DISPUTED FAMILY CLAIMS TO BURY OR CREMATE THE DEAD

A significant number of court decisions in Australia have wrestled with the issue of who among equally ranked next-of-kin should have priority in determining the timing and place of a loved one's burial or cremation. The first port of call for such decision-making can be the coroner who must determine to whom to release a body, where a death has been reportable, but disputation occurs also in non-coronial contexts and has repeatedly fallen for resolution by Supreme Court judges. The decisions have identified a variety of practical considerations which have been taken into account. However, there remains considerable uncertainty about the significance of factors such as religious, spiritual and cultural values, as well as the nature and extent of the care-giving role, as influential considerations in respect of courts' decisions. While greater predictability of courts' decision-making might be therapeutic, it may be that the variability of factual situations precludes the construction of a hierarchy of relevant considerations.