The Law of the Dead: A Critical Review of Burial Law, with a View to its Development

Abstract

This article critically reviews the present condition of burial law. Situating burial within the wider context of the ‘law of the dead’, it is observed that contemporary changes to the law have served to clarify and reinforce the individual’s power to determine what will happen to his or her organs and tissues upon death. An equivalent right to posthumous bodily self-determination has not been extended to the neglected area of burial, and it is recommended that burial law therefore needs to be updated. A series of solutions is elaborated in order to illustrate how these developments could be realized effectively in practice.