Review of Legal Codes Governing Administrative Death Investigations and Autopsy by Administrative Order

Korean J Leg Med 2019;43:1-6

Department of Forensic Medicine, Chosun University School of Medicine, Gwangju, Korea,
Department of Law, Chosun University College of Law, Gwangju, Korea

E-mail: ysk007fm@hotmail.com

Under current law, there are two paths for death investigations: administrative and judicial. A proper death investigation system is essential to the establishment and maintenance of the human rights of those involved and to enhance the credibility of the judicial system as a source of ensuring the security of society. These objectives are accomplished through the accurate, professional, and systematic management of death investigations by qualified experts. The present study aims at reviewing and uncovering the limitations of the current legal codes governing administrative death investigations and autopsy by administrative order. The main problem being that no clear legal statements exist regarding the qualifications of persons responsible for administrative postmortem inspections and administrative autopsies; the problem is the same for any death related to crime. At the conclusion of this paper, the authors propose that legal codes regarding the scope of postmortem inspections or autopsies to determine the cause and manner of death should be clearly defined, and that the qualification standards for experts examining any desceased individual should be legislated.

Key Words:  Corpse; Death investigation; Administrative inspection; Administrative autopsy