Poland considers new burial laws and cemetery fee regulations

The Polish Senate is reviewing proposals to modernize funeral regulations, which are currently governed by a 1959 law. A petition submitted to the Senate suggests allowing more ecological burial options, such as scattering ashes in designated forests, parks, or water bodies, and permitting burials on private property in home gardens.

While these proposals are under analysis and not yet law, the Ministry of Health has indicated it does not see an epidemiological risk in scattering ashes.

Separately, the Ministry of Interior and Administration is preparing legislative changes to resolve disputes over cemetery fees. Current legal ambiguities between the 1959 burial law and the municipal management act have led to conflicting court rulings regarding how local governments set prices for cemetery services. The proposed changes aim to clarify that municipal councils have the authority to set these rates under the municipal management act, similar to other public utility services.