The Rights Over a Dead Body

The questions that can arise after a death include:

• Who is entitled to bury the body or authorise a post mortem?
  
• Can relatives object to a post mortem and in what circumstances?
  
• Are those entitled to conduct post mortems permitted to retain organs or other tissues obtained during the procedure and for what purpose can these body parts be used?
  

In order to answer these questions it is necessary to understand who has rights in relation to a dead body.