cases we cited above the names Ashot and Aghasi are neither unpleasant sounding nor difficult to pronounce. Those in the know consider the main reason for name changes to be the fact that individuals, having once been deported from Russia, must change their moniker to gain entry once again. People thus either fake their identity papers or either make modifications to those they have which, according to some sources, can run between $300 - $500. The easiest solution is to apply to a CSARA office for a name change if they weren’t able to do so at the maze within the Police Department passport division. If one is successful in getting a name change registered at the CSARA then the Police Department’s passport division is obligated to issue a new passport to the person based on the new birth certificate. Those with mellifluous sounding names can also try their luck at name changing at the airport custom’s office.

Hamlet Navasardyan, Director of the CSARA at the Ministry of Justice, also verifies that an overwhelming majority of the registrations the Agency handles deal with correcting mistakes, name changes and birth certificates. In Mr. Navasardyan’s opinion, each case of name changing must be reviewed on its own merits and here the first important precondition must be the evaluation of the police. “If the individual has no criminal record or police-related issue, we can make the change. We also have instances of refusals that have been upheld in the courts,” he noted.

The CSARA Director mentioned that the Ministry is planning modifications to the statutes which are designed to streamline the process of interacting with citizens. The bill, entitled “The systematization and review of CSARA procedures” will be aimed to improve servicing the public. “Henceforth, all CSARA district branches will be directed to correct mistakes appearing in personal registration documents. After the bill is passed into law changes will be made in all directives and precise deadlines will be specified to satisfy the requirements of the public in the shortest period possible.”

When we asked what modifications might be instituted regarding name changes Director Navasardyan stated that the statutes do not limit the number of times an individual can change his or her name or surname. “We are of the opinion that not registering such changes would be a limitation of one’s rights,” he noted while at the same time stressing that it is more difficult to change ones surname than it is to change ones first name.