"instructed by a Coroner (England & Wales) or Procurator Fiscal (Scotland) to which the family cannot object. Over time, autopsies have not only been able to determine the cause of death, but also lead to discoveries of various diseases such as fetal alcohol syndrome, Legionnaire's disease, and even viral hepatitis. In 2004 in England and Wales, there were 514,000 deaths of which 225,500 were referred to the coroner. Of those, 115,800 (22.5% of all deaths) resulted in post-mortem examinations and there were 28,300 inquests, 570 with a jury. The rate of consented (hospital) autopsy in the UK and worldwide has"
"are no inquests or Coroners in Scotland, where sudden unnatural deaths are reported to, and investigated on behalf of, the Procurator Fiscal for an area. The Procurator Fiscal has a duty to investigate all sudden, suspicious, accidental, unexpected and unexplained deaths and any death occurring in circumstances that give rise to serious public concern. Where a death is reported, the Procurator Fiscal will investigate the circumstances of the death, attempt to find out the cause of the death and consider whether criminal proceedings or a Fatal Accident Inquiry is appropriate. In the majority of cases reported to the Procurator Fiscal,"
"have occurred, a full death certificate is issued. Otherwise, the coroner holds a full inquest. In Scotland, the coroner's functions are carried out by a ""procurator fiscal"", who is appointed by the Lord Advocate to investigate unexpected or accidental deaths. Any suspicious death of a British national outside of Britain is required to be investigated through an inquest. When a suspicious death occurs aboard a British naval or merchant vessel, the body is preserved by refrigeration until the ship arrives at port, at which point the police and coroner begin their investigations. Suspicious death A death is suspicious if it"
"South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia – also have state coroners and specialised coronial courts. In Tasmania, the Chief Magistrate also acts as the state coroner. In Canada the officer responsible for investigating all unnatural and natural unexpected, unexplained, or unattended deaths goes under the title ""coroner"" or ""medical examiner"" depending on location. While the title differs, however, they act in similar capacities. They do not determine civil or criminal responsibility, but instead make and offer recommendations to improve public safety and prevention of death in similar circumstances. Coroner or Medical Examiner services are under the jurisdiction of provincial or"
"are unwilling to make a determination, the coroner will investigate the cause and manner of death. The coroner will also investigate when a death is deemed violent or unnatural, where the cause is unknown, where a death is the result of poisoning or industrial injury, or if it occurred in police custody or prison. Any person aware of a dead body lying in the district of a coroner has a duty to report it to the coroner; failure to do so is an offence. This can include bodies brought into England or Wales. The coroner has a team of Coroner's"
"to be held on a mandatory basis for some deaths and on a discretionary basis for others. Previously, a fatal accident inquiry only dealt with deaths that occurred in Scotland, whereas in England and Wales a Coroner will deal with the investigation of a death where the body lies within their district irrespective of where the death actually occurred. This led to some distress being caused to the families of service personnel who had been killed abroad but whose bodies have been returned through or to England at the insistence of the Ministry of Defence and in consequence their funerals"
"the Ministry of Justice appoints ""Inquirers into Sudden Deaths"" under the ""Code of Criminal Procedure"" to carryout an inquest into the death of a sudden, unexpected and suspicious nature. Some large cities such as Colombo and Kandy have a City Coroners' Court attached to the main city hospital, with a Coroner and Additional Coroner. In the United Kingdom a coroner is an independent judicial office holder, appointed and paid for by the relevant local authority. The Ministry of Justice, which is headed by the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice has the responsibility for the coronial law and"
"Inquests in England and Wales Inquests in England and Wales are held into sudden and unexplained deaths and also into the circumstances of discovery of a certain class of valuable artefacts known as ""treasure trove"". In England and Wales, inquests are the responsibility of a coroner, who operates under the jurisdiction of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009. There is a general duty upon every person to report a death to the coroner if an inquest is likely to be required. However, this duty is largely unenforceable in practice and the duty falls on the responsible registrar. The registrar must"
