RULES
TALLINN CITY COUNCIL
REGULATION
Tallinn 6 May 2010 No 24
Rules of the use of cemeteries in Tallinn
This Regulation is established on the basis of section 6(3) 2)
of the Local Government Organisation
Act.
Chapter 1
GENERAL PART
§1. General provisions
(1) These rules regulate the management and use of the
cemeteries in the ownership of the City
of Tallinn, which are located on the administrative territory
of Tallinn. These rules shall be
mandatory for all persons in the cemetery and users of the
burial sites.
(2) In addition to the provisions of the rules, performance of
the rules shall follow the
maintenance rules of the City of Tallinn and the rules for
maintenance of public order of the
City of Tallinn.
(3) The cemeteries in the ownership of the City of Tallinn,
which are covered with the regulation
of these rules, are Metsakalmistu, Pärnamäe, Pirita, Siselinna,
Rahumäe, Hiiu-Rahu and Liiva
cemeteries. All the mentioned cemeteries are heritage
conservation monuments.
§2. Definitions
The following definitions shall be used in the rules:
1) cemetery means a marked area with the necessary facilities,
which is meant for burial of
dead bodies of people or their ashes, and commemoration of the
dead;
2) grave site means an area in the cemetery, which is meant for
burial of one or several dead
persons in a coffin or ash urn;
3) burial site means a grave site, columbarium, row grave or an
area for ashes;
4) grave means a location at the grave site for the burial of a
coffin or urn or an urn chamber in
columbarium;
5) columbarium means a structure for keeping the ash urns;
6) urn chamber means a cavity in the columbarium for storage of
one or several urns;
7) row grave means a grave site for burying unknown dead in
coffin;
8) ash area means an area in the cemetery, which is allocated
for scattering the ashes of the
dead;
9) cemetery manager means an authority of the City of Tallinn
that organises the use of the
cemetery;
10) user of the burial site means a person who has the right to
use the burial site;
11) burier means a person who organises burying of the dead;
12) grave structure means a structure located at the grave site
that is permanently fixed to the
ground (fence, concrete border, crypt etc);
13) grave mark means a cross, plate, pillar, stone or other
symbol indicating one or several
graves.
§3. Management of a cemetery
(1) The manager of the cemeteries of Tallinn is the authority
of Tallinn called Tallinn Cemeteries.
(2) The manager of the cemetery ensures good order of the
cemetery and organises the use of
the cemetery, including allocation of burial sites,
organisation of waste management,
performance of tasks related to design of the cemetery, keeping
a register of the cemeteries
of Tallinn, registering burial sites without users and
performing other tasks arising from the
legal acts.
(3) The Tallinn City Government shall establish, by the
proposal of the Tallinn Environmental
Board, the design principles for the cemeteries according to
the special heritage conservation
conditions, historical design requirements of old burial
quarters and natural speciality of the
cemetery.
§4. Requirements for cemeteries
(1) A cemetery shall be surrounded by a bordering fence and it
must be possible to close the
entrances to the cemetery with a gate.
(2) The area of a cemetery shall be divided into areas for
coffin burials, urn burials and ash
scattering burials, which shall be divided into quarters. In
the old part of the cemetery the
historical names of the quarters shall remain in use. In the
new parts, the quarters will be
formed, taking into account, if possible, the burial traditions
according to the religious
affiliation of the buried.
(3) The cemetery plan shall be placed at the main entrances of
the cemetery, which indicates the
offices, chapels, quarters, roads, water points, waste
containers and grave sites and grave
structures of historical and cultural importance.
(4) A notice board at the office shall feature information
regarding the opening hours of the
cemetery, list of services, contact data of the manager of the
cemeteries (telephone and
address), design principles of the cemetery and these rules.
§5. Requirements for the use of cemeteries
(1) Order, cleanliness and grave peace shall be kept at the
territory of the cemetery.
(2) The following shall be forbidden at the territory of the
cemetery:
1) damaging buildings, gates, fences, water points, graves,
grave marks and structures;
2) breaking of flowers, branches of trees and bushes and
cutting trees without the cutting
permit;
3) illegal opening of an urn chamber of the columbarium;
4) planting trees and bushes and hedges without the approval of
the manager of the
cemetery;
5) depositing household waste and violating the requirements
for waste collection,
including placing waste beyond containers or to locations not
foreseen for it;
6) illegal increasing the measurements of the grave site;
7) driving a motor vehicle or bicycle without the permission of
the manager of the
cemetery;
8) installing inventory or structures without the approval of
the manager of the cemetery;
9) making fire;
10) staying at the cemetery with a pet, except in locations
specially foreseen for it;
11) burying animals;
12) any other activity violating public order and maintenance
rules as well as grave peace.
