Deaths involving British nationals in Spain 1. Standard procedure A registered doctor must certify the cause of death and will issue one or more copies of the death certificate once he is satisfied that the death did not occur under unusual circumstances. The body can then be released to the persons who are dealing with the death, such as next-of-kin or undertakers. If the next-of-kin are with the deceased they will be asked for burial or repatriation instructions, otherwise, the police will usually inform the nearest British Consulate in order to contact next-of-kin for burial instructions, as under Spanish law, such instructions must be given within 72 hours of the time of death. Failure to do so may result in an Examining Magistrate ordering local burial at minimum public expense. Once the next of kin have been contacted then must decide on local or UK burial or cremation. The nearest British Consulate or Consular Department of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office in London may be able to provide advice and an indication of the likely costs. If repatriation of the body for UK burial/cremation is required it is recommended that a suitable international undertaker be contacted to deal with the formalities. They will liase directly with local undertakers to ensure that all local procedures are met and arrange all matters concerning the repatriation. Spanish law requires a deceased person to be buried within a maximum 72 hours, but in the case of foreigners the authorities will normally allow such time as is necessary for the repatriation although this should not normally take longer than a few days. When the deceased is to be repatriated, the remains must be embalmed in the manner required by international law and placed in an inner zinc-lined coffin, which is placed in a travelling coffin. Local undertakers are well able to carry out the procedures including shipment of the body by air. A local civil registry death certificate, plus the doctor's death certificate (which shows cause of death), a certificate of embalming, and a certificate giving permission to transfer the remains to the UK is required to ship the body, and British Consulates can routinely provide covering certificates for the British Customs authorities. A British death certificate can also be obtained from the British Consulate-General in Madrid if needed. For further details see paragraph 5 below. Where the family decide on local cremation the ashes are handed to them together with a certificate of the contents and there is no restriction on taking the ashes back to the United Kingdom or elsewhere within the EU. In the case of deaths which occur through accidents, criminal acts, misadventure, etc.. the doctor will submit a judicial report to a local Examining Magistrate for consideration. 2. Inquests There is no Coroner's inquest, as we know it; the Examining Magistrate will himself examine the evidence available. If he has reason to believe that the circumstances in which the death occurred were not unusual, he will pass on his report permitting registration of the death. If however he is not satisfied after his preliminary examination he may order an autopsy, call for further investigations and interview witnesses before reaching a decision as to the cause of death. In cases of accident or misadventure he will again issue a report of his findings and release the body for burial but, if he decides that the death was caused by a criminal act, he will order the police to conduct a full investigation. A case will then be prepared for submission to the State Prosecutor who, in turn, will decide whether or not it should be prosecuted. The question of re-opening a hearing on the cause of death would only be considered by the Examining Magistrate if he were satisfied that there was substantive new evidence to justify it. 3. Forensic procedures Autopsies and post mortems are carried out by court appointed doctors with forensic qualifications. They are carried out at a variety of officially designated sites. In Madrid, for example, autopsies are undertaken at the Institute of Anatomical Science, which is part of the Madrid University. Internal organs are officially destroyed after the autopsy and their disposal is recorded. 4. Release of information Magistrate's and police reports, statements by witnesses and autopsy reports are considered court property and are not generally available to the public. Relatives of deceased persons and/or their Spanish legal representative can apply to the Court to obtain copies of such reports but they may not always be readily available. Their release is often a lengthy process, which can take some six months or even more. When such documents are issued they are free of charge but in Spanish. 5. Consular Death registration If consular death registration is required, it can be obtained in the UK by contacting the Nationality and Treaty Department of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London (020 7270 3000), who will send an application form for completion and inform applicants of the cost and documentary evidence required. The certificate is issued in English and one copy is routinely lodged with the General Registry Office in Southport, Merseyside, at the end of the year, after which copies can be obtained direct from them. HM Consul-General British Consulate-General Madrid, Paseo de Recoletos, 7/9 28004 Madrid. Telephone: 91 524 97 00 Fax: 91 524 97 30 Is the sole Consular Registrar for deaths of British Citizens which occur in Spain, and an application form to register such a death can be requested, if a British Certificate is required, either in person or by post. British Consuls in other parts of Spain can also provide application forms, and may be able to assist in forwarding documentation to Madrid.