It is now six years since Singh J and the Lord Chief Justice considered the relationship between Accident Investigation Branch investigations (Rail, Air & Marine) and coroners’ inquests in ‘the Norfolk case’.[1] In that instance the issue was whether a coroner had the power to order the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (“AAIB”) to disclose a […]
Read More… from Sandilands, Shoreham and Sala: AIBs and the Coronial Investigation
R (Morahan) v HM Coroner for West London and others [2022] EWCA Civ 1410 (here) After a flood of Article 2 decisions in the past few years many will be relieved to learn that the Court of Appeal have firmly rejected the challenge in Morahan (so there is no new law to get to grips […]
Read More… from Keeping it simple: Article 2 inquests are a relatively summary process
Devall & Corcoran v Ministry of Justice [2022] EWHC 1608 (QB). 23 June 2022 (judgment here) An appeal from a refusal to strike out a civil claim might not look immediately relevant for coronial law, but Mr Justice Soole’s detailed analysis of whether there is at least an arguable Art 2 operational duty to obtain […]
Read More… from Medical cases and ever-expanding Art 2 obligations
R (Gorani) v Assistant Coroner for West London [2022] EWHC 1593, 22 June 2022 (judgment here) A complete smorgasbord of complaints were adjudicated upon in this recent High Court decision, with the coroner victorious on every point. There is much in the judgment for the reader to feast upon: the headline tasters served up by […]
Read More… from In an inquisitorial process an open mind is not an empty one
Today, the Ministry of Justice published the most recent Coroners Statistics Annual Bulletin. It covers deaths between January and December 2021 and therefore, as last year, the effects of the Covid pandemic can still be seen throughout. The Bulletin remains a useful guide on the workload of coroners around the country and can be used to […]
Read More… from More Data on Death: Coroner Statistics Annual Bulletin for 2021