Dutch Court Rejects Man's Petition To Become 20 Years Younger

They say you can't beat city hall - they should add Father Time to that list. 

A Dutch court has rejected one man's request to formerly change his date of birth in an effort to make himself twenty years younger - at least by numbers. 

Last month, Emile Ratelband claimed in a lawsuit that while he had been alive for 69 years, he didn't believe that number reflected his current emotional and physical state. He formerly asked the court in Arnhem to change his date of birth, since he believed his age was causing an undue struggle for him to find work and love.

Unfortunately for Ratelband, a Dutch court rejected his arguments on Monday, writing that current law assigned benefits and rights to people, like the right to vote, based on their age. The court pointed out in its ruling that "if Mr Ratelband’s request was allowed, those age requirements would become meaningless."

Ratelband said his case was consistent with other types of personal transformations, like when people petition the court to change their name, or gender. But, the court didn't buy it. 

"Mr Ratelband is at liberty to feel 20 years younger than his real age and to act accordingly," the court wrote in a press statement. "But amending his date of birth would cause 20 years of records to vanish from the register of births, deaths, marriages and registered partnerships. This would have a variety of undesirable legal and societal implications.”

The court went on to acknowledge that "a trend in society for people to feel fit and healthy for longer, but did not regard that as a valid argument for amending a person's date of birth." 

Ratelband seemed to take the court's rejection in stride. The self-styled "positivity guru" vowed to appeal the court's decision saying, "This is great! The rejection of [the] court is great ... because they give all kinds of angles where we can connect when we go in appeal." 



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