PHOTO: President Joseph J. Roberts burial Plot, By Jforest59
By Alfred H. W. Brownell
Cemeteries have long been sacred grounds, where loved ones find solace in paying respects to the departed.
Yet, beneath the serene facade lies a landscape fraught with regulatory loopholes, exorbitant fees, and ecological issues. These hallowed grounds can lead to a host of issues affecting both grieving families and the wider community.
In this article, we explore the legal responsibilities of key agencies, the consequences of non-compliance, the financial burden on families, potential government failures, and the environmental implications of an unregulated cemetery industry and how important it is to put the public interest first.
The increasing demand for funeral services means that comprehensive cemetery regulations are urgently needed.
What is a Cemetery?
A cemetery is a place where dead bodies are buried. It is a locale set aside, either by governmental authority or private enterprise. A public cemetery (Palm Grove, Disco Hill etc) is open for use by the community at large while a private cemetery (Tolbert Family Cemetery in Bentol, Kaiser Memorial Cemetery etc) is used only by a small segment of a community or by a family.
Cemeteries can be the place where the final ceremonies of death are observed. These ceremonies or rites differ according to cultural practice and religious belief. The establishment of a cemetery involves the process of formally designating a tract of land for use for the burial of the dead. It must be set apart, marked, and distinguished from adjoining ground as a graveyard.
A cemetery is not only subject to the laws of ordinary property due to their inherently different nature. However, actual public use rather than ownership determines whether a cemetery is public. Thus, a cemetery, though privately owned or maintained, may be deemed a public cemetery if it is open, under reasonable regulations, to the use of the public for the burial of the dead. A cemetery, though privately owned, is properly classified as a “public cemetery” where it consists of a great number of burial plots or sites sold and for sale to the public. Conversely, a family burying ground has been defined by statute as one in which no lots are sold to the public and in which interments are restricted to a group of persons related to each other by blood or marriage.
It is also worth noting that municipal corporations like the Monrovia City Corporation, Paynesville City Corporation, Brewerville City Corporation, and many others across Liberia may hold property in trust for a public burial ground or in a private or proprietary character as a private corporation. In short, most cemeteries are corporations or have some form of company identities.
So, then what is a Corporation or Company?
For the purpose of this article, a cemetery company is a separate legal entity. It is a distinct person by law; separate from those who formed it. As a result, it has the ability to incur debt, sue and be sued. In fact, the rights, and duties of a corporation (cemetery company) are separate from the rights and duties of its directors and shareholders. This means the liability of shareholders are limited as the company is a separate legal entity. The debt of the cemeteries if any, therefore, will not impact personal assets. This is known as the corporate veil.
For those who are not aware, the Liberian Business Corporation Act (BCA) and Limited Liability Company Act (LLC Act) received considerable revisions. The revision was to align our laws with international best practices and to remove redundant procedures.
The regulations governing corporations was originally enacted as the Liberian Associations Law in 1977, but amended in 2022, to include the Business Corporation Act , the Partnership Act , the Limited Partnership Act , the Not-for-Profit Corporation Act , the Private Foundation Law.
In line with the amendments, a Beneficial Ownership Register was created and launched.[1]
Therefore, there is a contract between the families and the cemetery operators. Generally, when the family purchase a cemetery plot, it does not expire, and it will always belong to the family. However, by purchasing the plot, it is worth noting that families are not purchasing the land itself. In short, the cemetery retains ownership of the land, while the families are purchasing the right to use the land for a burial. This is known as an easement. In legal terms, an easement is the right to enter or use a section of land for a particular purpose by someone who is not the landowner as defined in article 2 of the Land Rights Act[2].
Who’s in Charge?
