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
Drake’s Application for Judicial Review [2025] NIKB 70, 12 December 2025, judgment here. It is clear that litigation privilege cannot arise in respect of reports commissioned for a coroner’s inquisitorial proceedings: the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal (NICA) have already soundly dealt with that point.[1] Bound by House of Lords authority, the NICA held that […]
Read More… from When might a Coroner require an IP to hand over an expert report?
Toogood v HM Senior Coroner for Somerset [2026] EWHC 634 (Admin) 17 March 2026, judgment here Suicide is usually a covert act. In the absence of a final letter or a recent and clear declaration of suicidal feelings, there will often be no direct evidence of what the deceased intended by an action that sadly […]