(3) A person staying at the cemetery shall follow the waste
management requirements
established in the waste management rules of Tallinn at the
territory of the cemetery.
Chapter 2
BURIAL SITE
§6. Size of the burial site
(1) A burier may request allocation of a grave site or urn
chamber for the burial site. A burier
who does not wish to request allocation of a burial site can
scatter the ashes at the ash area.
(2) A grave site shall be allocated for burial in a coffin or
urn.
(3) According to the request of the burier a one- or two-, in
special cases up to four-place grave
site (so called family site), or one- or multiple-place urn
chamber will be allocated.
(4) The measurements of the grave site in the event of burial
in a coffin shall be:
1) a grave site with one grave 1.25 x 2.50 m;
2) a grave site with two graves 2.50 x 2.50m;
3) a grave site with three graves 3.75 x 2.50 m;
4) a grave site with four graves 5 x 2.50 m;
(5) The measurements of the grave site in the event of burial
in an urn:
1) the area of urn funerals of the cemetery generally 1.0 x 1.0
m;
2) at Rahumäe cemetery and in the old part of Metsakalmistu
1.25 x 2.50 m.
§7. Allocation of a burial site and granting the right for its
use.
(1) In the event of allocation of a burial site the manager of
the cemetery concludes a contract
for the use of the burial site with the burier (hereinafter the
contract of use). The format of
the contract of use shall be approved by the Environmental
Board of Tallinn.
(2) The contract of use shall include the data of the user of
the burial site, the location of the
burial site and the size of the burial site granted for use.
The contract of use shall establish
the rights and obligations of the parties arising from the
contract of use, term of validity of
the contract of use, procedure for its amendment and
termination and its transfer to a third
party, requirements for the design and maintenance of the
grave, liability of the parties for
the use of the burial site and the procedure for settling
disputes as well as the confirmation
of the user of the burial site regarding being aware of the
rules for using the cemetery and
performance thereof.
(3) If the user of the burial site wishes to order services
from the manager of the cemetery, a
separate contract for services shall be concluded between the
user of the burial site and the
manager of the cemetery, which sets forth the ordered services,
their cost and the procedure
for the payment for the services.
§8. Term of the contract of use
(1) The contract of use shall be concluded with the term of up
to 15 years.
(2) Upon the arrival of the term of the contract of use, the
contract of use shall be deemed as
expired. Six months before the end of the contract of use, the
manager of the cemetery shall
inform the user of the burial site of the expiry of the
contract of use by sending a notice to
the address indicated in the contract of use in a format that
can be reproduced in writing.
(3) The current user of the burial site shall have the
prerogative for the conclusion of the new
contract of use. In order to conclude the new contract of use,
the user of the burial site shall
submit to the manager of the burial site a written application
during one month before the
expiry of the term of the contract of use. In the event of
failure to submit an application for
the conclusion of the new contract of use, the contract of use
shall be deemed as expired
even if the user of the burial site continues to use the burial
site.
§9. Transfer and transition of the contract of use
(1) The user of the burial site may transfer the contract of
use to a third person with the consent
of the manager of the cemetery. Transfer of the contract of use
shall be formalised in writing
in the office of the cemetery.
(2) In the event of death of the user of the burial site, his
or her family members, buriers or
successors shall have the right to enter into the contract of
use in place of the user of the
burial site. In the event of death of the user of the burial
site, his or her buriers or successors
shall have the right to enter into the contract of use in place
of the user of the burial site. The
burier may replace the user if he or she is a successor, there
is no successor or the successor
surrenders in favour of the burier. Entry into the contract of
use shall be formalised by the
manager of the cemetery in writing upon submission of the
certificate of death of the user.
§10. Expiry of the contract of use
(1) The contract of use shall expire upon passing of the term
or upon cancellation of the
contract.
(2) The user of the burial site may extraordinarily terminate
the contract of use before the end
of the term by submitting a written application for the
termination of the contract of use to
the manager of the cemetery.
(3) The manager of the cemetery shall unilaterally and
extraordinarily terminate the contract of
use before the end of the term if the grave site has been
declared as unmaintained grave site
according to section 22 of the Rules.
(4) A burial site, the contract of use of which has expired,
shall be registered by the manager of
the cemetery as a burial site without a user according to
section 21 of the Rules.