"Officers (previously often ex-police officers, but increasingly from a nursing or other paramedical background) who carry out the investigation on the coroner's behalf. A coroner's investigation may involve a simple review of the circumstances, ordering a post-mortem examination, or they may decide that an inquest is appropriate. When a person dies in the custody of the legal authorities (in police cells, or in prison), an inquest must be held. In England, inquests are usually heard without a jury (unless the coroner wants one). However, a case in which a person has died under the control of central authority must have"
"Fatal accident inquiry A fatal accident inquiry is a Scottish judicial process which investigates and determines the circumstances of some deaths occurring in Scotland. Until 2009, they did not apply to any deaths occurring in other jurisdictions, when the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 extended the Fatal Accidents and Sudden Deaths Inquiry (Scotland) Act 1976 to service personnel at the discretion of the Chief Coroner or the Secretary of State. The equivalent process in England and Wales is an inquest. A major review of the fatal accident inquiries was undertaken by Lord Cullen of Whitekirk, at the request of the"
"Coroner A coroner may conduct or order an inquest into the manner or cause of death, and investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within the coroner's jurisdiction. In medieval times, English coroners were Crown officials who held financial powers and conducted some judicial investigations in order to counterbalance the power of sheriffs. The word ""coroner"" derives from the same source as the word ""crown"", and it is believed to denote an officer of The Crown. Responsibilities of the coroner may include overseeing the investigation and certification of deaths related to mass disasters"
"This jurisdiction is no longer exercised by local coroners, but by specialist ""Coroners for Treasure"" appointed by the Chief Coroner. To become a coroner in England and Wales the applicant must be a qualified lawyer (solicitor/barrister), or a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEx), with at least 5 years' qualified experience. This reflects the role of a coroner: to determine the cause of death of a deceased in cases where the death was sudden, unexpected, occurred abroad, was suspicious in any way, or happened while the person was under the control of central authority (e.g., in police"
"are mandated to report certain sudden, suspicious, accidental, or unexplained deaths to the procurator fiscal, and the report will be received by the Scottish Fatalities Investigation Unit, part of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service. The procurator fiscal can require a Police investigation, and where mandated by statute, or otherwise at their discretion, the procurator fiscal can hold a fatal accident inquiry. Where the death appears to be due to a criminal act, the procurator fiscal will initiate investigations by the police, or other appropriate public authorities, to enable the identification of suspects and associated evidence to enable them"
"lawyers. Their primary function is to investigate any sudden, unexplained, violent or unnatural death in order to allow a death certificate to be issued. Any death due to unnatural causes will require an inquest to be held. Two coronial services operate in New Zealand. The older one deals only with deaths before midnight of 30 June 2007 that remain under investigation. The new system operates under the Coroners Act 2006, which: n Poland, a coroner is a forensic doctor (colloquially called a forensic medicine), whose job is to legally identify patients who died. As a separate profession, it has existed"
"policy only, and no operational responsibility. There are separate services for England and Wales, and for Northern Ireland. A different system applies in Scotland, which does not have a coroner service. The coroner service in England and Wales is supervised by the Chief Coroner, a judge appointed by the Lord Chief Justice after consulting the Lord Chancellor. He provides advice, guidance and training to coroners and aims to secure uniformity of practice throughout England and Wales. The post is currently part-time. The present Chief Coroner is Judge Mark Lucraft QC, who is one of the judges sitting at the Central"
"of the 2005 London bombings. The coroner's jurisdiction is limited to determining who the deceased was and how, when and where they came by their death. When the death is suspected to have been either sudden with unknown cause, violent, or unnatural, the coroner decides whether to hold a post-mortem examination and, if necessary, an inquest. The coroner's former power to name a suspect in the inquest verdict and commit them for trial has been abolished. The coroner's verdict sometimes is persuasive for the police and Crown Prosecution Service, but normally proceedings in the coroner's court are suspended until after"
"that occur within the coroner's jurisdiction. A coroner's office typically maintains death records of those who have died within the coroner's jurisdiction. Depending on the jurisdiction, the coroner may adjudge the cause of death personally, or may act as the presiding officer of a special court (a ""coroner's jury""). The office of coroner originated in medieval England and has been adopted in many countries whose legal systems have at some time been subject to English or United Kingdom law. The additional roles that a coroner may oversee in judicial investigations may be subject to the attainment of suitable legal and"
