Guidelines for drafting laws on the management of dead bodies after autopsy

Abstract

The research project for the study of guidelines for drafting laws on the management of dead bodies after autopsy aims to (1) address the issues regarding guidelines for the postmortem management of unidentified and unclaimed bodies and (2) provide draft content of legislation for postmortem management following the completion of autopsy. Qualitative methods via documentary research, in-depth interviews, and focused group discussions from a total of 166 key informants were collected and analyzed. The approach and guidelines for the management of dead bodies after autopsy were established. Moreover, the drafting of legislation for postmortem management of the remains upon completion of forensic investigation was addressed to ultimately improve process efficiency.

The findings revealed that the proposed guidelines for postmortem management of unidentified and unclaimed bodies after autopsy include 4 major components as follows: (1) the standard operating procedure after the completion of forensic investigation of an unidentified body or unclaimed body; (2) transportation of body remains and transfer of relevant information between forensic investigating units; (3) responsible organizations or foundations for the mortuary and postmortem treatment; and (4) the postmortem management process by the responsible organization or foundation. Multidisciplinary and organizational collaboration are required on the subject of each component, and specific organizations associated with responsible duties must be assigned. In regard to legislative drafting, laws and regulations pertaining to the postmortem management procedure for the government and private sectors must be formulated to be congruent with the standard individual identification process. The drafted legislation should address the following issues: (1) definitions; (2) committee and duties; (3) postmortem management after the completion of forensic investigation; (4) database and data management for the dead bodies; and (5) individual identification.