Rejection of the claim for a grave site designed according to Islamic rules in a public cemetery

Facts

Abd-Allah Lucien Meyers, residing in Kappel am Albis, submitted a request to his home municipality of Hausen am Albis to be buried according to Islamic rites in their cemetery. The Municipal Council of Hausen a.A. rejected the demand for an unlimited extension of the burial period, but offered to rent him and his family a family grave with four burial sites for an initial period of 50 years, with the possibility of a 20-year extension. Meyers unsuccessfully appealed the rejection decision of the Municipal Council to the Cantonal Government of Zurich. The Cantonal Government doubted whether the conditions of Islamic burial that Meyers described as mandatory were actually binding for all Muslims, regardless of their degree of religiosity. It held that the claim to a decent burial guaranteed by Art. 53 para. 2 of the Federal Constitution exists only against the municipality of residence, not against the home municipality. Furthermore, within the framework of the principle of equal treatment and the prohibition of arbitrariness, municipalities are allowed to be less accommodating to non-residents regarding any special requests than to local residents. Meyers then filed a constitutional appeal with the Federal Supreme Court.

Considerations

The Federal Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, insofar as it entered into the matter. a) While Art. 53 para. 2 of the Federal Constitution guarantees a constitutional right to a decent burial, this right does not require that the deceased be buried in a public cemetery according to the rules of Islam, in particular that a grave site be guaranteed for an unlimited period of time. The limitation of the burial period to a certain rest period does not violate the requirement of decency. b) The guarantees of freedom of religion and worship (Art. 49 and 50 of the Federal…