A Dutch court has rejected a request for a self-appointed positivism guru. His wish was to count 20 years from his real age in a case that was noted throughout the world.
Emile Ratelband took his request to the court in Dutch Arnhem last month to formally change his date of birth, which would make him 49 years old instead of 69 years old.
According to Emile Ratelband himself, his true age does not reflect his “emotional state” and he thinks it makes it difficult for him in his quest to find work and love. He claims that he does not feel like 69 and that his request is compatible with other forms of personal transformation (gender dysphoria), which in modern times has become increasingly accepted around the world, such as the right to legally change names or to and with sex.
In a written verdict on Monday, the court stated in accordance with Dutch law that "it includes rights and obligations based on age, such as voting rights and compulsory education. If Emile Ratelband’s request was approved, these age requirements would be meaningless. "
In a press release, the court continues:
Mr Ratelband has the freedom to feel 20 years younger than his actual age and act accordingly. However, the change of his date of birth would result in 20 years of registry disappearing from birthbook, death, marriage and registered partnerships. This would have a variety of unwanted legal and social consequences.
The court writes that it sees “a trend in society so that people can feel suitable and healthy longer, but we do not consider it as a valid argument to change a person’s birth date” . The right believes that Ratelband failed to convince the court that he suffered age discrimination, adding that “there are other options available to challenge age discrimination, rather than to change a person’s birth date” .
Ratelband became unaffected by the refusal of the court and now promises to appeal.
This is fine! The refusal of the court is good … because they provide all the angles we can return to when we go into an appeal, he commented.
Furthermore, Ratelband believes he is the first of “thousands of people who want to change their age”.