Maldives: A rule on post-mortems has been enacted to give police the power to conduct post-mortems to determine the cause of death.
According to the Criminal Procedure Act, police have the power to conduct a post-mortem to determine the cause of death. However, the police were entrusted with the task of making the rules.
The rules, promulgated by the police one and a half years after the deadline for making the rules, came into force and allowed for post-mortems in cases of manslaughter and suicide, as well as unexplained deaths and deaths where there is doubt as to whether they were natural. The rules also allow for a post-mortem in cases of death due to accidents and negligence.
According to the rules, post-mortems can only be conducted in Maldivian centers recognized by the Maldivian government or foreign centers approved by their country’s government. In addition, approval for post-mortem can only be given by the Commissioner of Police can.
If no further analysis is needed after the post-mortem, the rule requires the body to be handed over to the deceased’s family as soon as possible. If a foreigner, the rule requires the embassy of the country to be notified through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the handover of the body.
Suppose a post-mortem is conducted on an unidentified person or a specific part of a human body. In that case, the rules require all samples to be taken to determine the person’s identity. After giving an identification number, the information should be recorded, and a special database should be set up at the police station.
