5.6 KiB
| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coroner | 3/6 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coroner | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T10:09:50.552754+00:00 | kb-cron |
=== United Kingdom === There are separate coroner services for England and Wales and for Northern Ireland. There are no longer coroners in Scotland. Coroners existed in Scotland between about 1400 and 1800 when they ceased to be used. Deaths in Scotland requiring judicial examination are now reported to The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, who investigates deaths on behalf of the Lord Advocate. Different teams investigating deaths include the Scottish Fatalities Investigation Unit, the National Homicide Team, the Health and Safety Investigation Unit, the Road Traffic Fatalities Investigation Unit and The Custody Deaths Unit. In the rest of the United Kingdom a coroner is a specialist judge. Whilst coroners are appointed and paid by local authorities, they are not employees of those local authorities but rather independent judicial office holders who can be removed from office only by the Lord Chief Justice and the Lord Chancellor. The Ministry of Justice, which is headed by the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, is responsible for coronial law and policy. However, it has no operational responsibility for the running of coroners' courts. A coroner's jurisdiction is limited to determining who the deceased was and how, when and where they came by their death. When the death is suspected to have been either sudden with unknown cause, violent or unnatural, the coroner decides whether to hold a post-mortem examination and, if necessary, an inquest. The majority of deaths are not investigated by the coroner. If the deceased has been under medical care, or has been seen by a doctor within 14 days of death, then the doctor can issue a death certificate. However, if the deceased died without being seen by a doctor, or if the doctor is unwilling to make a determination, the coroner will investigate the cause and manner of death. The coroner will also investigate when a death is deemed violent or unnatural, where the cause is unknown, where a death is the result of poisoning or industrial injury, or if it occurred in police custody or prison. The coroner's court is a court of law, and accordingly the coroner may summon witnesses. Those found to be lying are guilty of perjury. Additional powers of the coroner may include the power of subpoena and attachment, the power of arrest, the power to administer oaths, and sequester juries of six during inquests. Any person aware of a dead body lying in the district of a coroner has a duty to report it to the coroner; failure to do so is an offence. This can include bodies brought into England or Wales. The coroner has a team of coroner's officers (previously often ex-police officers, but increasingly from a nursing or other paramedical background) who carry out the investigation on the coroner's behalf. A coroner's investigation may involve a simple review of the circumstances, ordering a post-mortem examination, or they may decide that an inquest is appropriate. When a person dies in the custody of the legal authorities (in police cells, or in prison), an inquest must be held. In England, inquests are usually heard without a jury (unless the coroner wants one). However, a case in which a person has died under the control of central authority must have a jury, as a check on the possible abuse of governmental power. Coroners also have a role in treasure cases. This role arose from the ancient duty of the coroner as a protector of the property of the Crown. It is now contained in the Treasure Act 1996. This jurisdiction is no longer exercised by local coroners, but by specialist "coroners for treasure" appointed by the Chief Coroner.
==== Inquest conclusions (previously called verdicts) ==== The coroner's former power to name a suspect in the inquest conclusion and commit them for trial has been abolished. The coroner's conclusion sometimes is persuasive for the police and Crown Prosecution Service, but normally proceedings in the coroner's court are suspended until after the outcome of any criminal case is known. More usually, a coroner's conclusion is also relied upon in civil proceedings and insurance claims. The coroner commonly tells the jury which conclusions are lawfully available in a particular case.
The most common short-form conclusions include: Alternatively, an inquest may return a narrative conclusion, a brief statement explaining the circumstances how the person came about their death. A coroner giving a narrative conclusion may choose to refer to the other conclusion. A narrative conclusion may also consist of answers to a set of questions posed by the coroner to himself or to the jury (as appropriate). Lawful killing includes lawful self-defence. There is no material difference between an accidental death conclusion and one of misadventure. Neglect cannot be a conclusion by itself. It must be part of another conclusion. A conclusion of neglect requires that there was a need for relevant care (such as nourishment, medical attention, shelter or warmth) identified, and there was an opportunity to offer or provide that care that was not taken. An open conclusion should only be used as a last resort and is given where the cause of death cannot be identified on the evidence available to the inquest. Conclusions are arrived at on the balance of probabilities; prior to 2020, conclusions of suicide or unlawful killing were required to be proved to the criminal standard of beyond reasonable doubt.
==== England and Wales ====