J v Registrar-General of Births and Deaths - [1989] 1 NZLR 673

Infants and children — Surname of child — Validity of registration — Mother, as sole guardian of child, registered birth of child showing no particulars of the father and showing the surname of the child as a combination of her own married name and that of her mother — Father sought declaration that registration was invalid on the ground that there was no statutory authority to register the surname of the child — Whether mother was entitled to register surname — Wether registration was invalid — Births and Deaths Registration Act 1951, ss 10, 11, 17, 17A, 37, 38 and 39 - Acts Interpretation Act 1924, s 5(i).