Review of the Coroner Service - The Department of Justice and ...

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ISSUES AND RESPONCESInquest adjournmentInquests must be adjourned for a specific time ifthe Gardaí indicate that criminal proceedings arebeing taken in relation to a death. The decisionon whether or not to proceed with such aninquest is one for the coroner and the Group feltthat the particular circumstances where such aninquest would, in fact proceed, should be spelledout in the proposed Coroner’s Rules as outlined inthe Group’s notes on this topic. On a specificpractical point, the Courts Service should ensurethat when cases have been completed, details,including the name of the deceased and wherethey died, should be transmitted as a matter ofobligation to the coroner. Furthermore,applications for adjournments of this kind shouldalways be on points which refer to the cause ofdeath – an issue not always addressed undercurrent practice.RECOMMENDATIONS57. The criteria for deciding whether ornot to resume an inquest which hasbeen postponed due to criminalproceedings should be specified inCoroner’s Rules.58. The current legal arrangementswhereby details of the outcome ofcriminal proceedings are conveyed bythe courts to the coroner should beimplemented in practice and shouldinclude the name of the deceased andwhere the death took place.59. The appropriate systems should be inplace to ensure that the Courts informthe coroner when criminalproceedings are concluded.WitnessesA number of specific points in this context wereexamined by the Group. While a coroner can callwitnesses, including medical witnesses, at aninquest, he is restricted from calling a secondmedical witness unless a majority of jurors ask himto do so. The Group feel that this is anunnecessary restriction in the context of (a)experience over the years (b) the realities of thesubject matter of most inquests, and (c) the factthat coroners should not be confined to theproximate causes of death in their investigation.RECOMMENDATION60. There should be no restriction on theextent to which coroners can callmedical witnesses.Disqualification from holding an inquestGiven that a coroner can be either asolicitor/barrister or a doctor, it sometimeshappens that he may have been involved in themedical or legal affairs of the deceased. Thequestion of disqualification arises therefore.Under present arrangements a small number ofthese situations are set out in the primarylegislation. The Group felt that these should bedeveloped by the Rules Committee and includedin Coroner’s Rules.RECOMMENDATION61. The range of circumstances underwhich a coroner can be disqualifiedfrom holding an inquest should be setout in Coroner’s Rules.Ensuring attendance and production ofdocumentsA coroner can issue a summons for any person toattend his court. While the Act currently providesthat this be delivered to the person’s address bythe Gardaí, it would be more appropriate if thesummons could also be delivered by registered65
ISSUES AND RESPONCESpost. Failure to attend is only punishable by a fivepound fine and the Group felt that this should beupdated to at least £1,000. Having paid the fine,the person is still not obliged to attend court andthe Group noted at a very early stage in theirdeliberations that the current provision in the Actwhich allows the coroner to cite for contempt isdefective and contains a constitutional difficulty.The problems revolve around the current powersof each coroner to certify the offence of contemptto the High Court. Judgements in other casesrelated to the actual certification of contempthave highlighted this issue and there is an urgentneed to alter the contempt provision in line withconstitutional imperatives. The Group recommendthat the Tribunals of Enquiry (Amendment) Act,1979 be used a a precedent in addressing thisissue.It should be noted that the powers of the coronerto help him to conduct court proceedings are notconfined to the compelling of witnesses and maycover other aspects of court conduct such asproduction of documents and the obtaining ofevidence. It is essential, however, that the powersrelating to contempt envisaged by the originallegal provisions are construed in such a way so asto render them constitutional. In practice,coroners need to be able to compel theattendance of witnesses and to insist on theproduction of documents. The Group felt thatprovisions based on the Tribunal of Enquiries(Amendment) Act, 1979 and the Committees ofthe Houses of the Oireachtas (Compellability,Privileges and Immunities of Witness) Act, 1997would be appropriate legal precedents in thisregard.RECOMMENDATIONS62. Fines for failing to respond to coronersummons to attend should beincreased substantially to at least£1,000.63. A summons to attend should becapable of being delivered byregistered post in addition to deliveryby the Gardaí.64. Powers, including witness attendanceand document production, should begiven to the coroner to apply to theHigh Court to seek compliance withtheir directions. These powers shouldbe based on the Tribunal of Enquiries(Amendment) Act, 1979 and theCommittees of the Houses of theOireachtas (Compellability, Privilegesand Immunities of Witness) Act, 1997.Anonymity of witnessesThe Group believed that anonymity of witnessesat the Coroner’s Court was inappropriate exceptunder highly warranted and unusualcircumstances. On examining the issue, the Groupcould only make a case for two particularinstances; State security and personal security. Itwould be up to each coroner to consider aparticular application and keeping in mind therequirements of natural and constitutional justice,make a finding on the individual facts. Coronerswould need specific training in this area. It shouldbe noted that consequential amendments will berequired to section 29 of the 1962 Coroners Act toensure that anonymity in these cases is preserved.66
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Reviewof theCORONER SERVICEReport o
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AcknowledgmentsThe Group wish to ac
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3 Issues and Responses . . . . . .
