Chapter 3PROOF

Division 7Ascertainment of Facts Requiring Expertise
[RT I, 23.02.2011, 1 - entry into force 01.09.2011]

§ 103. Exhumation from official place of burial
(1) A body or the remains thereof shall be exhumed from their official place of burial if it necessary to ascertain the cause of death or any other facts relating to the subject of proof, or take comparative trace evidence or samples for the purposes of an expert assessment in criminal proceedings.
(2) A body is exhumed on the basis of an order of the Prosecutor’s Office or a court order.
(3) A body is exhumed with the participation of a forensic pathologist or another qualified person and in the presence of a representative of the city or rural municipality government. If possible, a person close to the deceased is invited to be present at the performance of the procedural act, and the body is presented to him or her for identification, if necessary.
[RT I, 23.02.2011, 1 - entry into force 01.09.2011]
(4) If necessary, soil and other samples are taken from a place of burial.
(5) An order on exhumation shall contain an order addressed to the city or rural municipality government to re-bury the body and restore the grave.