Jump to content

Inquests in England and Wales

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Inquests in England and Walesare held into sudden or unexplained deaths and also into the circumstances of and discovery of a certain class of valuable artefacts known as "treasure trove".InEngland and Wales,inquestsare the responsibility of acoroner,who operates under the jurisdiction of theCoroners and Justice Act 2009.In some circumstances where an inquest cannot view or hear all the evidence, it may be suspended and a public inquiry held with the consent of theHome Secretary.

Where an inquest is needed

[edit]

There is a general duty upon every person to report adeathto the coroner if an inquest is likely to be required. However, this duty is largely unenforceable in practice and the duty falls on the responsibleregistrar.The registrar must report a death where:[1]

  • The deceased was not attended by adoctorduring their last illness
  • The death occurred within 24 hours of admission to a hospital
  • The cause of death has not been certified by a doctor who saw the deceased after death or within the 14 days before death
  • The cause of death is unknown
  • The registrar believes that the cause of death was unnatural, caused by violence,neglectorabortionoutside the exemptions of theAbortion Act 1967,or occurred in suspicious circumstances
  • Death occurred duringsurgeryof any kind or while underanaestheticboth local and general
  • The cause of death was or was suspected to be anindustrial disease
  • The death relates to public health or the general health or welfare of the public-at-large

The coroner must hold an inquest where the death is:[2]

  • Violent or unnatural
  • Sudden and of unknown cause
  • In prison or police custody
  • Suspected to be suicide

Where the cause of death is unknown, the coroner may order apost mortemexamination in order to determine whether the death was violent. If the death is found to be non-violent, an inquest is unnecessary.[2]

In 2004 in England and Wales, there were 514,000 deaths of which 225,500 were referred to the coroner. Of those, 115,800 resulted in post-mortem examinations and there were 28,300 inquests, 570 with a jury.[3]In 2014 theRoyal College of Pathologistsclaimed that up to 10,000 deaths a year recorded as being from natural causes should have been investigated by inquests. They were particularly concerned about people whose death occurred as a result of medical errors. "We believe a medical examiner would have been alerted towhat was going on in Mid-Staffordshirelong before this long list of avoidable deaths reached the total it did, "said Archie Prentice, the pathologists' president.[4]

Juries

[edit]
Main article:Coroner's jury

A coroner must summon ajuryfor an inquest if the death was not a result of natural causes and occurred when the deceased was in state custody (for example inprison,policecustody, or whilst detained under theMental Health Act 1983); or if it was the result of an act or omission of a police officer; or if it was a result of a notifiable accident, poisoning or disease.[5]The senior coroner can also call a jury at his or her own discretion. This discretion has been heavily litigated in light of theHuman Rights Act 1998,which means that juries are required now in a broader range of situations than expressly required by statute.

Scope of inquest

[edit]

The purpose of the inquest is to answer four questions:[6][7][8]: r. 36 

  • Identity of the deceased
  • Place of death
  • Time of death
  • How the deceased came by their death

Evidencemust be solely for the purpose of answering these questions and no other evidence is admitted.[7]It is not for the inquest to ascertain "how the deceased died" or "in what broad circumstances", but "how the deceased came by his death", a more limited question.[7]Moreover, it is not the purpose of the inquest to determine, or appear to determine,criminalorcivil liability,to apportionguiltor attribute blame.[8]: r. 42 For example, where a prisonerhangedhimself in a cell, he came by his death by hanging and it was not the role of the inquest to enquire into the broader circumstances such as the allegedneglectof the prison authorities that might have contributed to his state of mind or given him the opportunity.[7]However, the inquest should set out as many of the facts as the public interest requires.[9]

Under the terms of article 2 of theEuropean Convention of Human Rights,governments are required to "establish a framework of laws, precautions, procedures and means of enforcement which will, to the greatest extent reasonably practicable, protect life". TheEuropean Court of Human Rightshas interpreted this as mandating independent official investigation of any death wherepublic servantsmay be implicated. Since theHuman Rights Act 1998came into force, in those cases alone, the inquest is now to consider the broader question "by what means and in what circumstances".[10]

In disasters, such as the 1987King's Cross fire,a single inquest may be held into several deaths.

