New regulations for Funeral and Cemeteries Services in Venezuela
By Leoncio Pablo Landáez*
Versión en español: CLICK AQUÍ
On February
18, 2014 was enacted in Official Gazette No. 40.358 legislative act for the
Regulation and Control of Funeral Services and Cemeteries. In the following
lines you will be provided of the most salient aspects:
1.Three Essential Objectives:
a)
To regulate
and control the activities and conditions of operation of funeral homes and
cemeteries
b)
To protection
of the rights of the users
c) To regulate sanitary,
environmental and civil regulations relating to cemeteries and funeral services
2. Personal
and Territorial application:
It aapplies to
the entire territory of the Republic and to natural and legal, public or
private persons who provide funeral services and cemeteries.
3. Burial
activity is understood from the acceptance of the provision of the service, to
the transfer to the cemetery.
4 Time
lapse of the vigil may be for 36 hours tops, unless it is agreed otherwise, and
the embalming of the body shall be required.
5. It is
not allow to deposit tow corpses in a same coffin, except for pregnant mother,
those who died in disasters or epidemics product.
6. The
final disposition of the bodies or human remains will be only: the burial or
cremation.
7. The
provision of cemetery service begins with informing the user of the rules that
govern them.
8. The
burials (except for ashes) will be only in cemeteries in Vault, niche, ossuary
or fossa.
9.
Cremation may only be in special premises which meet the requirements of health
care law.
10 There
are impediments for cremation:
a) When body
have pacemakers, prostheses or any risky energy system for people and
equipment.
b) When body
is subjected to criminal or scientific investigation process.
c) When body
has been treated with nitroglycerin.
d) When coffin
is made from non-biodegradable materials are used.
11.
Exhumation of corpses can only be made 5 years after the burial.
12. Prices
of funeral services, cemeteries, cremation and transfers of corpses will be set
by the SUNDEE.
13.
Funerary private companies are obliged to provide free services in the event of
extreme poverty, when required by the State.
14. Cities
Governments should exhume corpses with more than 5 years of burial in order to
be cremated.
15.
Legislative Act defines the contract of service with a 10 minimum requirements
in its drafting to be valid.
16. The
forensic medical expertise can be done by court order or by "request"
only 12 hours after death.
17.
National Board of Funeral Services and Cemeteries is set up.
18.
National Register of Funeral and Cemeteries, with permanent census is set up.
19. Fines
for breach of the law could reach to 500 tax units. (One Venezuelan Tax Unit =
VEB 127).
20. As long as SUNDEE not
set prices for caskets, these may not be sold by more than 20% on the price of
factory.
*Partner at Landáez & Arcaya. Abogados-Consultores
Professor at Universidad de Carabobo
leoncio.landaez@landaez.com
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