§11. Exceptions upon allocation of a burial site and conclusion
of the contract of use
(1) As an exception, the manager of the cemetery may, with the
consent of the Environmental
Board of Tallinn, allocate a burial area with several burial
sites to a legal entity or
professional association or artistic association whose area of
activity includes preservation of
the cultural heritage of distinguished people of Estonian
public life.
(2) A contract of use shall be concluded for the area allocated
with several burial sites provided
for in subsection (1).
(3) The dead bodies or ashes of distinguished people of
Estonian public that belonged to the
membership of the user or are recognised by them shall be
buried to the burial site the user
of which is a legal entity, professional association or
artistic association.
(4) Allocation of the burial sites for the burial of family
members of the distinguished people of
Estonian public life buried at Metsakalmistu shall be carried
out on the basis of written
consent of the Environmental Board of Tallinn.
Chapter 3
BURIAL
§12. Organising of burial
(1) The dead shall be buried at the grave site in a coffin.
(2) The ashes shall be buried at the grave site, placed in a
columbarium with an urn or scattered
to the ash area.
(3) All burials, including placement of an urn in a columbarium
and scattering of the ashes to the
ash area shall be registered in the office of the cemetery at
least two days before the funeral
(4) The manager of the cemetery shall register the burial on
the basis of the death certificate of
the dead and identity document of the burier if the burial site
has been approved by the
burier and the burier has paid for the ordered service.
(5) Burial takes place only during daylight. No funeral
services are generally organised on
Sundays, Mondays and national holidays.
§13. Burial at the grave site
(1) The grave shall be dug and the burial shall be carried out
by the manager of the cemetery.
The interment and designing of the tomb shall take place with
the participation of the burier.
(2) The costs for temporary removal and re-instalment of the
grave marks and grave structures
that hinder burial, shall be covered by the burier or the user
of the grave site.
(3) The depth of the coffin grave from the ground to the bottom
of the grave must remain
between 1.5-2m.
(4) The ashes of the dead shall be buried at the grave with an
urn or without it. The depth of the
urn grave from the ground must be at least 0.7 m.
(5) If the remains of a person buried earlier are discovered
from the soil during digging of the
grave, they shall be re-buried in a groove dug in the bottom of
the same grave. A coffin that
has preserved unharmed shall be left as such.
(6) Damages caused to other grave sites in the vicinity of the
grave site during digging of the
grave and provision of other services related to the funeral
shall be eliminated by the
manager of the cemetery within three days after the funeral.
(7) The damages caused to the grave sites in the vicinity of
the grave site during the funeral shall
be eliminated by the user of the grave site within three days
after the funeral. In the event of
failure to put the grave sites in order, the manager of the
cemetery shall eliminate the
caused damages at the expense of the user of the grave site.
§14. Placement of an urn in the urn chamber of columbarium
(1) Upon placement of ash urns in the columbarium the general
bases set forth in section 12
shall apply
(2) Upon placement of ash urns in the urn chamber of the
columbarium, the covering plate shall
be removed and replaced by the manager of the cemetery.
§15. Scattering of ashes to the ash area
(1) The procedure of scattering ashes shall be registered by
the burier at the office of the
cemetery. The manager of the cemetery shall enter the data of
the dead and the burier as
well as the date of the procedure into the register of
cemeteries.
(2) The ashes shall be scattered to the specially foreseen area
at the presence of the
representative of the manager of the cemetery.
(3) In the event of scattering of ashes no contract of use
shall be concluded.
(4) It is forbidden to place a grave mark on the ash area.
Flowers and candles can be placed to
the ash area for commemoration of the dead only to the
specially foreseen location.
(5) The ash area shall be maintained and put into order by the
manager of the cemetery.
§16. Burial of an unknown dead or a dead without family
(1) Burial of an unknown dead or a dead without family shall be
organised by the Environmental
Board of Tallinn.
(2) The remains of the unknown shall be buried in the row grave
located at the Liiva cemetery.
(3) A dead without family shall be cremated and the ashes shall
be buried in the common grave
at the ash burial ground of Pärnamäe cemetery.
(4) A dead buried in the common grave and row grave shall be
registered in the register of
cemeteries.
(5) In the event of burial in the common grave and row grave,
no burial site is allocated and no
contract of use is concluded.
(6) The row graves and common graves shall be maintained and
put to order by the manager of
the cemetery.
§17. Burial on the grave
(1) A burial may be conducted on the same grave site not
earlier than 15 years after the last
burial.
(2) No burial is made on the graves that have been declared as
cultural heritage.
§18. Reburial
(1) Reburial shall be organised by the manager of the cemetery.
