An inquest is a public enquiry into an individual’s death. The aim is to establish how they passed away. If a suspicious death has occurred – a death which was violent for example, a death has occurred in a prison or the cause of a death is unknown following a post mortem, an inquest will have to take place. If you are involved in an inquest you are likely to feel upset, concerned or confused and will want to know more about the inquest process.
Who conducts an inquest?
An inquest is conducted by a coroner. A coroner is an individual who will work in a specific jurisdiction. For example if the person has passed away in East Devon, the coroner for East Devon will conduct the inquest. A coroner is an independent judicial officer and they will have spent 5 years practising as a Registered Medical Practitioner, a Solicitor or a Barrister before they can be appointed to the role. The coroner is assisted by coroner’s officers. They will receive any death reports directly.
What happens during an inquest?
During an inquest witnesses will be questioned and information will be gathered to ascertain the cause of the deceased’s death. It is not a criminal enquiry; this will be dealt with by the courts if one is needed. The coroner chooses in which order to call evidence. The witnesses will then be questioned first by the coroner and then by other individuals.
Witnesses can be questioned by individuals other than the coroner. However, they must be one of the following to be allowed to do so:
- A spouse, a direct family member or a personal representative of the deceased
- A beneficiary of the deceased’s life insurance
- Anyone who may have contributed towards the death of the deceased
- A trade union representative for the deceased, should the individual have potentially passed away due to an accident at work or industrial disease.
- Chief officer of police
- A government representative
- A representative of an enforcing body
- Any other properly interested person – this will be determined by the coroner.
Any individuals who feel they have information regarding an inquest are allowed to contact the coroner’s office directly and they will then be able to give a statement. Reports will also been drawn up regarding the incident during the course of the inquest. To add to this, during an inquest a coroner can generate further enquiries into any matters which he feels are relevant to the inquest.
Sometimes a jury will be present at the inquest, sometimes they will not. This will be dependent on the circumstances of the death. The jury will consist of 7-11 individuals and a majority verdict in which no more than two individuals disagree must be reached. The coroner and the jury will not be questioned on the case and will not offer an opinion on the case during the proceedings. The coroner will conduct the enquiry, sum up the evidence and will offer legal guidance to those who require it.
