Coroners

This page highlights some of the current parliamentary material available on coroners. This includes select committee reports, briefing papers on current legislation and other subjects produced by the parliamentary research services, and the latest Early Day Motions put down by MPs. Related information can also be found under burial and cremation.

Standard Notes

Date	Description
18.07.2012	Challenging coroners'decisions
	There is no right of appeal from an inquest. However, a coroner's decision or an inquest verdict can sometimes be challenged by way of an application under section 13 of the Coroners Act 1988, an application for judicial review, or an application under the Human Rights Act 1998. Anyone seeking to challenge a coroner's decision or an inquest verdict should take specific legal advice as quickly as possible to establish whether there are grounds to do so and the relevant time limit.
06.01.2012	Coroners' inquests
	The Coroners Act 1988 requires coroners to hold inquests where there is reasonable cause to suspect that the deceased died a violent or unnatural death, a sudden death of which the cause is unknown, or has died in prison. The purpose of an inquest is to establish who the deceased was, where and when the deceased died, and how the deceased came by his or her death.
25.11.2011	The Office of the Chief Coroner
	The Coroners and Justice Act 2009 provides for the appointment of a new Chief Coroner and associated officers, although most of the relevant provisions have not been implemented. Following the election, the Government first announced that the Office of the Chief Coroner would be abolished, because of the costs involved, and that some of the Chief Coroner's functions would be transferred to suitable alternative bodies. It then proposed to leave the Office on the statute book, but to transfer some of the functions of the Chief Coroner to the Lord Chief Justice and the Lord Chancellor, and to set up a Ministerial Board and supporting Bereaved Organisations Committee. The changes were to be effected largely through the Public Bodies Bill [HL] and associated regulations. These proposals attracted considerable criticism, both from within Parliament, mainly during consideration of the Public Bodies Bill [HL], and from interested organisations. On 22 November 2011, the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, Kenneth Clarke, announced that, having listened to concerns, he had decided to implement the Office of the Chief Coroner.
27.05.2011	Inquests of Service personnel - jurisdiction and recent developments
28.01.2010	Legal aid for representation at an inquest.
	Civil legal aid has not been generally available to cover representation at an inquest and the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have brought this contentious issue into the political and media spotlight. Changes to eligibility for legal aid for representation at inquests have now been made by the Coroners and Justice Act 2009. Once in force, the Act will make provision for civil legal aid to cover advocacy at inquests into deaths of military service personnel who die on active service and inquests into deaths in custody and in the course of arrest or other action by the police.

Research Papers

Date	Description
19.03.2009	Coroners and Justice Bill: Committee stage report
	The Coroners and Justice Bill deals with a wide range of matters including: coroners; death certification; murder, infanticide and suicide; prohibited images of children; hatred against persons on grounds of sexual orientation; criminal evidence, investigations and procedure; sentencing; legal aid; criminal memoirs and data protection.
22.01.2009	Coroners and Justice Bill: coroners and death certification
	This paper is one of two which examine the main proposals of the Coroners and Justice Bill 2008-09. It deals with the provisions relating to coroners and other matters set out in Part 1 of the Bill. See also Research Paper 09/06.

Select Committee Reports

Date	Description
07.07.2009	Legislative scrutiny: Finance Bill;
	Government response. Human Rights Joint Select Committee report [Commons and Lords]
12.05.2009	Legislative scrutiny: Coroners and Justice Bill (certified inquests).
	Human Rights Joint Select Committee report [Commons and Lords]
17.03.2009	Legislative scrutiny: Coroners and Justice Bill.
	Human Rights Joint Select Committee report [Commons and Lords]
20.01.2009	Coroners and Justice Bill.
	Justice Select Committee report [Commons]

Early Day Motions

Date	Description
06.07.2011	CHIEF CORONER
	That this House believes the judicial position of the Chief Coroner would provide much needed national leadership for the coroners system, significantly improve the experience of bereaved ...
05.03.2008	CORONERS BILL AND THE TREATMENT OF MESOTHELIOMA PATIENTS
	That this House urges the Government to make the passing of the draft Coroners Bill a priority; calls for the needs of the bereaved families to be put at the centre of the coroners' ...
19.02.2008	CORONERS' SERVICE
	That this House recognises the need to reform the coroners' service; believes that the unacceptable delays in concluding inquests into the deaths of those members of the armed forces ...
19.02.2008	CORONERS' SERVICE
	That this House recognises the need to reform the coroners' service; believes that the unacceptable delays in concluding inquests into the deaths of those members of the armed forces ...

Lords Library Notes

Date	Description
20.04.2009	Coroners and Justice Bill (HL Bill 33 of 2008-09). LLN 2009/004
	Coroners and Justice Bill. House of Lords Library Note 2009/004