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Essay Case, studies, on, law, in, society, (LS1026)
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Essay Case studies on law in society (LS1026) A3 exam result
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LS1026: Case Studies on Law in SocietyID: 51876410
1) Based on considerations raised in Case Study 1 (“The Law of the Dead”),
outline the law’s treatment of one of the following issues as it relates to dead
bodies (and/or dead body parts). Provide an indication of challenges or
complexities that arise in the area.
A. The relationship between dead bodies and the concept of “property”
Word Count: 1, 243
, Intro
A historic principle throughout common law is that no one owns your body
after you die. Although this statement seems simple, it is actually extremely
complex and is looked at differently in multiple cases. It is not legally possible
to ‘own’ a corpse, however, there are many scenarios in which a person or
multiple people have a statutory duty to take care of disposing a corpse
lawfully. In this essay I will look at the ways in which a corpse is not seen as
‘property’, whilst looking at cases which have challenged the law to prove that
in some scenarios a body can be seen as property.
Are Bodies considered Property?
When looking at a general understanding of what property is, it is seen as
something you can sell, buy and use. This is not an ethical way to look at the
ownership of a body, and almost detaches the moral side from the legal side.
Alexandra George states, “It is as though lawmakers use the word property in
an attempt to register their approval of the general type of relationship
between the body or body part on the person they wish to identify as the
controller… unwilling to define exactly what that relationship entails”.1 This
passage highlights the idea that although we usually see a human body as
being different to property, the law will sometimes follow the idea that body
parts are related to property. George points out that this is an unclear way to
follow the law and can make certain cases more problematic.
Honoré’s Ownership Rights
1
Alexandra George (2001). Property in the Human Body and its Parts: Reflections on Self-
Determination in Liberal Society. European University Institute, Italy.
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