The ‘cab rank’ burials policy adopted by a coroner in north London has been ruled as unlawful by the High Court.
In the judgment, the policy of Mary Hassell, chief coroner of Inner North London was found to be both ‘inflexible’ and ‘incapable of rational justification’.
Earlier this year, the policy came under scrutiny from a Jewish funeral organisation, who sought a judicial review following a dispute with family of an Orthodox Jewish man who died in 2017.
They highlighted that under Jewish law, bodies should be buried on the day of death or as close to this day as possible. In light of this, the organisation felt that Hassell’s policy caused ‘unnecessary bureaucratic delays’ when releasing the body for burial.
Asserson, a London firm, was representative of the organisation during the hearing. The firm’s founder, Trevor Asserson said: ‘The court found against Hassell on every count, except for finding that she had considered the impact of her protocol on Jews and Muslims.’
