Dutch court shows lack of enlightenment

AN Amsterdam court has ruled that the mummy Buddha repatriation case filed by two Chinese villages against a Dutch collector is “inadmissible.”

According to the court, it is unclear whether the Chinese village committees have the right to bring legal claims.

The villagers had argued that a village committee in China is a “special legal person” under Chinese civil law. According to the court, the Chinese law that was invoked by the Chinese villagers had not come into force until October 1, 2017, but “the summons has been issued before that date.”

Jan Holthuis, a Dutch lawyer representing the villagers, said he found the decision disappointing.

“So we will advise the villagers to appeal this judgement,” he said.

Yushen Liu, a Beijing-based lawyer who assisted the case, added it might be difficult for judges in other countries to have a clear understanding of the status of a special legal person.

In May 2016, two villages in China’s southeastern province of Fujian filed a repatriation case of religious, cultural and ethical significance against Amsterdam resident Oscar van Overeem.

They believe that a statue Van Overeem lent for an exhibition in March 2015 was the one that their villages had worshipped for more than 1,000 years before it was stolen from the village temple in December 1995.

Van Overeem insists that it is not the “Zhanggong Monk Master” as claimed by the villagers.