For reburial the burier shall
submit to the manager of the cemetery the permission of the
regional service of the Health
Board and the contract of use of the burial site used for
reburial or the consent of the
certified signature of the user, if the burier is not the user.
(2) In order to rebury remains from a grave site that has been
declared as monument, consent of
Tallinn Culture and Heritage Department is required in addition
to the requirements listed in
subsection (1).
(3) Before reburial, at least one year has to have been passed
in case of sandy soil and at least
three years in case of moist soil.
(4) Digging of the remains from the grave must, in general,
take place during a cold season.
Chapter 4
DESIGN AND MAINTENANCE OF GRAVE SITES
§19. Design of the cemetery and the grave site
(1) A grave site is a part of the cemetery and its design shall
follow the design principles
established by the Tallinn City Government for grave
structures, grave marks as well as
furbishing. The grave site shall be designed by the user of the
grave site.
(2) In order to construct a grave site the design of which
differs from the design principles a
working project must be compiled, which shall be approved by
the Environmental Board of
Tallinn and Tallinn Culture and Heritage Department.
(3) The grave site must be marked with a cross, plate, stone,
pillar or other marking. The grave
marks, structures and furbishing must be located within the
borders of the grave site.
(4) The grave marks and structures (bordering fences, concrete
border, curb stone etc) shall be
considered as the possessions of the user of the grave site.
(5) Displacement or removal of the grave marks or structures
shall be approved in writing with
the manager of the cemetery.
(6) The grave site in the case of which the design principles
of the cemetery are not followed
shall be marked with a warning sign by the manager of the
cemetery, who shall also forward
a warning to the user of the grave site in a format that can be
reproduced in writing to the
address set forth in the contract of use. The warning shall
indicate the condition of the grave
site, obligation to put the grave site in order and the term
for thereof as well as the
consequences in the event of failure to perform the obligation.
(7) If during the year following forwarding of the warning the
user of the grave site fails to
remove the grave structures, grave markers or furbishing that
is not in line with the design
principles of the cemetery, the manager of the cemetery shall
remove them at the expense
of the user.
(8) Upon allocation of a grave site that has been declared as
grave site without user to a new
user, the valuable grave marks or structures shall be preserved
and the respective obligation
shall be added to the contract of use concluded with the new
user of the grave site.
§20. Maintenance of a grave site
(1) The user of the grave site shall be responsible for the
maintenance of the grave site. The
grave site shall comply with the design principles of the
cemetery and the following
requirements:
1) the plants planted at the grave site are healthy and vital;
2) all dry and broken plants and wreaths have been removed from
the grave site;
3) the hedges surrounding the grave site are trimmed regularly;
4) the grave marks and fences are unbroken and their text is
legible;
5) the sand covering the grave site is clean;
6) leaves and other waste has been raked from the grave site;
7) the plates covering the grave site are unbroken.
(2) The grave site may be maintained by the manager of the
cemetery as a service for a fee on
the basis of a contract concluded between the user of the grave
site and the manager of the
cemetery.
Chapter 5
REGISTERING A BURIAL SITE WITHOUT A USER
§21. Registering a burial site as a burial site without a user
(1) A grave site or a urn chamber of a columbarium the term of
use of which has expired, the
contract of use of which has been extraordinarily cancelled
before the end of the term or a
grave site, which has been declared as unmaintained grave site
according to section 22 of the
Rules is registered as a burial site without a user.
(2) The manager of the cemetery may allocate the burial site
without a user for new use if at
least 15 years have passed since the last burial.
§22. Declaration as unmaintained grave site
(1) A grave site, with at least one of the following
characteristics shall be considered as
unmaintained grave site:
1) the significant part of the soil of the grave site is
covered with grass or brush;
2) the grave structures and marks are heavily covered with
moss, rusted or dilapidated;
3) the waste and leaves that have accumulated on the grave site
show that the grave site
has not been maintained for a long time.
(2) In order to declare a grave site as unmaintained grave site
and registering as a grave site
without a user, the manager of the cemetery shall organise its
inspection.
(3) In order to carry out an inspection of the grave site, the
manager of the cemetery shall form
a committee, which consists of the representative of the
manager of the cemetery, a person
who is familiar with the specialities of the cemetery, a
representative of Tallinn Culture and a
representative of Tallinn Culture and Heritage Department and
Environmental Board of
Tallinn.
(4) The committee shall review the grave site twice:
1) the first inspection during which it shall be established
that the grave site has not been
maintained and it is marked with a yellow label with a text in
black colour “unmaintained
grave site”. The order number of the inspection, date of
inspection, date of the next
inspection and the contact data of the manager of the cemetery
shall be indicated on the
label. The manager of the cemetery shall forward to the user of
the grave site a warning
in a format that can be reproduced in writing to the address
indicated in the contract of
use;
2) the second inspection shall take place not earlier than a
year after the first inspection.
