Chief Coroners Guidance for Coroners on the Bench – Updated 10 May 2026 here A series of updates to the Chief Coroners ‘Bench Book’ have just been published. As the Chief Coroner made clear at its initial publication her Guidance for Coroners on the Bench is intended to be an internet based resource. Printing a […]
Ths blog is and will always remain free to readers….but… If you ever have found the blog posts we provide interesting or useful we wondered if you might consider, just quietly, showing your gratitude for these free posts by (virtually) pulling a tenner out your back pocket and sponsoring the Chief Coroner, HHJ Alexia Durran, […]
Read More… from If you find this Blog useful might you give up three cups of coffee?
R (O’Brien) v HM Assistant Coroner for Sefton, Knowsley and St Helens [2026] EWCA Civ 499 (22 April 2026) here. The Court of Appeal has handed down some useful guidance on how to approach the thorny issue of causation in deaths where domestic violence has been a factor and there had been previous contact with […]
Read More… from Premature to dismiss something as speculative before it is explored
R (Wells Rugby Football Club Ltd and Taunton Rugby Football Club Ltd) v HM Senior Coroner for Somerset [2026] EWHC(Oral Permission Hearing – Kimblin J): 28 April 2026 (an unapproved note of judgment is here) The High Court’s refusal of permission in this recent case provides a useful reminder of how carefully coronial language is […]
Read More… from “Poor” but Not Negligent: Drawing the Line in Coroners’ Narrative Conclusions
R(AH) and R(IS) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2025] EWHC 3269 Admin, judgment (15 December 2025) here Article 2 ECHR encompasses a ‘systems duty’ which requires public bodies to protect all citizens by having both appropriate state regulation and functional procedures and policies in place to offer protection where life might otherwise […]
Read More… from One faulty cog or a malfunctioning machine? the ECHR systems duty in practice