This brand new module seeks to explore the law and regulation dealing with disposal of human corpses. Commencing at the point of medico-legal death, the module initially considers the state's role in death, including court intervention where families wish to keep their loved ones 'alive' with machines. It covers the current law and rituals of land burial, cremation, burial at sea, natural burials, funeral pyres and scattered ashes. The module then goes on to explore new and emerging methods of disposal, such as resomation (a liquifaction process), promession (freeze drying) and other eco-friendly methods such as sky burials, body farms, ocean reef balls and recomposing as a form of bodily compost. Students will also examine more controversial alternatives such as cryonics, partial preservation (i.e. just the head), and where the court intervenes in family battles over frozen corpses. It further examines the legal and ethical aspects of the multiple uses of a corpse, including organ donation, posthumous reproduction, as well as exhumation of the dead and their memorialising.
Professional requirements
N/A
Related modules
This module is to be taken as a standalone module in Year 3
Module will run
Occurrence
Teaching period
A
Semester 1 2024-25
Module aims
This module seeks to provide students with a overview of the law and regulation covering disposal of corpses in England & Wales by examining:
The legal definition of death, and the regulatory aftermath that is triggered;
The roles of those who are part of the UK's 'death industry';
The current and commonly available rituals of disposal of the dead;
The legal rights and responsibilities of disposing of the dead;
The legal and ethical responsibilities of utilising parts of the dead;
The need to find new and practical/ethical/legal ways of disposal of the dead.
Module learning outcomes
By the end of the module, students should be able to demonstrate an understanding of this discipline having:
Undertaken detailed research of:
Current legislation and regulation in England & Wales governing the module topics covered
Relevant case law and judicial commentary
Critically evaluated relevant and appropriate sources including:
Medico-legal journal articles
Set texts
Investigative film documentaries
Developed their own discussion points and arguments through deep analysis of:
The morality and ethics of the 'death industry'
The practicalities and future global impact of the disposal of human corpses
Solved client-based problems by:
Analysing the facts of the clients' cases
Researching the appropriate areas of law
Applying the legal findings to the clients' cases
Advising the clients of their legal positions
Drafted legal advice in different formats such as:
Client letters
Solicitors' advice
Counsels' opinions
Module content
The course intends to focus upon:
Death and its immediate aftermath:
How the body dies (circulatory/neurological death)
The agreed medico-legal definition of death
When families wants to keep a loved one medically ‘alive’
Court intervention
The role of the state in deaths
How registration of death triggers other events
Unexplained/suspicious deaths
The legal jurisdiction of the coroner
Autopsies (including religious and cultural objections)
Role of the coroner
Releasing the body – what happens next?
Mistreatment of bodies (criminal offences)
The current law in E&W surrounding disposal of bodies:
Burial and its rituals
Churchyards
Cemeteries
Exclusive rights/private burial plots
Natural burial
Woodlands
Fields
Private land burial
Burial at sea
Department of the Environment
Special licences
Strict specifications
Cremation
Outline of history of cremation
Modern cremation laws
Governing legislation and regulations
Environmental scrutiny
Licensed cremation or DIY?
Funeral pyres and Ghai v Newcastle City Council
Dealing with the ashes – where ashes can/can’t be scattered
New/emerging methods of body disposal:
Public health concerns
The controversy of new methods of corpse disposal
Morality/legal status
Resomation (liquefaction process)
Promession (a type of freeze drying)
Exposure/natural decomposition – eco friendly
Sky burials
Body farms
Reef balls in sea
Recomposing as compost
Ashes shot into space
Preservation
Partial preservation (just the head)
Cryonics
Frozen Corpses and Feuding Parents: Re JS (Disposal of Body)
Body disposal offences
Legal rights and responsibilities when disposing of the dead:
Right to possession of a corpse (or its ashes)
Legal duty of disposal
The legal framework
Responsibilities of the deceased’s legal representatives
Common law
Scope of right to possession
Does this end upon internment?
Can bodies be disinterred?
The deceased’s funeral wishes
Funerals – private or public?
Can you exclude people from funerals?
As above in respect of post-cremation ashes
Civil causes of action in disposal of the dead
Should funeral instructions be susceptible to legal challenge?
Utilising parts of the dead:
The multiple (post-death) uses of a corpse
Organ donation
The legal framework
The Human Tissue Act 2004
The wishes of the dead versus the preferences of the living
Legal status of transplant material
Posthumous reproduction
The legal framework
Contracts
Consent
Statute
Family objections
Legal status of reproductive material
Exhumation of the dead:
Why exhume?
Legal authority
Ecclesiastical route (petition)
Secular route (s.25 licence)
Contrasting approaches
Disinterment disputes with families
Human rights arguments
Criminal liability
Unauthorised exhumation
Memorialising the dead:
Introduction and why it’s done
Churchyards
Who’s legal responsibility to ‘look after’ family graves
What is and isn’t acceptable in a memorial
What happens when nature takes over
Can graveyards be repurposed?
Cemeteries
What’s the difference to churchyards?
How much land do we actually need?
What are the alternatives?
Virtual memorials
Commemorating the dead online
Indicative assessment
Task
% of module mark
Essay/coursework
100
Special assessment rules
None
Additional assessment information
The assessment will comprise two outputs based on instructions released to the students at the end of the teaching period. These outputs will be designed to assess a range of the module learning outcomes and will differ in format. They will be:
1500-word Counsel's legal advice/opinion responding to a solicitor's letter outlining a client problem (from a choice); AND
2500-word research essay on one of the topics studied on the course (from a choice).
Indicative reassessment
Task
% of module mark
Essay/coursework
100
Module feedback
Individual comment on assessment within the timescales set by university policy.
Indicative reading
Heather Conway, The Law and the Dead (2016, Routledge)
Edward Kirton-Darling, Death, Family and the Law: The Contemporary Inquest in Context (Bristol University Press 2022)