Opening the Inquest
Introduction
1. The Coroners and Justice Act 2009 (the Act) introduced a new regime allowing a greater flexibility for coroners considering deaths reported to them. A three stage process allows (1) preliminary inquiries with no investigation,[1] (2) an investigation, with no inquest, or (3) an investigation, plus an inquest.
2. There is no need to wait until an inquest has been opened before releasing the deceased’s body for burial or cremation. The effect of reg.20 (external link) and reg.21 (external link) is that coroners must release the deceased’s body as soon as practicable if the body is no longer needed for the purposes of their investigation.
Discontinuing an investigation
3. When the coroner’s duty to investigate a death has arisen under s.1 of the Act (external link) the coroner is under a duty (by virtue of s.6 of the Act (external link)) to hold an inquest unless the investigation is discontinued pursuant to s.4 of the Act (external link).
4. An investigation may only be discontinued if, before the inquest has begun, the cause of death has become clear such that the coroner thinks that it is not necessary to continue the investigation (such as when a natural cause of death is revealed on a post-mortem examination and there is no suspicion the death occurred in custody or state detention). In all other cases where the s.1 duty has been triggered an inquest must be opened.
Continuing to an inquest
5. Rule 5(1) (external link) requires the inquest to be opened as soon as reasonably practicable after the date on which the coroner considers that the duty under s.6 (external link) arises. Opening an inquest is an important part of the coronial proceedings not least because proceedings are then deemed ‘active’ for contempt of court purposes but also because once an inquest is opened, the coroner has no power to discontinue the investigation.
6. Once opened an inquest must be resumed and concluded. The only exception to this is where there is reason to suspend an inquest under schedule 1 part 1 (external link) of the Act[2] and thereafter the inquest is not subsequently resumed under schedule 1 part 2 (external link).
Opening in private
7. Rule 11(1) (external link) provides that an inquest must be opened in public. This will generally prevent openings in a coroner’s private administrative office which is not accessible to the public, as any person who chooses to do so is entitled to attend the hearing and so this should be facilitated. However, where the coroner does not have immediate access to a court room and unavoidable delay would ensue, then rule 11(2) (external link) permits a coroner to open the inquest privately and subsequently announce that the inquest has been opened at the next inquest hearing held in public. Coroners should not, however, fall back on rule11(2) as an easy excuse for not opening an inquest in public. Coroners should be mindful that the principle of open justice is a long-standing and important tenet of constitutional law. Therefore if an inquest has been opened in private a record should be kept that can then be read into the public record at the next hearing.
8. Whilst it may be argued that the requirement under rule 26 (external link) to record every ‘inquest hearing’ does not strictly apply to an opening, it is nevertheless good practice to record all coronial proceedings, and so it is preferable for a recording of the inquest opening to be made and kept; this includes those cases where the inquest has been opened in private.
Matters to consider prior to opening an inquest
9. Prior to an inquest being opened it is good practice to notify the bereaved and, where practicable, other relevant interested persons (IPs)[3] of the time, date and place of the inquest opening. Whilst proactively giving notification is not a legal requirement, it is not uncommon for some bereaved to wish to attend what is usually a very short administrative hearing. As the coroner does have a legal duty (under reg.6 (external link)) to attempt to identify the deceased’s ‘next of kin or personal representative’ and inform them of the decision to open an investigation, giving them notification of the date of the opening of the inquest at the same time is a simple step.
10. When the bereaved do attend an inquest’s opening this may present a useful opportunity to discuss the inquest process with them, identify those family members who wish to take up the right to be considered an IP in the investigation, and be apprised of any issues or concerns that the bereaved may have which come within the coroner’s investigatory remit.
11. Details of inquests to be opened should also be made available on the coroner’s website so that public and press can be made aware of the date should they wish to attend. In cases of high profile deaths members of the press will often wish to attend the opening. The right to attend a public hearing is of little value unless notice of that hearing is made publicly available in advance.
At the opening
12. At the opening of the inquest, the coroner must, where possible, set the dates on which any subsequent hearings are scheduled to take place.[4] To comply with r.8 (external link) the inquest will normally be listed within six-months of the date on which the coroner was made aware of the death, or as soon as is reasonably practicable after that date.
13. Where the date for the inquest hearing cannot yet be fixed, for example in complex cases which require a case management hearing, the date of any future pre-inquest review (PIR) hearing should be identified at the opening. This should take account of the date by which any disclosure is expected to have been made available to IPs so that there may be meaningful discussion at any PIR.
14. The importance of setting dates for future hearings cannot be over-emphasised. Uncertainty causes distress to the bereaved and not setting a date frequently causes unnecessary delay. Where the inquest is also required to satisfy the state’s Article 2 ECHR obligations there is a requirement of promptness and reasonable expedition in the investigation.
15. Two matters that will require consideration before opening an inquest are:
- what evidence needs to be admitted;
- how that evidence is to be admitted.
Evidence to be admitted
16. Evidence of identification is required as a minimum at all inquests. Whenever practicable it is good practice to receive evidence at the opening of those registration particulars that will subsequently be required to complete part five of the Record of Inquest. That is the deceased’s:
- date and place of birth;
- name and surname;
- sex;
- maiden surname if a married woman;
- date and place of death;
- occupation and usual address.
17. Evidence of the general circumstances of the death, how the body was found, whether a post-mortem examination has been conducted and the provisional cause of death may also be received. However, care must be taken to avoid giving the impression on opening that a conclusion has already been reached on any issue.
How evidence is admitted
18. The manner in which evidence of identification and the brief circumstances of the death is given at the opening can vary from court to court. In some jurisdictions evidence will be given orally on oath by a coroner’s officer. In others, a formal written statement may be read into evidence by the coroner’s officer or by the coroner in accordance with r.23 (external link). In some high-profile cases with significant media attention evidence regarding identification and brief circumstances of the death may be provided under oath at the opening by the Senior Investigating Police Officer.
19. There is no set format for an opening statement by a coroner’s officer; a suggested example is below (Appendix 1.1 Opening statement).
Directions on opening an inquest
20. As a court of record a coroner’s court is entitled to give reasonable directions for the management of the proceedings. Depending upon the information available at this early stage the coroner should consider:
- setting out those individuals or organisations who are to be recognised as IPs in the inquest
- identifying any documents and records that should be provided to the coroner
- setting a timetable for the provision of witness statements and reports
21. At openings, coroners should not normally need to use the power to require evidence to be produced under schedule 5 of the Act (external link). Much can be achieved by the use of directions and local agreements. Coroners will usually have come to an arrangement with those local public bodies that are frequently designated as IPs at inquests in their jurisdiction as to an agreed procedures for the production of witness statements, contemporaneous records and reports etc.
22. In some cases directions may already have been given in private when the coroner made the decision to proceed to an investigation and an inquest. However, unless there is a good reason not to do so, it is good practice and reflects open justice for any coronial directions already made to be restated in public at the inquest’s opening and formally recorded.
23. An example of a coroner’s opening with directions is appended below (Appendix 1.2 Coroner’s opening and record of directions)
[1] s.1(7) CJA 2009
[2] pending homicide charges or where a Public Inquiry is anticipated.
[3] Defined in s.47 of the Act – see Chapter 4 (link)
[4] rule 5(2)