After an analysis of the literature, the author reflects on the problem to what extent the ophtalmologist can at present assess, based on a post-mortem examination of the ocular fundus, the time of death in cases where a team of specialists decides whether resuscitation may be terminated after clinical death of a patient where an organ is foreseen for transplantation, and in forensic and criminal medicine some time after death. The author is convinced that post-mortem ophtalmoscopy performed by a specialist is a valuable contribution to contemporary and future forensic medicine.