"conducted without a jury. Fatal accident inquiries are conducted in a sheriff court. An inquiry must be held for all deaths in custody and fatal accidents, with other accidental deaths subject to inquiry at the discretion of the procurator fiscal. For the most serious crimes, the case will not be directly prosecuted by the procurator fiscal. Instead, the case will be heard at the High Court of Justiciary and the prosecution will be made in the name of the Lord Advocate by an Advocate Depute. There are eleven procurators fiscal in Scotland, each covering a geographical area or jurisdiction with"
"all sudden, suspicious and unexplained deaths in Scotland. This includes the decision to call a Fatal Accident Inquiry. He or she is also responsible for the independent investigation of criminal police complaints made in that sherrifdom (administrative complaints are handled by the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (PIRC)). The law in Scotland does not say that a crime must be prosecuted and the procurators fiscals have considerable discretion over what action to take. They can choose the level at which to prosecute (either through solemn or summary procedure) with the accused having no right to choose a jury trial or"
"report a death where: The coroner must hold an inquest where the death was: Where the cause of death is unknown, the coroner may order a post mortem examination in order to determine whether the death was violent. If the death is found to be non-violent, an inquest is unnecessary. In 2004 in England and Wales, there were 514,000 deaths of which 225,500 were referred to the coroner. Of those, 115,800 resulted in post-mortem examinations and there were 28,300 inquests, 570 with a jury. In 2014 the Royal College of Pathologists claimed that up to 10,000 deaths a year recorded"
"territories with a coroner system, namely British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Quebec, New Brunswick, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Yukon, coroners are not necessarily physicians but generally have legal, medical, or investigative backgrounds. The Coroner's Court is responsible to inquire into the causes and circumstances of some deaths. The Coroner is a judicial officer who has the power to: The Coroner makes orders after considering the pathologist's report. The Coroners Service is a network of Coroners situated across Ireland, usually covering areas based on Ireland's traditional counties. They are appointed by local authorities as independent experts and must be either qualified doctors or"
"Scottish Government, which resulted in the passing of the Inquiries into Fatal Accidents and Sudden Deaths etc. (Scotland) Act 2016. Fatal accident inquiries were introduced into Scots Law by the Fatal Accidents Inquiry (Scotland) Act 1895, before which time the circumstances of a death which required examination were determined by a procurator fiscal. Since then, the procurator fiscal now deals with the investigation and initiation of such inquiries. The applicable legislation is the Fatal Accidents and Sudden Deaths Inquiry (Scotland) Act 1976 and Inquiries into Fatal Accidents and Sudden Deaths etc. (Scotland) Act 2016, and the law provides for inquiries"
"have been delayed. The inquiries process was reviewed by Lord Cullen of Whitekirk for the Scottish Government in 2008, following which the Scottish Government consulted on proposals in 2014. The Inquiries into Fatal Accidents and Sudden Deaths etc. (Scotland) Act 2016 was passed by the Scottish Parliament on 10 December 2015, and replaced the 1976 act when it came into force in June 2017. A person cannot be buried or cremated in Scotland unless a medical practitioner has issued a death certificate (and the associated certificate of registration of death, known as a form 14, has been issued), and doctors"
"early enquiries rule out suspicious circumstances and establish that the death was due to natural causes. Deaths are usually brought to the attention of the Procurator Fiscal through reports from the police, the Registrar, GPs or hospital doctors. However, anyone who has concerns about the circumstances of a death can report it to the Procurator Fiscal. There are certain categories of deaths that must be enquired into, but the Procurator Fiscal may enquire into any death brought to his notice. In the United States, inquests are generally conducted by coroners, who are generally officials of a county or city. These"
"death. In some states, additional functions are handled by the coroner. For example, in Louisiana, coroners are involved in the determination of mental illness of living persons. In Georgia, the coroner has the same powers as a county sheriff to execute arrest warrants and serve process, and in certain situations where there is no sheriff, in addition to conducting cause and manner of death investigations and inquests, the coroner officially acts as sheriff for the county. Also the Coroner is the only official who can arrest the sheriff of a county. This is also the case in Colorado. Also in"