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Terms of ReferenceTéarmaí Tagarth
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARYISSUES (CONT.)RESP
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARYISSUES (CONT.)RESP
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LIST OF RECOMMENDATIONS3.2 THE POSI
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LIST OF RECOMMENDATIONS25. As far a
Page 23 and 24: LIST OF RECOMMENDATIONSwhenever it
Page 25 and 26: LIST OF RECOMMENDATIONSfrivolous or
Page 27 and 28: LIST OF RECOMMENDATIONS• producin
Page 30 and 31: 1BACKROUND AND HISTORY21
Page 32 and 33: 1. BACKROUND AND HISTORY1.1 ESTABLI
Page 34 and 35: BACKROUND AND HISTORYcase loads var
Page 36: BACKROUND AND HISTORYoccurring sudd
Page 40 and 41: 2. INTERNATIONAL PRACTICE AND EXPER
Page 42 and 43: INTERNATIONAL PRACTICE AND EXPERIEN
Page 51 and 52: 3.1 INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . .
Page 53 and 54: ISSUES AND RESPONCESensure that cor
Page 56 and 57: ISSUES AND RESPONCESIn order to mee
Page 58 and 59: ISSUES AND RESPONCESRECOMMENDATIONS
Page 60 and 61: ISSUES AND RESPONCESFig. B* Points
Page 62 and 63: ISSUES AND RESPONCESin the context
Page 64 and 65: ISSUES AND RESPONCESResponsibility
Page 66 and 67: ISSUES AND RESPONCESprotection to v
Page 70 and 71: ISSUES AND RESPONCEScycle of corone
Page 72 and 73: ISSUES AND RESPONCESconsidered by t
Page 76 and 77: ISSUES AND RESPONCESRECOMMENDATION6
Page 78 and 79: ISSUES AND RESPONCESthe system come
Page 80 and 81: ISSUES AND RESPONCESIn summary, the
Page 82 and 83: ISSUES AND RESPONCES• that the is
Page 86 and 87: ISSUES AND RESPONCESat the same lev
Page 88 and 89: ISSUES AND RESPONCES• be in a pos
Page 90 and 91: ISSUES AND RESPONCESEstablishing a
Page 92 and 93: ISSUES AND RESPONCES• preparation
Page 94: ISSUES AND RESPONCESobjectives set
Page 98 and 99: IMPLEMENTATION• The availability
Page 100 and 101: 5APPENDICES91
Page 102 and 103: APPENDIX AGROUP AND SUBGROUP MEMBER
Page 104 and 105: APPENDIX BPUBLIC ADVERTISEMENT FOR
Page 106 and 107: APPENDICESIrish Association for Cou
Page 108 and 109: APPENDIX DGUIDE TO THE 1962 CORONER
Page 110 and 111: APPENDICESPart II - Sections 6 to 1
Page 112 and 113: APPENDICESSection Heading Sub-secti
Page 114 and 115: APPENDICESPart III - Sections 17 to
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APPENDICESSection Heading Sub-secti
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Section1. Short title and commencem
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APPENDICESNumber 9 of 1962.CORONERS
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APPENDICESsection in like manner as
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APPENDICES(7) Where an appeal is ta
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APPENDICES14.-(1) No person shall b
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APPENDICESor misconduct or malpract
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APPENDICES(2) Whenever an inquest i
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APPENDICESpreserved by him under th
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APPENDICES38.-(1) A coroner may exa
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APPENDICES45.-An inquest which has
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APPENDICES51.-The power conferred b
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APPENDICES58.-(1) A coroner may, in
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APPENDIX FLIST OF OTHER RELEVANT LE
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APPENDICES(B)Mr. Thomas Francis Gre
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APPENDICES(C)Dr. Brian Farrell, Dub
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APPENDICES(D)Mr. Denis Desmond & MC
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APPENDIX HLIST OF CORONER DISTRICTS
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APPENDICESDistrict Deaths reported
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APPENDICESNotes for assistance of R
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APPENDICESA hospital pathologist wi
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APPENDICES6.11 PROTOCOLS FOR EXAMIN
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APPENDIX KDRAFT FORM FOR INCLUSION
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APPENDICESPart II To be completed a
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