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Ecclesiastical legal issues in Emmerdale (15/16 December) - a short thread #canonlaw #churchlaw
Disclaimer - I have never before knowingly watched an episode of Emmerdale. I have no idea of the back story, or indeed the names of the characters.
Disclaimer - I have never before knowingly watched an episode of Emmerdale. I have no idea of the back story, or indeed the names of the characters.
So the setup appears to be a grieving daughter's desire to exhume her father's remains from consecrated ground in the village, for reinterment in Portsmouth. It is not currently clear whether the reinterment is to be in consecrated ground or not (though there is to be a service).
Firstly, there is no mention made of a Ministry of Justice licence. THIS IS CORRECT, WELL DONE, GOLD STAR.
MoJ licences are usually the way that exhumation of human remains are authorised, but the exception is exhumation from (CofE) consecrated ground.
MoJ licences are usually the way that exhumation of human remains are authorised, but the exception is exhumation from (CofE) consecrated ground.
But this leads us directly to mistake #1 - "The Bishop has agreed to it".
For exhumation from consecrated ground a Faculty from the local (diocesan) Consistory Court is required - these are granted by the Chancellor (judge) and NOT the Bishop.
For exhumation from consecrated ground a Faculty from the local (diocesan) Consistory Court is required - these are granted by the Chancellor (judge) and NOT the Bishop.
The Chancellor is appointed by the Bishop, but then holds his/her office as a freehold (they basically cannot be removed no matter how much they upset/annoy/fall out with the Bishop, occasionally to farcical consequences).
Bishops USED to be able to sit as judge in their own Consistory Court. This changed many decades ago. I wrote about the last hurrah of the Bishop-Judge (and one of the best Consistory Court cases of the 20th Century) in a thread here: https://twitter.com/chinmj/status/1204815126257373184
"There's a lot of stuff I've got to sign, obviously". This demonstrates that the Bishop has also pre-judged the case, by determining it before the relevant paperwork had been lodged.
(There's actually not *that* much paperwork for an exhumation petition as it happens)
(There's actually not *that* much paperwork for an exhumation petition as it happens)
Once the paperwork has been lodged, there will be a public notice period (notice inside & outside church, where any parishioner or interested party may object to the court within a 28 day period), unless the Chancellor dispenses with this requirement.
"It seems like a fairly straightforward process".
Haha. hahaha. hahahaha.
There are more reported cases of applications for exhumation than almost any other topic. You can read most of them here: https://www.ecclesiasticallawassociation.org.uk/index.php/judgements/menu-exhumations
Haha. hahaha. hahahaha.
There are more reported cases of applications for exhumation than almost any other topic. You can read most of them here: https://www.ecclesiasticallawassociation.org.uk/index.php/judgements/menu-exhumations
The minister appears then to confuse an interment (or rather a reinterment) service with a funeral.
Reinterment is often done with a short, simple service, though that is not a requirement.
In outlining the costs, the minister has also omitted to mention the Faculty Fee.
Reinterment is often done with a short, simple service, though that is not a requirement.
In outlining the costs, the minister has also omitted to mention the Faculty Fee.
As a private petitioner, the daughter would be expected to pay the costs of the Consistory Court application. Currently, I believe, £302 on lodging the Petition (and much more if a hearing is required).
Now to the nub of the matter. Faculties for this are not granted as a matter of routine. The presumption is that Christian burial is permanent - an exceptional circumstance must be demonstrated to reverse the presumption.
The Court of Arches (the appeal court in the Province of Canterbury) gave examples of the sorts of things which might rebut the presumption against exhumation in the case of Blagdon Cemetery in 2002, here https://www.ecclesiasticallawassociation.org.uk/judgments/exhumations/blagdoncemetery2002.pdf
(Emmerdale is clearly in the Northern Province, and whether/how decisions from the south bind the northern courts is a fun topic for another day... But I think it fair to say that the Blagdon principles are now fairly regularly and consistently applied across England).
The daughter having missed the funeral is clearly not a sufficient reason. Nor is distance from family in and of itself. As pleaded, I'm yet to hear a sufficient reason to permit it - particularly given that burial in Emmerdale appears to have been deceased's express wish.
I'm getting lost in the storyline here, but it rather seems as if this exhumation is potentially controversial - all the more reason for the Bishop to have stayed out of it from the start... Family rows over exhumation is, sadly, relatively common.
One might at this point make an observation as regards the correlation between propensity towards wearing blue clerical shirts and knowledge of canon law, but I'm far above such things.
Ah, so we're setting up a body snatching scene. Excellent.
CONTEXT: Thanks! https://twitter.com/antSJD/status/1339626706299056129
I would cautiously propose that this might present various causes of action under the Clergy Discipline Measure 2003.
As last night's episode concludes, we have multiple criminal offences about to committed. Unlawful exhumation of a body, contrary to s25 of the Burial Act 1857.
It also seems unlikely that the reburial at the bottom of a neighbours garden is going to be registered in accordance with the Registration of Burials Act 1864.
At least, I suppose, there's no trespass in the churchyard (or criminal damage to it) - the Incumbent's the owner!
At least, I suppose, there's no trespass in the churchyard (or criminal damage to it) - the Incumbent's the owner!
Right, that does it for now. Any other Canon Law travesties in popular dramas, you know where to find me...
