Crown copyright - Reproduced with the permission of the Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office
At the Court at Buckingham Palace, the 31st day of July 1985,
Present,
The Queen's Most Excellent Majesty in Council
Whereas a draft of this Order has been approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament:
Now, therefore, Her Majesty, in the exercise of the powers conferred by paragraph 1 of Schedule 1 to the Northern Ireland Act 1974, and of all other powers enabling her in that behalf, is pleased, by and with the advice of Her Privy Council, to order, and it is hereby ordered, as follows:-
INTRODUCTORY
Title and commencement
1.-(1) This Order may be cited as the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Northern Ireland) Order 1985.
(2) Subject to paragraph (3), this Order shall come into operation on the expiration of two months from the day on which it is made.
(3) Article 40 shall come into operation on the seventh day after the day on which this Order is made.
2.-(1) The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954 shall apply to Article 1 and the following provisions of this Order as it applies to a Measure of the Northern Ireland Assembly.
(2) In this Order-
"the Department" means the Department of the Environment;
"the principal Act" means the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972.
(3) Expressions used in this Order and in the principal Act have the same meaning in this Order as in that Act.
MISCELLANEOUS FUNCTIONS OF DISTRICT COUNCILS
Provision of crematorium by council
17.-(1) A council may provide and maintain a crematorium.
(2) No cremation shall be carried out in any crematorium provided under this Article until the crematorium has been certified to the Department by the council to be complete and to be properly equipped for the purposes of cremation.
(3) The Department may make regulations with respect to crematoria provided under this Article as to-
(a) their maintenance and inspection;
(b) the cases in and the conditions under which cremations may take place;
(c) the disposition or interment of the ashes resulting from cremations;
(d) the forms of the notices, certificates and applications to be given or made before any cremation is permitted to take place;
(e) the registration of cremations;
(f) the notification of cremations to the Registrar General or to registrars of births and deaths;
(g) the fees that may be charged in respect of the issue of any medical certificate required under the regulations.
(4) Regulations under paragraph (3) shall be subject to negative resolution.
(5) A certified copy of an entry in any register of cremations kept under paragraph (3) purporting to be signed by an officer of the council authorised by the council for that purpose or under the seal of the council shall in any legal proceedings be evidence of the cremation to which it relates.
(6) A council may fix the charges or fees for or in connection with cremations in any crematorium provided by it and such charges or fees, and any other expenses properly incurred in or in connection with the cremation of a deceased person, shall be deemed to be part of the funeral expenses of that deceased person.
(7) Nothing in this section shall authorise a council to create or permit a nuisance.
(8) Any person who-
(a) contravenes any regulations made under paragraph (3); or
(b) knowingly carries out or procures or takes part in the burning of any human remains otherwise than in accordance such regulations and the provisions of this Article,
shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.
(9) Any person who wilfully makes a false representation, or signs or utters any false certificate, with a view to procuring the cremation of any human remains in a crematorium provided under this Article shall be guilty of an offence and liable-
(a) on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or to both;
(b) on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to a fine of any amount, or to both.
(10) Without prejudice to Article 10 of the Perjury (Northern Ireland) Order 1979, sections 36 and 37 of the Forgery Act 1861 (destruction, falsification, etc., of registers of burials or copies thereof) shall, with the necessary modifications, apply to any register of cremations kept under paragraph (3).
11. This Article (except paragraph (2) shall apply to any crematorium maintained by a council immediately before the coming into operation of this Order as if it had been provided by the council under this Article.
(12) In this Article "crematorium" means a building fitted with appliances for the purpose of burning human remains, and includes everything incidental or ancillary thereto.
Repeals
43.-(1) The statutory provisions set out in Schedule 5 (which include provisions which are spent or obsolete) are hereby repealed to the extent specified in the third column of that Schedule.
Any local Act shall, in so far as it makes provision inconsistent with any provision of this Order, cease to have effect.
REPEALS
| Chapter or Number | Short Title | Extent of Repeal |
|---|---|---|
| 1948 c. i (N.I.) | The Belfast Corporation (General Powers) Act (Northern Ireland) 1948 | Section 26 |
| 1965 c. 13 (N.I.) | The New Towns Act (Northern Ireland) 1965 | Sections 23 and 24 |
