The New Coroners Bill: An Overview

1
The New Coroners BillAn Overview

• Owain Thomas
• 1 Crown Office Row
• 21 September 2006

2
Summary

• Five Key Reforms
• Rights for the bereaved
• Leadership of the Chief Coroner
• New powers of investigation
• Reporting Restrictions
• Chief Medical Adviser

3
Three key policies

• An improved service for bereaved people and
  others
• National leadership for a local system
• More effective investigations
• Political context Shipman and Organ Retention

4
Practical Effects

• Abolition of Coroners Act 1988
• Fewer Coroners 60-65 full time
• New areas determined by Lord Chancellor
• All new Coroners legally qualified
• New categories Chief, Senior, Area and Assistant
  Coroners
• Coronial Advisory Council

5
The structure of the Bill

• Part I- Investigation into deaths
• Part II - Investigation into treasure
• Part III- Further provision in relation to
  investigations and deaths
• Part IV-Governance
• Part V- Supplementary

6
Part I Investigations into Death

• Duty to investigate deaths (cl.1)
• No requirement for sudden death of unknown
  cause
• Deaths more than 50 years ago (cl.3)
• Deaths outside the UK (cl. 5 and 6)
• Asking/Telling another Coroner to investigate
  (cl.7and 8)

7
Statutory Purpose

• Who, when, where and by what means (cl.10)
• Middleton inquests in what circumstances
  (cl.10(2))
• Duty to hold an inquest (cl.11)
• Outcome a determination and a finding (cl.12)

8
Middleton

• In what circumstances do you have investigate in
  what circumstances the death occurred?
• Article 2- the protection of life
• Article 2- the duty to investigate death
• R(ota) Takoushis v- HM Coroner for North London
  2005 EWCA Civ 1440

9
Juries

• New provisions in cl. 13
• Fewer mandatory jury inquests
• Discretion in other cases to be supplemented by
  new rules
• Number of jurors not less than 5 and not more
  than 7
• Majority verdict for at least 4

10
New Powers

• Post mortems (cl.26)
• Entry, search and seizure (cl.50-51)
• Reporting Restrictions (cl. 30 and 41)
• Retention of Human Remains (cl.53)

11
The Chief Coroner

• Role
• Appeals (cl. 60)
• appeals to the Court of Appeal (cl.61)