Simon,
Coroners are judicial officers presiding over a Court of Record. The discharge
of their duties is are governed the Coroners Act 1988, the Coroners Rules
1984 (amended in 2004 and 2005), any other relevant legislation and CPRs.
You may also find "Jervis on Coroners" helpful.
There is a copy of the Coroners Rules here -->
www.kcl.ac.uk/depsta/law/research/coroners/1984rules.html
In terms of access to information the Coroner must supply interested persons
with a copy of the post-mortem report and any documents put in evidence at
the inquest, but these only have to be disclosed at the inquest itself. In
practice most Coroners will release the post-mortem report and witness
statements to legal representatives in advance of an inquest. The
deceased's medical records may be obtained under the Access to Health
Records Act 1990. If a civil case is pending, application can be made to the
civil Courts for disclosure of documents. The Coroners Court is subject to the
jurisdiction Appeal Court and Judicial review.
You may find a recent decison by the Information Tribunal of interest (DIGBY-
CAMERON and ICO Appeal Number: EA/2008/0010). Mr Mr Digby-Cameron was
trying to discover more about the circumstances of his son’s death in 2003. At
para 11 and 12 the Tribunal said "The Coroner is not designated as a public
authority and is not, therefore, subject to the FOIA regime. This lies at the
heart of this appeal." The Trbunal then goes on to cite a number of
precedents governing the disclosure of information.
Hope this helps.
rgds,
Kevin Broadfoot
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