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Home » Professionals » Legal Guidance » A to C » Breaches of the Cremation Act

Updated 21/05/08

Legal Guidance On Breaches Of The Cremation Act 1902

This guidance clarifies prosecution policy regarding the breaches of the Cremation Act 1902.

The Cremation Act 1902 as amended by Statutory Instrument 1930/1016 creates the offence of wilfully making a false declaration, or representation, or signing or uttering any false certificate with a view to procuring the burning of any human remains. Under this Act, in cases where a Coroner has not ordered a post mortem, the following procedure applies:

  • The doctor certifying a death completes Form B which contains a number of questions that he/she is obliged to answer. He/she is also obliged to view the body of the deceased.
  • A Form C, which is a confirmatory medical certificate, is then issued after further examination by a senior medical practitioner who has been registered for at least five years. The second doctor must not be a partner of the first, and must not be related to the first doctor, or the deceased.
  • The medical referee then checks Forms B and C, and if everything is in order, and the death is not due to trauma, or any other unnatural course, the medial referee issues Form F. This is the authority to cremate.

The CPS is aware of the practice of doctors completing Forms B and C without inspecting the body. This is an offence under the Cremation Act of 1902.

In the past, these cases have not been prosecuted on the grounds that the practice is widespread within the medical profession and it is not a matter that should be pursued through the criminal justice system. Rather it is a professional matter to be taken up with the General Medical Council.

We have reviewed this practice in consultation with the BMA, and wish to emphasise that a breach of the Cremation Act should be considered as a criminal law matter, and prosecutors should not shift responsibility onto the GMCs disciplinary proceedings.

The public interest in ensuring doctors comply with their obligations under the Cremation Act are strong, hence the support of the BMA to this legal guidance.

If there is a breach of these regulations, and the breach meets the two stage test as set out in the Code for Crown Prosecutors, then these cases should be prosecuted under the Cremation Act 1902.