The Law Commission is reviewing the criminal law on mistreatment or disrespectful acts involving a dead body or human remains
Currently, no offence deals specifically with mistreatment or concealment, although there is a variety of common law and statutory offences that deal with this subject in a narrow or vaguely defined way.
The commission will look into dismemberment, image-based abuse, sexual abuse and a killer’s refusal to reveal the location of their victim’s body, among other areas of concern. It will examine gaps in the law and aims to publish a preliminary paper early next year.
Professor Penney Lewis, Commissioner for Criminal Law, said: ‘The criminal law should respond appropriately to serious wrongdoing involving dead bodies and human remains, but at present it does not always do so clearly or consistently.’
