Sheikh Khalifa decree on regulating cemeteries and burial processes

Aya El Deeb, Staff Reporter

President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan issued the Federal Law No 10 for 2021 regulating cemeteries and burial procedures.

According to the law, the local authority responsible for organising cemeteries and burial procedures in each emirate has to specify the spaces and places suitable for building cemeteries, allocate spaces for the burial of martyrs in cemeteries, and specify places to bury the dead with communicable diseases.

The burial must be under the supervision of the competent authorities in the country, according to the law.

The law also stipulates that the local authority determines special places for burying human organs, special places for burying newborns and young children, provides the conditions for burial in cemeteries of a special nature, as well as determining the types of cemeteries for burial of dead bodies, ways of disposing of them, and setting rules for visiting cemeteries. 

Tombstones types must also be decided by the local authority.

According to the law, the local authority in each emirate determines special procedures for moving cemeteries from one place to another in coordination with the health authority. It is also responsible for setting rules for burying women, setting procedures for archaeological cemeteries, and coordinating with the competent authorities to set procedures for burying in case of emergency, crises and disasters.

The third article of the law specifies the conditions for building a new cemetery, including that the cemetery be kept away from the urban space, groundwater, valley streams, assuring the ground is valid for burying, with taking care of the safety and public health conditions.

Article 4 of the law stipulates that any person is not allowed to desecrate cemeteries, or any place for keeping or burying human bodies, human organs, or remains. It is also forbidden to take out a human corpse or an organ or remains without obtaining judicial permission.

The law stipulates that in case of transporting the body of the dead foreigner or any of its members, or his remains outside the country, the person who wants this has to bear the transportation and deporting costs. This must be only through the official ports.

According to the law, it is not permissible to bury any member of the human body which was amputated for a medical reason except with a permit from the health authority.

As for penalties, the law stipulates that a fine of no less than Dhs10,000 and not more than Dhs50,000 is imposed on a person who transports the body of a dead person, any organ or remains inside the country without a permit.