A Dutchman who recently asked a court in the Netherlands to lower his age by 20 years has lost his case. The court found that there was no case law or scope in legislation that would allow such a ruling.
The individual in this case was a 69-year-old man who was arguing that he was being subjected to age discrimination. He said that doctors had told him he had the body of a 45 year old and he should be allowed to legally change his age as this was hindering his future employment prospects as well as preventing him from attracting his target audience on Tinder!
The Claimant failed to convince the court that he was suffering from age discrimination, with their response being that ‘there are other alternatives available for challenging age discrimination, rather than amending a person’s date of birth.’ The Claimant’s arguments of free will were rejected, with the court saying that “free will did not make every desired outcome legally possible”. The court also rejected his argument that changing your age was akin to the ability to change gender. The court distinguished that gender does not impact certain rights or obligations which are triggered by age such as the right to vote or the duty to attend school.
The court noted that if his claim was successful, this would result in the eradication of 20 years of his life. If his request was allowed, such age requirements, rights and obligations would become meaningless. The court concluded that he was at liberty to feel 20 years younger than his real age and to act accordingly, he did not need a change in the law to do this.
The Claimant is appealing the decision.