In the realm of cemetery regulation, various agencies hold key legal responsibilities. At the local and state levels, oversight is multifaceted and often falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Health, Environmental Protection Agency, Ministry of Public Works, Ministry of Internal Affairs, National Public Health Institute, Ministry of Lands and Mines and the Cemetery Boards. Zoning laws, health and safety regulations, environmental protections, and land use planning dictating factors such as permissible burial depths, plot sizes, and landscaping requirements play a crucial role in ensuring that cemeteries operate responsibly. These agencies of government are tasked with developing and enforcing standards regarding burial practices, land use, and maintenance. Failure to comply with these regulations can result in fines, license revocation, criminal charges for negligent practices or closure.[3]
Title 31 of the Liberian Code of Laws of 1956, known as the Public Health Law, provides with respect to a wide array of matters concerning public health, including, among other things, animal diseases, communicable diseases, (veterinary) drugs, environmental sanitation, hygiene in food establishments, control of parasites and mosquitoes, placing on the market of food, freshwater pollution, and drinking water. But as Ecological succession takes place with overgrown grass[4], hazardous vegetation and unsightly objects and materials which can detract from the amenity of the locality and the serene façade that hold the memories of our departed loved one’s tombs and graves, the question that must be answered is who’s in charge?
Beyond the Grave
The consequences of careless regulations extend far beyond administrative penalties, the consequences can be severe.
Non-compliance can jeopardize public health by contaminating groundwater with embalming fluids and other hazardous substances thereby breaching section 5 Protecting the Right to a Clean and Healthy Environment, Part IV – environmental quality standards and Part V – Pollution Control and Licensing of the Environmental Protection and Management Law of Liberia.[5]
Improper burial practices can also present serious risks to the subsidence of the land including structural damage to surrounding infrastructure.
Additionally, devious cemetery operators continue to exploit grieving families by collecting exorbitant fees for burial plots, maintenance services remain very poor, grave desecration continued unabated[6] and uncontrolled expansion continue to tarnish the sanctity of these burial grounds across the country. Such financial burden, beyond the legal ramifications can exacerbate the emotional toll of loss, leaving families vulnerable to exploitation who trusted the sanctity of these burial grounds.
What many Liberians don’t know is that non-compliance can result in legal actions, fines, or closure orders for cemeteries that violate established regulations. Beyond legal ramifications, the emotional toll on families can be devastating.
A Grave Concern
As our nation approach another decoration day, we are again reminded about the tensions that will be erupt among different families at several cemeteries across Liberia in regard to the ownership of these grave plots surrounding the ownership of graves for their fallen relatives. Ownership under the Act means the sum total of rights allowing one to possess, use and enjoy the land, including the right to lease, mortgage and sell land. This phenomenon where families claim ownership of the land when in fact it is an easement shows the lack of awareness and the difficulties in navigating legal issues around easement contracts. This lack of awareness can result in families threatening to inflict wounds on each other if they cannot get access to the disputed grave plot.
To address these concerns, in 2015 former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf among other things appointed a National Cemetery Task Force. The Task Force was also mandated to oversee successful relocation and closure of cemeteries that are full and are being desecrated across the country. By 2017, calls to establish the National Cemetery Board went unheeded.
Inadequate regulation not only harms grieving families but also undermines public interest and environmental stewardship. As the expansion of these cemeteries continue unregulated, they encroach upon ecologically sensitive areas, disrupting wildlife habitats, public health and impacting citizens right to a safe environment[7].
Moreover, without proper oversight, there’s a risk of mismanagement as such funds meant to ensure the long-term maintenance of cemeteries are lacking and left to ruin. This not only jeopardizes the integrity of these burial locations but also erodes public trust in government oversight institutions and processes. Therefore, the government’s failure to regulate this sector is a call for grave concern.
Liability and Standing to Sue
Generally, in Liberia an easement contract to purchase a burial plot is usually verbal but a question often asked is: are verbal agreements legally binding?
A contract is an agreement between two parties that is intended to be enforceable by law. Verbal agreements are contracts that have been agreed orally or in other words by spoken communication.
In contrast, a written contract is an agreement that is recorded in writing and is signed by the parties to evidence their agreement. Verbal agreements like written contracts are legally binding. However, the issue with verbal agreements is that it can be very difficult to prove their existence, and to prove what the agreed terms are. Parties may have different recollections of what was agreed, or a party may be untruthful about the terms of the verbal agreement.
