No person shall move or authorize the removal of any body from the place where the same is found until the investigation is completed and such removal is authorized by the coroner or medical examiner present at such investigation; or, if no such coroner or medical examiner is present, the peace officer shall authorize such removal; provided, however, that this Code section shall not apply to the removal of a body where the death occurred while the person was a patient of a hospice licensed under Article 9 of Chapter 7 of Title 31. If the death resulted from an accident involving the operation of civil aircraft, no body shall be removed until authorized by the representative of the National Transportation Safety Board or the Federal Aviation Administration.
History. Ga. L. 1960, p. 1009, § 9; Ga. L. 1985, p. 843, § 7; Ga. L. 1985, p. 1073, § 3; Ga. L. 1990, p. 1735, § 3; Ga. L. 1997, p. 1421, § 9.
Editor’s notes.
Ga. L. 1997, p. 1421, § 1, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: “This Act shall be known and may be cited as the ‘Georgia Forensic Sciences Act of 1997’ ”.
Structure Georgia Code
Title 45 - Public Officers and Employees
Article 2 - Death Investigations
§ 45-16-25.1. Releasing Remains of Deceased to Next of Kin; Exception
§ 45-16-28. Performance of Autopsy When Not Required Under Code Section 45-16-24
§ 45-16-29. Removal of Body Generally
§ 45-16-30. Transport of Body Across State Line
§ 45-16-33. Coroner to Make Inquest Upon Completion of Examination and Verification
§ 45-16-34. Issuance of Subpoenas; Administration of Oath to Witnesses
§ 45-16-36. Impaneling of Jury to Hold Inquest; Compensation of Jurors
§ 45-16-37. When Jury to Be Impaneled; Jury Not Required to View Body
§ 45-16-38. Issuance of Precept to Sheriff to Summon Inquest Jury; Form
§ 45-16-39. Oath for Foreperson and Jury of Inquest
§ 45-16-40. Coroner’s Charge to Jury; Power of Jury
§ 45-16-41. Defaulting Juror to Be Fined by Coroner
§ 45-16-42. Offering in Evidence of Results of Examination
§ 45-16-45. Authority of Coroners and Medical Examiners to Disinter Bodies
§ 45-16-47. Penalty for Violation of Article
§ 45-16-48. Coroner’s Employment of Court Reporter
§ 45-16-50. Providing Biological Substances to Canine Instructors or Schools
§ 45-16-51. Interment of Unidentified Human Remains; Disinterment for Identification