Lithuania’s top court will look into whether using non-Lithuanian letters “w”, “q”, and “x” in personal documents runs counter to the constitution.
In March, Vilnius passed the law allowing Polish-speakers to spell their names using letters not found in the Lithuanian alphabet. However, the Constitutional Court will now investigate whether it was lawful.
According to the MPs who petitioned the court, the parliament ignored the opinion of the language watchdog, the State Commission of the Lithuanian Language (VLKK), when it passed the law.
The petition was filed by 30 MPs, mostly members of the opposition Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union (LVŽS).
After the amendments came into force in May, some ethnic Poles in Lithuania, including Justice Minister Ewelina Dobrowolska, changed the spelling of their names.
Other Polish-speakers, however, say they the current law is flawed as it does not allow using diacritical marks.
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