During the course of the second inspection the condition of the
grave site marked during
the first inspection shall be checked and a decision shall be
made regarding declaration
of the grave site as a grave site without a user or refusal to
declare.
(5) An act shall be concluded for the inspection, setting forth
the location of the unmaintained
grave site, its size and description. During the second
inspection a mark regarding the
decision to declare the grave site as a grave site without a
user shall be added during the
second inspection. All members of the committee that
participated in the inspection shall
sign the act.
(6) A notice regarding the grave sites registered as
unmaintained grave sites shall be published in
a newspaper, in which the City of Tallinn publishes official
publications, by giving the user of
the grave site to contact the manager of the cemetery and put
the grave site in order or
surrender the right to use the grave site and extraordinarily
cancel the contract of use during
one month after the publication of the notice.
(7) After the passing of the one-month term the manager of the
cemetery may unilaterally
terminate the contract of use. The right of use of the grave
site for which no contract of use
has been signed shall be considered as ceased during three
months after performance of the
procedures set forth in subsections (5) and (6) of this
section, if the user of the grave site has
failed to put the grave site in order during the term indicated
in the notice.
Chapter 6
MONUMENTS
§23. Objects under protection as monuments
(1) A protective zone has been established in protection of the
cemeteries of Tallinn as
immovable monuments, for which restrictions set forth in
section 24(2) of the Heritage
Conservation Act shall be applicable and the reductions made in
which are indicated in the
protection obligation notice. The protected zone shall be an
area of the width of 50 m from
the external outline or border of the monument.
(2) Historical, archaeological, art and architectural monuments
may be located as single objects
at the cemeteries. No separate protective zone is established
for the immovable monuments
located at the cemetery.
(3) The following shall be forbidden in the protective zone of
the cemetery without the
permission of Tallinn Culture and Heritage Department:
1) erecting constructions, building roads, ditches and utility
lines or carrying out other soil
and construction works;
2) planting, cutting and rooting up of trees and bushes.
(4) The heritage conservation special conditions for monuments
and buildings located at the
cemetery, projects for their conservation, restoration and
repairs as well as projects for soil
and construction works performed on monuments and cemeteries
shall be approved by the
Tallinn Culture and Heritage Department and Environmental Board
of Tallinn.
(5) A grave, grave structure and sacred building declared as
monument shall be indicated with a
special mark. Marking of the monuments shall be organised by
the National Heritage Board
according to the Heritage Protection Act.
(6) Changes on a grave declared as a monument must be approved
according to the Heritage
Protection Act.
(7) If the user of a grave site declared as monument surrenders
the right to use the grave site,
the right to use the grave site shall be transferred to the
manager of the cemetery.
(8)
Chapter 7
SUPERVISION AND LIABILITY
§24. Supervision and liability
(1) Liability for the violation of the Rules shall be
established by the law.
(2) Supervision over the performance of the rules shall be
carried out by the Environmental
Board of Tallinn, Tallinn Culture and Heritage Department and
Tallinn Municipal Police Board
according to their competence
Chapter 8
FINAL PROVISIONS
§25. Implementing provisions
(1) The current users of burial sites, i.e. persons to whose
name the right to use the burial site
has been registered in the register of cemeteries, shall be
obliged to submit an application
for the conclusion of the contract of use to the manager of the
cemetery during three years
after entry into force of the Rules. After checking of the
data, the manager of the cemetery
shall ensure conclusion of the contracts on the basis of the
submitted applications no later
than during five years from the entry into force of the Rules.
(2) The contract of use concluded before the entry into force
of the Rules shall remain in force
until the end of the term of its validity, except for contracts
without a term, which shall
expire after five years from the entry into force of the Rules,
if the user of the burial site has
failed to conclude a new contract of use during that time.
§26. Changes in other legal acts
Section 1(3) of the Regulation No 45 by the Tallinn City
Council dated 22 June 2006 “Property
maintenance rules of the City of Tallinn” shall be amended and
worded as follows:
“(3) The maintenance requirements shall be applicable for the
cemetery to the extent that does not
contradict the nature of the cemetery and provided that the
Rules for the use of the cemeteries of
Tallinn do not provide otherwise.”
§27. Entry into force of the Regulation
This Regulation enters into force on 1 January 2011
Toomas Vitsut
Chairman of the Tallinn City Council
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