Births, marriages, deaths and nationality Inquests in court

What to expect

• The Coroner will start by explaining what an inquest is in law and what issues they will be covering.   
• If there is a jury, they will be brought into court and sworn in at this point.   
• The Coroner will then ask each witness in turn to come to the witness box and go through their statement.  They will usually start with the family member who provided the background (antecedent) statement.  
  • You will need to take either an oath on a holy book or a non-religious affirmation, stating that you will give true evidence.  The Coroner will then read out the statement you made and give you the chance to add to, change or confirm what you have said. (If you have mobility problems or are feeling particularly nervous and would rather give your evidence from where you are sitting, that is usually fine.) 
  • The Coroner will call on each of the other witnesses.  They will either go through their statement with them in the same way or ask them to present the main findings of their report.   
  • The Coroner will ask any questions they have, and then invite the family and any other properly interested persons to ask questions if they want to.  
• If the Coroner is admitting any written reports into evidence, they will read out the relevant parts. 
• When all the evidence has been heard, the Coroner will give their conclusion.  Alternatively, if there is a jury, the Coroner will sum up the evidence before sending them out to decide the conclusion.   
• Legal representatives will have the chance to address the Coroner before they decide the conclusion. 

How long it takes 

Inquest hearings can last anything from 15 minutes to several days.  It depends on the case.  Most inquests take half a day or less.  We will give you an estimate when we call you about arranging the date. 

If someone is responsible for your relative's death 

It is important to understand that an inquest is different from a trial.  It is not about deciding issues of guilt, blame or compensation.  It is purely a fact-finding inquiry.  These things are dealt with separately in the civil and criminal courts.   

The Coroner does not give out sentences or penalties. 

This means that there are some differences in the way an inquest runs.  For example, lawyers do not make opening and closing speeches, and questioning is straightforward and factual - there is no cross-questioning or attempts to 'trip up' a witness.   

People may have different opinions and be hoping for different outcomes.  The inquest system asks everyone to work in a spirit of co-operation to bring together a true account of what happened. 

Verdicts / Conclusions 

The Coroner does not declare a verdict but makes a 'findings of fact' about who the deceased was, when and where they died and the medical cause of their death. 

Conclusion 

The answer to the 'how the person came by their death' is known as the conclusion.  Sometimes findings like 'accident' or 'natural causes' are appropriate and the Coroner will use one of them.  However, they can also create a new label or write a narrative of the facts of the case.   

Jury conclusions 

When there is a jury at the inquest, the Coroner will make the decision about which conclusions are reasonable in law.  For example, they would not leave the jury the option of choosing 'natural causes' if that was clearly wrong. The jury choose between the conclusions they have been given.  The jury also makes the findings of fact. 

If there are legal representatives present in court, they can make submissions about which conclusions they think the Coroner should consider.