Inquest

An inquest is an inquiry to work out who the deceased was, the medical cause and when and where they died and how they came by their death. It is held in public, sometimes with a jury. It is up to the coroner how to organise the enquiry in a way to best serve the public interest and the interests of the relatives.

The coroner will hold an inquest if the death was:

• violent or unnatural or
• caused by a reportable industrial disease or is reportable to a government department or
• the death occurred in prison or in police custody or as a result of any conduct by a police officer or
• if the cause of death remains uncertain after post-mortem examination.

Coroners hold inquests in these circumstances even if the death occurred abroad (and the body is returned to Britain).

If a body is lost (usually at sea) a coroner can hold an inquest by order of the Secretary of State if death is likely to have occurred in or near a coroner’s jurisdiction.

If an inquest is held, the coroner must inform amoungst others (Coroners Rules 1984, Coroners Rules 2005) the following people:

• the married partner of the deceased
• the nearest relative (if different)
• and the personal representative (if different from above).

Relatives can attend an inquest and can ask proper relevant questions of witnesses but usually they may only ask questions about the medical cause and circumstances of the death. It may be important to have a lawyer to represent you if the death was caused by a road accident, or an accident at work, or other circumstances which could lead to a claim for compensation. You cannot get legal aid for this.

If the enquiries take some time, ask the coroner to give you a letter confirming the death. You can use this letter for social security and National Insurance (NI) purposes.

The coroner may give you an Order for Burial (cream form 101) or a Certificate E for Cremation (yellow form 102) so that the funeral can take place. This may be done before the inquest is completed, provided the body is not required for further examination.

The coroner will also send a Certificate After Inquest (yellow form 120A), stating the cause of death, to the registrar. This allows the death to be registered.

Where the deceased has been unlawfully moved there may be a need for a second post mortem examination. The Home Office has issued a Home Office Circular - 30/1999 Post Mortem Examinations and the early release of bodies.

Documents

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	Coroner's charter - this charter tells you what standards of performance are to be expected in the coroner service and what to do if something goes wrong. File format Adobe Acrobat (pdf) - 74.5KB
	Inquests - a guide to the coroner’s inquest system. File format Adobe Acrobat (pdf) - 19KB

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