Although they play the role of “referee” during trials and hearings – especially in adversarial systems – at the heart of the judicial system sit magistrates, judges and coroners.
This part is focused on the people. The next part will focus on the court system itself.
A Welsh Justice System XII: A Welsh Court System
The final piece of this chunk of articles on the judiciary and independence focuses on the structure and make-up of...
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Coroners investigate unexpected or unexplained deaths and determine their cause. “Unexplained deaths” include everything from suspected murders and suicides at one end, to any death that’s unusual or unexpected at the end (i.e. deaths at home, accidents, deaths abroad, death of someone with no obvious health issues).
Coroners can order post-mortem examinations without consent (unlike hospital/medical post-mortems). It’s also up to a coroner whether an inquest should be held depending on the findings of the post-mortem.
At present, the qualification to become a coroner is the same as that for judges – at least five years experience as a solicitor, barrister or legal executive. As of 2013, medical doctors are usually not appointed as coroners and it’s become an exclusively judicial office.
By and large, the role of coroners could remain the same – though the treasure decision element could be passed to the courts or a tribunal (Part XII). As for the office (and possible qualification) of coroner itself, there are three main options:
- The Judicial Coroner Model – This is the system we have now. Pathologists employed by the NHS perform the medical post-mortem examinations and establish a medical cause of death, while the coroner decides the legal cause of death with or without a formal inquest.
- The Procurator Fiscal Model – As in Scotland, the role of a public prosecutor and coroner would be combined. Any inquest that takes place is usually presided over by a junior judge (in Scotland, a Sheriff) rather than the procurator fiscal themselves.
- The Medical Examiner Model – This is the model used in some parts of the United States. Instead of a legal officer, the medical examiner is a qualified pathologist and performs the administrative role of the coroner as well as a lead forensic role in investigating unexplained deaths.
It’s probably best to keep the judicial coroner model to maintain an independent means to scrutinise causes of death.
Merging the public prosecutor role and coroner may simplify and streamline procedures by reducing the number of judicial offices. However, it may bring into question the independence of the coroner system and present possible conflicts of interest as the role of prosecutor and coroner clash.
There should probably be a unified national Coroner Service to ensure consistency. The Coroner Service would be led by a Chief Coroner who could personally deal with high profile or complicated inquests – for example, deaths resulting from acts of terrorism, a plane or train crash or contentious deaths in police custody or prison.
Coroners and/or Assistant Coroners could be appointed to individual judicial districts. The Coroner’s Court system itself will be addressed in Part XII.
As for the appointment of coroners, you would probably expect coroners to be appointed in the same way as judges (addressed earlier) – so most likely via a judicial appointments committee of some kind.
