Museum of plastinated human bodies can stay open, Berlin court rules
dpa
BERLIN (dpa)- A museum in Berlin featuring dissected human bodies that have been plastinated can remain open under certain conditions, a German court ruled on Wednesday.
The operators of the Menschen Museum, the first of the international Body Worlds exhibitions, must provide "sufficient proof of consent" for the donated bodies for each exhibit, the court said in a statement.
The court ruled largely in favour of the museum, which had lodged a complaint against a government-mandated shutdown.
The museum created by Gunther von Hagens, who invented plastination - the technique by which plastic is used to preserve anatomical specimens - has been a source of controversy since it opened in 2015.
The court decision supports the district authority's ability to forbid the exhibition of several complete plastinated corpses because they were created several years ago and have become anonymous.
However, whether this applies to all exhibits, including 120 body parts, was not sufficiently reviewed by the district, the court said.
What the court decision means regarding the current show at the museum remains to be seen, since the case is eligible for appeal.
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The museum created by Gunther von Hagens, who invented plastination - the technique by which plastic is used to preserve anatomical specimens - has been a source of controversy since it opened in 2015.
The court decision supports the district authority's ability to forbid the exhibition of several complete plastinated corpses because they were created several years ago and have become anonymous.
However, whether this applies to all exhibits, including 120 body parts, was not sufficiently reviewed by the district, the court said.
What the court decision means regarding the current show at the museum remains to be seen, since the case is eligible for appeal.
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