Politicians have voted to update Jersey’s “extremely outdated” cremation law which put medical professionals at an “unacceptable risk of prosecution” and “caused unnecessary distress and costs for some bereaved families”.
States Members yesterday voted 40 to three to approve sweeping reforms to the Cremation (Jersey) Regulations 1961 – legislation the Health Minister said had “not been updated for a considerable period”.
Deputy Tom Binet’s proposition repeals a controversial rule that makes it unlawful to cremate someone who has ever left written instructions against cremation – even if, years later, they told loved ones they had changed their mind.
This rule was scrapped in the UK in 1965, but Jersey did not follow suit – until now.
“There appears to be no sound policy reason why this prohibition has remained in Jersey for nearly 60 years after its repeal in the UK, particularly given the evolution of modern burial practices,” Deputy Binet said in a report accompanying the proposals.
“Increasingly, cases are emerging in which a will, sometimes decades old, specifies burial, while relatives request cremation based on the deceased’s more recent informal or spoken wishes.”
The minister said this situation was having a “significant impact” in the island, including “causing distress and legal costs for families who face substantial barriers to fulfilling their loved-one’s final wishes”.
Deputy Binet said the law also puts the government in a position “where it must refuse to authorise a cremation even if this is the families’ wish, thus inappropriately placing the state in a position of arbitrating sensitive private family decisions”.
The safeguards available to medical staff were described as “extremely weak”, limited to a single question on an application form and whatever information can be gleaned from relatives or funeral directors.
“Staff have expressed deep concerns about the risk of prosecution and also the high level of potential distress caused by refusing a cremation on these grounds,” explained Deputy Binet.
The changes also make it clear which “near” relatives can apply for a cremation, update and modernise the application form to reflect the changes and include new questions about medical implants, and allow a wider range of Jersey residents to countersign cremation applications.
Cremation reached a record level in Jersey last year, with 84% of all deaths registered in 2025 resulting in cremations.
By contrast, burials have fallen to just 16% of all deaths – down from 25% in 2018.