Petition · past parliament

Introduce rules requiring coroners to respect Jewish and Muslim religious laws

Closed 6,083 signatures

What the petition asks

A vice president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews has said that a North London Coroner shows “no inclination” to address Jewish concerns. Under Jewish & Islamic law, bodies must be buried quickly and invasive postmortems are a desecration. The Board wants this coroner dismissed.
The Chief Rabbi has written to the Lord Chancellor. Here are extracts.

.....concern had grown over recent years about the failure of [the coroner] ... to give due regard to the deeply held religious beliefs of Jewish and indeed Muslim families ...

... Where the fastest possible burial is denied ...it can cause a great deal of pain at a time when they are already grieving.

...there are no other coroners .. who have taken such a stance.

Timeline

8 Feb 2018 Petition opened for signatures
8 Aug 2018 Closed to new signatures

Key facts

Signatures 6,083
Status Closed
Opened 8 Feb 2018
Closed 8 Aug 2018

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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.