These could include ‘water cremation’ (alkaline hydrolysis), human composting and methods not yet invented. The commission recommends an Act of Parliament giving ministers powers to use secondary legislation to approve and regulate funerary methods as they emerge. When making regulations, the government would be required to consider three core principles—protection of the environment, protection of public health and safety, and respect for human dignity. Using an unapproved method would be a criminal offence.
Commissioner for Public Law Professor Alison Young said: ‘Everyone deserves the right to have their wishes respected after death, and those who love them deserve confidence that the law will protect that.’
The recommendations, published last week alongside two draft Bills, include allowing controlled trials of new funerary methods before they receive formal approval, providing the deceased gave prior consent. The government would have powers to create criminal offences in secondary legislation for regulatory breaches.