An easement typically does not impose maintenance or repair obligations on the owner (operator) of the burdened land, unless specifically stated in the easement’s terms.
In particular, the burdened landowner is prohibited from taking any action that would prevent or interfere with the enjoyment of the easement. The benefitting landowner must maintain the easement’s usability by making the required efforts if they choose to use it.
In order to maintain the easement’s usage, the owner of the benefited land has an implied right to enter the burdened land and take reasonable steps to do so, but they are not permitted to extend or widen the easement’s scope.
Hence, accessing the burdened property in a way that hinders its use beyond what is reasonably necessary is prohibited for the owner of the benefiting land.
Although the owner of the burdened land may have a right to be consulted and to offer feedback, the owner of the benefiting land ultimately has the final say over the proposed work or maintenance of these burial plots.
The reasoning for this is because by carrying out repair and maintenance of these burial plots, the benefitted land’s owners (families) are exercising their easement rights, and the owner (Cemetery operators) will also be obligated to pay for the maintenance of these cemeteries. That’s why families pay good money for proper burial plot services. For businesses engaged in plot maintenance there will be an increase profitability that allows them to make much more money. The need for proper plot maintenance goes far beyond beautification. Although it is important for cemeteries to maintain its aesthetic beauty, it is also important to enhance the experience of family members visiting their loved-one’s burial place.
It’s 2024 and families should not be forced to deal with the unattractiveness and potential problems of a neglected and untidy cemeteries.
As such and under certain situations, the owner of the benefited land may be held accountable for harm done to the burdened land when the easement’s neglect causes harm to the burdened land.
For instance, the owner of the benefiting plot (Families) may be held accountable for damages brought on by untidiness if the owner of the burdened land neglects to maintain the cemetery, leading to overgrown grass.
In the face of regulatory lapses, affected families must assert their rights to hold accountable those responsible for negligence or malfeasance. Families aggrieved by unfair pricing practices or substandard services may have legal standing to pursue civil claims against cemetery operators, this include suing the government.
Affected families must demand their rights to hold people accountable for incompetence or carelessness in the face of these regulatory breaches. Families who have been harmed by disproportionate effect cemetery pricing or inadequate maintenance services may be able to file civil lawsuits against cemetery operators, including lawsuits against the government.
Environmental advocacy groups can also use the legal system to force regulatory bodies to enforce current laws or create new regulations that protect public health and burial plots.
There is Dignity in Death
Upholding the dignity of the deceased and safeguarding the interests of bereaved families and the larger community are the two main goals of cemetery legislation, which goes beyond the normal bureaucratic red tape of government functionaries.
We understand there’s no donor or multilateral grants for the dead and though a complex process, cemeteries management yet an essential task demands the attention of government agencies.
A thorough and enforceable regulatory structure is imperative now than ever given the legal obligations of important government oversight agencies, the financial burden on families, the penalties for noncompliance, and the possibility of government failure.
We all can guarantee that cemeteries continue to be sacred spaces where the living and the dead can find serenity by upholding strict regulations, encouraging accountability, and encouraging transparency. It’s time to set the stage, recognise the value of cemetery regulations, and take the required actions to preserve the dignity of a more equitable and long-lasting method of paying respect to the final resting places of our loved ones.
About the Author
Alfred H. W. Brownell is a Writer, an Environmental Sustainability Researcher, and a Concern Citizen.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any institution or political party, nor the official position of any research institutions in which he is affiliated. The information contained in this article is intended solely to provide general guidance on matters of interest regarding environmental protection, cemetery regulation, legal, ecosystems, occupational safety, and health and to aid public policy discussions. Any errors are the fault of the author.
[1] See the Liberia Business Registry
[2] See An Act To Establish The Land Rights Art. 2
[3] Duport Road, JCN Howard cemeteries closed to the public
[4] No Grave Left: Historic Palm Grove Cemetery Turns Into Forest
[5] See The Act Creating The Environment Protection ; See The Act Adopting The Environment Protection And Management Law
[6] Displaced young adults are living in a graveyard in Liberia’s capital Monrovia
[7] Liberians warned against dumping garbage at Palm Grove Cemetery