"position of the first coroners was chosen in Łódź for experienced forensic doctors, who are on call and cooperating with the ambulance service, will be notified of evidential death reports to go to the indicated address. Just in case, the coroners were also equipped with the apparatus necessary to provide first aid. The widespread employment of coroners requires adjusting the relevant provisions regulating who may, according to the law in force, make an act of finding a human death. It is believed that forensic doctors have appropriate education and professional practice to perform the function of coroners. In Sri Lanka,"
"coroners as required, and this was most likely to have been to justices of the peace. Coroners have the power to investigate the causes of death within their jurisdiction. They also have power to retain a person’s remains, order autopsies, and direct how a person’s remains may be disposed. Unlike coroners in other states, Western Australian coroners do not have jurisdiction to hold inquiries concerning the cause of any fire in the state. Where a serious criminal offence has been disclosed during the course of an inquest or an inquiry, the Coroner may refer that matter to the Western Australian"
"Coroner's jury A coroner's jury is a body convened to assist a coroner in an inquest, that is, in determining the identity of a deceased person and the cause of death. The laws on its role and function vary by jurisdiction. In the United Kingdom, all inquests were once conducted with a jury. They acted somewhat like a grand jury, determining whether a person should be committed to trial in connection to a death. Such a jury was made up of up to twenty-three men, and required the votes of twelve to render a decision. Similar to a grand jury,"
"as being from natural causes should have been investigated by inquests. They were particularly concerned about people whose death occurred as a result of medical errors. ""We believe a medical examiner would have been alerted to what was going on in Mid-Staffordshire long before this long list of avoidable deaths reached the total it did,"" said Archie Prentice, the pathologists' president. A coroner must summon a jury for an inquest if the death was not a result of natural causes and occurred when the deceased was in state custody (for example in prison, police custody, or whilst detained under the"
"Suspicious death A death is suspicious if it is unexpected and its circumstances or cause are medically or legally unexplained. Normally, this occurs in the context of medical care, suicide or suspected criminal activity. In cases of suspicious death in England, the police are required to contact a coroner, who will open an inquest, which is automatically adjourned to allow the police to continue their investigations. This adjourned inquest means that the death can be officially registered and a temporary death certificate issued. If, as a result of police enquiries, a criminal is charged or an accident is shown to"
"Coroner) and Assistant Coroners, to the number that the Lord Chancellor considers necessary in view of the physical character and population of the district. The cost of the coroner service for the district falls upon the local authority or authorities concerned, and thus ultimately upon the local inhabitants. The majority of deaths are not investigated by the coroner. If the deceased has been under medical care, or has been seen by a doctor within 14 days of death, then the doctor can issue a death certificate. However if the deceased died without being seen by a doctor, or if they"
"Coroner has the function: Where a serious criminal offence has been disclosed during the course of an inquest or an inquiry, a coroner may terminate the proceedings and must refer that matter to a Director of Public Prosecutions (State or Commonwealth) for consideration of the initiation, or institution, of criminal proceedings. All magistrates in New South Wales are ""ex officio"" coroners by virtue of their appointment as magistrates. Prior to the creation of the office of the State Coroner in 1988, coronial inquests were conducted by the Sydney City Coroner for greater metropolitan Sydney, and across New South Wales by"
"Royal College of Pathologists is not a prerequisite of appointment as a coroner's ""medical expert"". Doctors in the UK who are not forensic pathologists or pathologists are allowed to perform medicolegal autopsies, as the wording of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009, which merely stipulates a ""registered medical practitioner"": anyone on the General Medical Council register. Deaths where there is a known cause and those considered unnatural are investigated. In most jurisdictions this is done by a """"forensic pathologist"","" ""coroner"", ""medical examiner"", or hybrid ""medical examiner-coroner"" offices. In some jurisdictions, the title of ""Medical Examiner"" is used by a non-physician,"