The need for immediate modernization of the legislation governing postmortem investigations, the procedures of which have kept the bodies of the deceased “trapped” in the morgues of public hospitals for years, is acknowledged by Legislation Commissioner Sofia Kleopa Hatzikyriakou.
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In light of the case of the three-month-old infant who has remained unburied for two years after dying in a squalid home in Lakatamia, Ms. Hatzikyriakou explained on the Alpha News program that the coroner has already issued a burial order, but no relatives have been found to claim and bury the body.
The Commissioner noted that the Attorney General has recognized since 2021 the need to reform this specific legislation, which dates back to 1936 and includes colonial-era terms such as “Governor,” “Chief Justice,” and “death by execution.” Ms. Hatzikyriakou emphasized that the law has been amended only twice to date, whereas laws passed in 2020 have been amended as many as 20 times.
“The study from my Office is ready; there are very few details left to finalize. It will be sent to the Council of Ministers and published. It addresses the issues identified by the Ministry of Health, medical examiners, and the police.”
The Commissioner noted that, having served as a judge herself twenty years ago, she had identified the serious problems that persist to this day. The study includes best practices applied in England and the Scandinavian countries for modernizing the system, which must be digitized.
“The law currently refers to a licensed physician, and under the law, anyone could perform autopsies. It’s not something that actually happens, but the law allows it.”
During the discussion, the show’s host, Katia Savva, reported on the case of a 98-year-old man who died of old age, and his 75-year-old daughter filed a complaint of medical negligence, in order to have an autopsy performed on the elderly man’s body and to determine whether he had any hereditary diseases. The Commissioner explained that current legislation allows relatives of the deceased to request an autopsy, even if the competent authorities do not deem it necessary.
“I have also included in the study the issue of stillborn fetuses, for which there is case law from the European Court of Human Rights. Because they are not considered persons, autopsies cannot currently be performed, so parents are unable to learn the causes of death.”
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