The Coroner’s (Inquest) Rules 2013 came into force on 25 July this year. The changes that they introduced are now beginning to be applied in practice. Of greatest public interest is likely to be the new Rule 8. This rule provides that inquests must be completed within six months of the date on which a death is reported to the coroner or as soon as reasonably practicable after that date. Where it is not possible to complete a case within 12 months of the date upon which the coroner is made aware of the death, the coroner will be required to notify the Chief Coroner of this.
Rule 9 provides that a coroner must notify the deceased’s next of kin of the date, time and place of the inquest within seven days of the hearing date being set.
It remains to be seen how practical it will be to complete most inquests within six months given the other pressures on the system, not least the lack of financial resource. The change is likely to please families who have experienced long delays, in some cases running to many years.
