inquest lawyer

coroner inquest



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Article 2 ECHR Cases

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Coroners' Inquests

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Pre-Inquest Matters

Private Post-Mortem

Right to Question Witnesses

Rights of the Bereaved

Unanswered Questions

Perhaps you have questions about the death of a loved one. You may feel that you need answers before you can even begin to make sense out of what has happened, and in order properly to grieve.

A Role for Those Left Behind

The inquest process is intended, in part, to answer such questions. Parents, children and spouses or partners of the deceased all have a statutory right to ask questions of the witnesses giving evidence at a coroner’s inquest. The coroner may also grant the same right to other persons whom s/he regards as having a “proper interest”. Coroners ought also, before the inquest, to hear the views of these people as to who should be called to give evidence, and as to any issues which should be explored at inquest.

Questions can be (and often are) asked at the inquest by the family members themselves; the inquest should be conducted to make this as easy as possible. However, some people prefer to engage a professional advocate (usually a barrister or solicitor) to put their questions to the witnesses for them, and to make representations about the conduct of the inquest on their behalf.

Other Interested Parties

In some cases other parties may also attend to ask questions. This may include:

  • the police; any person thought to have caused the death (wholly or in part);
  • trade unions (where the death may have been caused by the deceased’s employment);
  • persons connected in some ways with any life insurance policy issued on the life of the deceased; and
  • government inspectors.

These parties may be attending to pursue their own interests and it is sometimes an objective to prevent the inquest from pursuing certain lines of enquiry. When such persons attend, they are usually represented by barristers or solicitors or both.

Purpose of the Inquest

Where an inquest is held, it is the coroner’s job (sometimes with a jury) to establish the facts and an explanation of a death that may have arisen in part from an unnatural cause. Neither the coroner nor jury may make any findings amounting to criminal or civil liability for the death, though some of its findings may be very relevant to such matters.

Where the state’s performance of its duty to protect life is in issue (often where somebody dies in custody) the investigation will in some respects be more far-reaching. Such inquests almost invariably attract as parties the various public authorities whose conduct may be called into question; and these parties will almost invariably be represented by experienced solicitors and barristers.

This Site

In these pages you will find some information about various aspects of the coronial process. If you wish to instruct a barrister, either to provide advice or to represent you at the inquest, you may complete the “Contact a Barrister” form and you will receive a response from a barrister accredited to accept instructions directly from you.