Zwłoki ludzkie w świetle polskiego prawa
Human remains in Polish law

Summary/Abstract: The goal of the authors was to verify the hypothesis, that the Polish law does not define the concepts of the human corpse and remains precisely enough. It is also unclear whether the protection of the respect for the deceased is concerned with protecting the personal interests of the diseased person or the right of relatives to honour this person. While researching this matter and the issue of currently allowed burial practices we used the method of dogmatic analysis of several Polish laws that are concerned with dealing with the body of a deceased person (organ harvesting for transplantations, criminal behavior towards the corpse, allowed burial forms and specific religious or artistic practices, concerned with the human corpse). We considered the issue of the moment, in which the human body becomes a corpse and whether this concept also applies to human foetuses, parts of human remains and embryos created in vitro. We advocate for a wide under-standing of the concept of human corpse. We acknowledge that after an individual’s death their personal interests are not protected, unless they can be attributed to a person, whose personal interest is the memory of the deceased. However, mainly because of the concern for public morality, many behaviours towards a human corpse in the public space should not be allowed. The concept of an artifact can be applied to a human corpse due to the passing of time. An indicator is a lasting memory about a certain person or a certain historical event, remains can be considered an artifact after such memory has ceased to exist. In the modern world, the creation of new relics seems unjustified. When it comes to anonymous persons, public display of their bodies as an artifact should not be allowed due to the respect given to human corpses in the cultures of almost all societies. The conclusion of considering new funeral practices, is postulating for a wide permission of them, unless there are cultural, sanitary or ecological issues in the way.

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