The inquest process
An inquest is held at one or more public court hearings. The purpose of the inquest is to determine who died and when, where and how the person came about their death.
The Coroner will usually determine the outcome of an inquest, but may decide to summon a jury to make findings if that is in the public interest.
In more complex cases or where there are many witnesses, there may be a pre-inquest review hearing where the coroner sets out how the inquest will run, the main issues that will be considered, the documents that will be needed, what evidence will be heard, and what witnesses and experts will be called.
Interested persons will be notified of the date and time of all inquest hearings and where they will be held.
Our aim is that inquests should usually be completed within six months after the death has been reported to the coroner. However, it may take longer than six months to complete the inquest process. This may be because other investigations into a person's death have to take place first, for example by the police or organisations such as the Health and Safety Inspectorate for a death at work. It may also be because specialist medical evidence is required to reach a conclusion.
The number of hearings and the length of those hearings will depend on the individual case and how complex it is.
Inquest opening hearings
Where an inquest is needed, the Coroner will ‘open’ it as soon as possible. The hearing to open the inquest is usually very brief.
The purpose of a hearing to open an inquest is to consider and record evidence of who the deceased was and when and where the person died. Where a post mortem is required, it is usually carried out before the inquest is opened, though the report of the post-mortem may not be available until sometime later. At the conclusion of the opening of the inquest the Coroner will usually release the body so that funeral arrangements can be made by the next of kin and then adjourn or pause the inquest until a later date when they expect to have all the information required for the inquest hearing. At the opening of the inquest, the Coroner will usually set the date of later hearings where possible.
For some inquests, where all the information is available already, the inquest can be opened and the Coroner will hear the inquest and make full conclusions in that hearing. The coroner’s officer will tell you if this is likely to be the case.
Pre-inquest review hearings
Where the case is complex, the Coroner may hold one or more hearings before the inquest itself, called pre-inquest reviews.
Pre-inquest review hearings will deal with matters of procedure and other issues that need to be decided before the inquest hearing can take place. These may be things like the ‘scope’ of the inquest (what matters it will cover), what documents will be required and which witnesses and experts will give evidence.
Interested persons will be invited to the pre-inquest review and can give their views about what the inquest should consider. The Coroner will consider those views but the decision is for the Coroner. You do not have to attend the pre-inquest review if you are an interested person and do not want to. If you have a lawyer you may want them to attend either with you or instead of you.
Disclosure
As an interested person, you will receive copies of documents used in the inquest, such as medical records and witness statements. This is called ‘disclosure’. If you don’t get documents you think you should have, contact the coroner's officers who will liaise with the Court Services Team.
The Coroner will not charge for documents given to you before or during the inquest, but may charge for those given after.
The Coroner might not give you every document or might only provide you with part of a document. This might, for example, be appropriate if the document contains information that is very sensitive for a living individual. The Coroner will explain why they are withholding part or all of a document if that is appropriate.
All inquest hearings are recorded. You can ask for a recording or a transcript, but you might have to pay for the transcript.
Resumed hearings
After the opening of the inquest and any pre-inquest review hearing, the Coroner will convene a resumed inquest hearing. At the resumed hearing the Coroner will hear from witnesses and review evidence, including post-mortem and other expert reports. A resumed hearing may only last for a few hours, but in more complex cases can take place over several days or weeks.
An resumed hearing is different from other court hearings. There is no prosecution or defence, and the Coroner decides what evidence to hear. The aim of the inquest is to discover the facts surrounding the death, not to find anyone criminally or civilly liable.
Evidence/Order of evidence
You may be asked to give evidence if you have information about the death. The Coroner decides who gives evidence and in what order. If you think a particular witness should be called, inform the coroner’s officer before the hearing. The Coroner will decide if the evidence a person might give is relevant to the issues at the inquest.
If you are a witness then you may be asked to submit a written to the Coroner. Some evidence will be read without the witness attending. This is decided by the coroner before the hearing.
Witnesses like doctors, police officers, or anyone present at the death may be asked to attend. If you are asked to attend a hearing to give evidence in person then it is important that you do so. If this is difficult, discuss it with a coroner’s officer. Evidence may in some cases be given via video link if that is necessary.
Lawyers representing witnesses and other interested persons may may attend for the whole of the hearing or just those parts that are relevant for their client.
Oath or Affirmation
Witnesses must give evidence under oath (a promise to tell the truth based on religious belief) or a solemn affirmation (a promise to tell the truth that is not based on religious belief).
Witnesses should inform the Coroner’s officer of their preference for an oath or affirmation.
Asking Questions
The Coroner will ask questions of witnesses and may review any written statements with them.
Once the Coroner has finished their questions any of the interested parties or their legal representative can ask questions. Questions should focus on determining the facts of the death, the Coroner will decide if the question is relevant and if necessary can assist with asking questions on behalf of an interested person who might find the process distressing.
Sensitive Information
The Coroner will warn witnesses they do not have to answer a question because that might incriminate them.
Relevant evidence that is produced to the Coroner may include private information about the deceased that is not directly relevant to the issues that need to be determined at the inquest. You can ask the coroner to keep certain information private, but the coroner decides what it is necessary to disclose as part of the process.