Coroners
Coroners are regulated by the Coroners Act (Northern Ireland) 1959. The Lord Chancellor is responsible for the administration of matters relating to Coroners.
The Northern Ireland Judicial Appointments Commission appoints coroners and deputy coroners for districts on such terms and conditions as may be approved, after consultation with the Treasury. Generally, a coroner must be a barrister or solicitor of at least five years’ standing. Solicitors or barristers acting as coroners may not conduct inquiries in cases where they have drawn up testamentary dispositions. A coroner who is a registered medical practitioner shall not conduct an inquest where he has attended a person as a practitioner within a month prior to death. Expenses reasonably and properly incurred in connection with coroner’s duties and holding of coroner courts are defrayed by the Assembly. They are to be defrayed in respect of costs incurred in proceedings, damages awarded against them, costs reasonably incurred, and reasonable settlement. The Lord Chancellor must pre-agree the indemnity.
A coroner is to hold an inquest in districts in which they are appointed. Every medical practitioner, registrar of deaths, funeral undertaker, or occupier, and every person in charge of an institution in which the deceased person was residing, who has reason to believe that the deceased died either directly or indirectly as a result of violence, misadventure, or by unfair means or as a result of negligence, misconduct, or malpractice, or from any cause other than natural illness or disease for which he had been seen and treated by a medical practitioner must, within 28 days of death or in such circumstances as may require investigation, notify the coroner in whose district of the facts and circumstances relating to death.
Where a person is found dead in unexpected or unexplained circumstances, suspicious circumstances, police within whose district the body is found shall give notice to the coroner immediately, together with such other information as they are able to, concerning the finding of the body or concerning the death.
If there is reason to believe a person died in any of the previous circumstances, they shall not be cremated or buried, nor shall any chemical be applied internally or externally or any alteration of any kind be made until the coroner so authorizes. Breach of the above provisions is an offence.
The coroner may take possession of bodies for the purpose of an investigation. He may instruct a constable to take possession of the body and may employ persons to assist him in the investigation. The coroner may direct exhumation of a body that has been buried within his district.
The coroner may order, if he considers it necessary to hold an inquest or post-mortem of a dead body, that the body shall be brought into a convenient mortuary or morgue or other suitable place within his district or outside it and shall make such arrangements for transport as he shall think desirable. Removal of a body outside the district does not affect his powers. Persons in charge of a mortuary or morgue must comply or may be guilty of an offence.
A coroner may hold an inquest either with or without a jury. Where more than one death occurs as a result of circumstances and it appears to a coroner who may hold an inquest into the deaths that one inquest ought to be held into all deaths, he may, with the consent of any other coroner, hold an inquest into all of the deaths with the consent of any other relevant coroner or may request the other coroner to hold the inquest.
Where the Attorney General has reason to believe a deceased person has died in circumstances which make the holding of an inquest advisable, he may direct any coroner to do so. The functions may be exercised by the Advocate General for Northern Ireland, if the Secretary of State certifies there is information relevant to the question of whether a direction should be given in relation to a death which includes information, the disclosure of which may be against the interests of national security.
An inquest may be undertaken without exhuming a body if it is known to the coroner that no good purpose will be affected by exhuming the body. An inquest may be held where a body cannot be found, where the coroner is satisfied that the death occurred within the district for which he is appointed.
A coroner may hold an inquest with or without a jury. He may summon witnesses. Witness summonses are served by the police.
It is an offence to interfere with evidence for the purpose of an investigation or preventing evidence to be produced for the purposes of an investigation or inquest or to do anything which a person knows or believes is likely to have that effect. It is an offence intentionally to suppress or conceal a document relevant to an inquest or to alter or destroy such a document.
A jury must be summoned if death occurred in prison; was a result of an accident, poisoning, or disease notice of which is required to be given to a government department, or to an inspector under Health and Safety at Work legislation, or the death occurred in circumstances, the continuance or possible recurrence of which is prejudicial to the health or safety of the public or section of the public. A coroner may summon a jury in any case where he believes it is desirable. Persons summoned to appear as jurors are obliged to attend.
A coroners’ jury consists of not less than 10 and not more than 11 persons.
For the purposes of an inquest other than certain inquests, the coroner may view the body but shall not be obliged to; no juror shall be obliged to view the body unless the coroner, having viewed the body himself, considers it necessary to assist the jury in arriving at their verdict. Every juror shall have the right to view the body, if he so wishes.
Where an inquest is held on a dead body, the coroner shall give appropriate information to the registrar of deaths within five days of the inquest being held, giving particulars required to be registered concerning the death, findings in relation to those particulars, and the cause of death, and stating the date and place at which the inquest was held.
Where a coroner decides an inquest is unnecessary, he shall issue authority to bury the body and forthwith transmit to the registrar of deaths a statement setting forth briefly the result of the investigation and the grounds on which the authority was issued. The statement is to contain particulars of death, sufficient to enable the deaths to be registered.
Where notice is brought to a coroner that it is intended to remove the body out of Northern Ireland, he may certify that he is satisfied as to the cause of death and that no circumstances necessitate retention of the body in Northern Ireland.
The Lord Chancellor is to keep a list of anatomists and pathologists to conduct postmortem examinations and analyses and furnish coroners with copies of such lists. Where on an inquest it appears that the cause of death has not been satisfactorily explained to him, he may employ a registered medical practitioner on the list to perform a complete post-mortem examination.
A coroner may require a post-mortem by a medical practitioner on the above list, which need not necessarily. He may decide as a result of the post-mortem that an inquest is unnecessary, and shall so certify to the registrar of deaths.
The medical practitioner who performs a post-mortem shall report the result immediately to the coroner, and such a report shall not be furnished to anyone else without permission. The court may order a coroner to produce for the purposes of proceedings a certified copy of such a report within the previous ten years.
The coroner may order analysis of anything concerning a dead body as may be necessary. It may be conducted under the supervision of a medical practitioner on the list.
A jury in the coroner’s court shall give their verdict where they all agree on it. Where they do not all agree after a reasonable time as the coroner may determine to agree on a verdict, the coroner may discharge the jury and summon another jury. A coroner has jurisdiction to inquire into findings of treasure trove within his jurisdiction. The provisions relating to post-mortems apply as modified to such an inquest.
A person who insults, acts disrespectfully towards a coroner, or coroner’s officer or any witness; or willfully interrupts proceedings, is guilty of an offence of contempt of court. Any officer of the court or constable may be ordered by the coroner to take the person into custody, until the rising of the court. The coroner may impose a fine of up to £2500.