Coroners and coroner’s inquiries

Abstract

The appointment, powers and duties of Coroners are currently controlled by the Coroners’ Act (1988). This repeals all the previous Acts referred to in the introductory historical account below, but they are still included because of their significance as ‘milestones’ in the development of modern coronership. The 1988 Act has not been greeted with universal acclaim. Many Coroners feel that it enshrines numerous anachronisms (for example the power to direct a general practitioner to conduct an autopsy), and that an opportunity to introduce noncontroversial reforms, such as streamlining the procedure for death registration, has been lost.