UK Resilience
Last updated: 28 October 2008
A coroner is an independent judicial officer who in a specific geographical territory or area (“coroner's district”) is exclusively responsible for the conduct of inquests (and the ordering of any post-mortem examination) in respect of those bodies lying in the district where he is informed of the death and has reasonable cause to suspect that the death was violent or unnatural or sudden of unknown cause … whether or not the cause of death arose in the district or elsewhere. Thus a coroner's involvement in any fatal incident depends upon it being reported that at least one body is lying in the coroner's district.
In an emergency, such as the Indian Ocean Tsunami, where a UK citizen dies abroad, the death will be reported to the coroner of the district in which the body has been initially repatriated (ie. even if the deaths occurred elsewhere, eg. Thailand). This coroner shall be responsible for the body, although the coroner has no jurisdiction until the body is physically brought into his district.
In cases, such as in 7th July bombings, where the police are carrying out investigations, after the post-mortem examinations and the identification processes are satisfactorily completed, the inquests will be “opened” and then adjourned until the investigations are complete or a criminal trial is concluded. The coroner may also order additional forensic post-mortem examinations.
Some inquests can be resolved very quickly, within a matter of weeks or certainly months, but others may take many months or even years if the investigation is prolonged to assist the police in the criminal investigation process.
Coroners' inquests and post-mortem examinations are governed by primary and secondary legislation. The most important of these are the Coroners Act 1988 and the Coroners Rules 1984. Local authorities appoint coroners (although coroners are not employees, but office holders under the Crown), and guidance has been issued to local authorities on this by the Home Office in Home Office Circular No 9 of 1996 (until May 2005, the Home Office had policy responsibility for coroners. This has now transferred to the Ministry of Justice).
No guidance has been issued to local authorities on the handling of inquests and post-mortem examinations. The coroner(s) concerned has/have sole and exclusive responsibility as to how they should interpret and carry out their judicial responsibilities and conduct any inquests; those aggrieved by any decision may seek a judicial review. Coroners will take account of the relevant textbooks including Jervis on Coroners 12th Edition published by Sweet and Maxwell of which chapter 17 deals with Major Disasters. An alternative textbook is Dorries on Coroners Courts, published by Oxford University Press, of which chapter 11 deals with Disasters. Neither of these textbooks is aimed at local authorities. Coroners may also refer to the Coroners' Society of England and Wales.
Guidance of a general nature about coroners and inquests is contained on the Ministry of Justice website.
See Inquiries into deaths in Scotland
Criminal Justice is not yet a devolved function in Northern Ireland. Consequently, the organisations involved in the criminal justice system in Northern Ireland are ultimately responsible to Whitehall Ministers. Northern Ireland has its own Coroners Service that is administered by the Northern Ireland Court Service.
The role and responsibilities of the Coroner in Northern Ireland are determined by the Coroners Act (NI) 1959 and the Coroners Practice and Procedures Rules (NI) 1963.
The Coroners Service is headed by a High Court Judge. There is one Senior Coroner and two other full-time Coroners. These Coroners cover the whole of Northern Ireland there are no Coroners districts as in England and Wales.
Further information on the Coroners Service for Northern Ireland, and literature which it produces explaining its role, can be found at www.coronersni.gov.uk[External website].
Where appropriate, the role of the coroner includes:
Coroners are not responsible for declaring the cause of death – this will be found from evidence that is produced to them, either from a pathologist who has made a Post Mortem examination, or from another registered medical practitioner who has been in attendance on the deceased during their last illness and can give a professional opinion as to how (medically) the death came about.
The coroner does not make recommendations, however, under the rules of procedure, the coroner may, at the conclusion of an inquest, announce that he is writing to the appropriate authority to draw attention to matters that have become apparent in the course of evidence.
A coroner may summon as a witness to give evidence at an inquest, anyone who is in England and Wales. Any witness is required to answer truthfully the relevant questions put to them, although the coroner also has a duty to protect witnesses against self-incrimination.
The coroner will not, personally, normally speak or otherwise deal with the media but, instead, will rely upon the police or other dedicated media spokesperson. For more information about working with the media, see the Working with the media topic sheet.
In the London region, the Coroner's Support Service[External website] can assist people through the system.
The coroner's local authority has the responsibility for funding the coroner's service including all matters relating to inquests and post-mortem examinations. It is not up to the local authorities to conduct inquests but to support and resource the coroner. Some coroners' districts will consist of a number of local authority areas, particularly those within Greater London and the metropolitan counties.
For example, the tsunami coroner was the coroner covering Heathrow, as the UK bodies returned there. Hillingdon is the local authority covering Heathrow but the coroner's lead authority is the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, which meets all the financial costs of the coroner's service within West London. A proportion of these costs are recovered from the other local authorities within West London, including Hillingdon.
The 7th July coroners are the Inner North and Inner West London coroners, whose lead authorities are Camden and Westminster respectively. These councils will recover a proportion of the costs from the other local authorities making up those two districts.
There is no regional or central government responsibility for inquests.
The Ministry of Justice is now responsible for the policy in relation to coroners and inquests in respect of England and Wales.
The same arrangements as set out above apply in Wales – inquest policy has not been devolved.
See Inquiries into deaths in Scotland
Northern Ireland Coroners inquire into deaths reported to them that appear to be:
The Coroner will endeavour to establish the cause of death and will make whatever enquiries that are necessary to do this by ordering a post mortem examination, obtaining witness statements and medical records or holding an inquest.
The role of the Coroner in Northern Ireland is similar to that of the Coroner in England and Wales, but there are differences. In particular, the Northern Ireland Coroners have no authority to investigate deaths which occur outside Northern Ireland. This means that they cannot investigate deaths which occur abroad due to an emergency. In cases where a UK inquest is considered necessary, a body would be repatriated through GB or the Republic of Ireland and an inquest would be held by the coroner responsible for the port of entry.
The NI Court Service works closely with the Northern Ireland Office to ensure that the NI Criminal Justice system works effectively. Pathology services to Coroners are provided by the State Pathologist's Department, which is an arms-length body of the Northern Ireland Office.
Local authorities pay the salaries of coroners. The rates are agreed by the Joint Negotiating Committee for Coroners, whose membership consists of the Coroners' Society of England and Wales and the Local Government Association as deemed employers.
All costs relating to inquests and post-mortem examinations are met by local authorities.
Fees for post-mortem examinations and witness and jury expenses in relating to inquests are set by the Ministry of Justice, in accordance with section 24(1) of the Coroners Act 1988. These are promulgated to local authorities via the Local Government Association, most recently in April 2007. Local authorities themselves fix other fees under section 24(2) of the 1988 Coroners Act.
The National Assembly for Wales is responsible for the funding of local authorities in Wales.
See Inquiries into deaths in Scotland
Northern Ireland Court Service fund coroners in Northern Ireland, but the ultimate financial responsibility rest with the Ministry of Justice.
Funding for the pathology services in Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Office.
The following sources provide more information on coroners' inquests:
General enquiries: Cabinet Office, 22 Whitehall, London SW1A 2WH.
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