A distinction must be made between a grave and a plot

A distinction must be made between a grave and a plot

"I was astonished to read in your last column that it is not possible to keep a grave in a Geneva cemetery for more than 20 years without having to move it. Yet I seem to have seen many graves that look older than that! How can this be explained?

A loyal reader

A distinction must be made between line graves and concessions.

Line graves refer to burials that take place in pits laid out one after the other, in a regular, predetermined order, without distinction of origin or religion. As explained last week in these columns, these plots are made available for 20 years, renewable under certain conditions.

By granting a plot, the order of burial may be changed or interrupted, in particular when a family wishes that the plot occupied by the grave of the deceased person may, at the time of the first burial or at the end of the legal 20-year period, be reserved for a longer term than the regular round of burials. The regular order of burials may also be altered by the granting of a concession when a person, during his or her lifetime, wishes to have a specific place reserved for his or her burial or when, on the death of a person, his or her family wishes to have his or her body buried in a specific place other than that which it should occupy in the regular order.

The legal duration of a plot is 40 years in some cemeteries and longer in others. They can also be extended with the advantage that, unlike line graves, the burial does not have to be moved, i.e. exhumed and reburied. However, they cannot normally be granted for more than 99 years, and there is a special feature in the Kings' Cemetery, which is open to judges and other prominent figures who have contributed to Geneva's reputation through their lives and activities. It is the Administrative Council of the City of Geneva that decides on the request for a concession and defines the conditions under which it is granted. When such a concession reaches the end of its 99-year term and circumstances justify it, the State Council may, in agreement with the Administrative Council, decide to maintain a tomb, but always for a fixed period.