Procedure

[edit]

Inquests are governed by the Coroners Rules.[8][11][12]The coroner gives notice to near relatives, those entitled to examinewitnessesand those whose conduct is likely to be scrutinised.[13]Inquests are held in public except where there are real issues and substantial ofnational securitybut only the portions which relate to national security will be held behind closed doors.[8]: r. 17 

Individuals with an interest in the proceedings, such as relatives of the deceased, individuals appearing as witnesses, and organisations or individuals who may face some responsibility in the death of the individual, may be represented by a legal professional be that a solicitor or barrister at the discretion of the coroner.[8]: r. 20 Witnesses may be compelled to testify subject to theprivilege against self-incrimination.[8]: r. 22 

If there are matters of national security or matters which relate to sensitive matters then under Schedule 1 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 an inquest may be suspended and replaced by a public inquiry under s.2 of theInquiries Act 2005.This can only be ordered by the Home Secretary and must be announced to Parliament with the coroner in charge being informed and the next of kin being informed. The next of kin and coroner can appeal the decision of the Home Secretary.

Verdict or conclusions

[edit]

The following conclusions (formerly called verdicts) are not mandatory but are strongly recommended:[14]

In 2004, 37% of inquests recorded an outcome ofdeath by accident / misadventure,21% by natural causes, 13% suicide, 10% open verdicts, and 19% other outcomes.[3]

Since 2004 it has been possible for the coroner to record anarrative verdict,recording the circumstances of a death without apportioning blame or liability. Since 2009, other possible verdicts have included "alcohol/drug related death" and "road traffic collision".[15]The civilstandard of proof,on thebalance of probabilities,is used for all conclusions.[15]The standard of proof for suicide and unlawful killing changed in 2018 from beyond all reasonable doubt to the balance of probabilities following a case in the courts of appeal.[15]

Modernisation

[edit]

Owing in particular to the failures to notice theserial murdercommitted byHarold Shipman,theCoroners and Justice Act 2009modernised the system with:

  • Greater rights of bereaved people to contribute to coroners' investigations;
  • A new office ofchief coronerto lead and supervise practice;
  • Full-time coroners with new district boundaries;
  • Broader investigatory powers for coroners;
  • Improved medical support for coroners' investigation and decision making;
  • Vesting of treasure jurisdiction in the new office of treasure coroner with national responsibility.

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^Halsburyvol.9(2)949–950
  2. ^abHalsburyvol. 9(2)939
  3. ^abDepartment for Constitutional Affairs (2006)
  4. ^"10,000 deaths a year from natural causes 'need examining by coroners'".Guardian.27 August 2014.Retrieved27 August2014.
  5. ^Coroners and Justice Act 2009, s.7(2)
  6. ^Halsburyvol.9(2)988
  7. ^abcdR v. HM Coroner for North Humberside and Scunthorpe, ex parte Jamieson[1995] QB 1 at 23, CA
  8. ^abcdef"Coroners Rules 1984",legislation.gov.uk,The National Archives,9 April 1984, SI 1984/552
  9. ^R (on the application of Davies) v. Birmingham Deputy Coroner[2003] EWCA (Civ) 1739, [2003] All ER (D) 40 (Dec)
  10. ^R (on the application of Middleton) v. West Somerset Coroner[2004] UKHL 10, [2004] 2 AC 182, [2004] 2 All ER 465
  11. ^"Coroners (Amendment) Rules 2004",legislation.gov.uk,The National Archives,25 March 2004, SI 2004/921
  12. ^"Coroners (Amendment) Rules 2005",legislation.gov.uk,The National Archives,28 February 2005, SI 2005/420
  13. ^Mackay of Clashfern (2006),p. 976
  14. ^Halsburyvol.9(2)1030
  15. ^abc"Coroners | The Crown Prosecution Service".www.cps.gov.uk.Retrieved27 April2023.
[edit]

Bibliography

[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Inquests_in_England_and_Wales&oldid=1193013944"