Nie wszystek umrę, wiele ze mnie tu zostanie…”. Aspekty prawne szczątków ludzkich jako dóbr kultury i integralności zwłok w tradycji kulturowej

Human remains, not just corpses, are sometimes cultural goods. In the first part of our work, we present an outline of selected legal aspects of human remains. According to Polish law, corpses cannot have the status of historical monuments, but preparations from human remains are able to obtain such status. The remains can also be a part of monuments or archaeological monuments. In such cases, exposure to public display is subject to restrictions. Currently, special legal problems relate to “exotic” human remains that were included into Western museum collections during colonial times. The presented examples show that in the funeral tradition of our (and not only our) cultural circle, the integrity of human corpses and ashes was not considered a value in itself. Therefore, we believe that the current approach of the Polish courts to the fragmentation of ashes remaining after body cremation is too restrictive.