2004년 영국의 ｢인체조직법｣과 원주민 유해 반환

Abstract

In the 1990s, the event of children’s tissues, organs, and body parts autopsied after death being kept in Royal Liverpool Children’s Hospital and Bristol Royal Infirmary was revealed. This “Alder Hey Organ Scandal” became an issue because no parental consent had been acquired. As a result, the Human Tissue Act of 2004 was enacted to solve medical and social problems related to preserving tissues, organs, and body parts in hospitals. Section 47 of the Human Tissue Act of 2004, which consists of three parts and 61 sections, specifies “power to de-accession human remains.” The Human Tissue Act of 2004 was enacted to solve the problem that First Australians’ remains, First Nations’ remains, tsantsa (shrunken head), and Toi Moko of New Zealand had been displayed and stored in museums, galleries, universities, hospitals, and medical institutions in the UK. Repatriating the remains of Indigenous individuals to their Indigenous community was difficult as a result of the British Museum Act of 1963. After the Human Tissue Act of 2004 was enacted, the remains of Indigenous people could be repatriated. This paper shows how First Australians’ remains stored in the UK’s famous museum were properly buried, curated, preserved, exhibited, and returned through Section 47 of the Human Tissue Act of 2004.