Coronial law

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It’s time for an independent body to ensure coroners’ recommendations are implemented, writes Veronica Cowan

What does the coronial system actually achieve? Not much, according to some bereaved families who receive a ringside seat to the process of recommendations being made then ignored

The Justice Committee has launched an inquiry into the Coroner Service to examine changes made since 2021, when the committee last looked at coronial capacity

Tim Suter & Sophie Cartwright KC look at the measures available to support vulnerable witnesses

A variety of measures are available to assist in the treatment of vulnerable witnesses and parties in the coronial jurisdiction, Tim Suter, partner, Fieldfisher, and Sophie Cartwright KC, Deans Court Chambers, write in this week’s NLJ. Suter and Cartwright suggest the coronial jurisdiction consider best practice from the civil, family and criminal jurisdiction

The number of deaths in state detention rose 3% in 2021 on the previous year (580 compared to 562), with a 17% rise in deaths in prison custody, ‘driven by deaths related to COVID-19, which peaked in 2021 Q1’, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has revealed

"Among its strengths are the pithy chapters on particular types of inquest—from mental health, clinical and prison deaths to less frequently explored issues of product related death and military inquests"

The Justice Committee has called for fundamental reforms to Coroners Courts, including legal ‘equality of arms’.

The Supreme Court has lowered the appropriate standard in inquest proceedings to the balance of probabilities. Previously, a criminal standard has been applied for unlawful killing

The Justice Committee has launched an inquiry into the Coroner Service and whether enough improvements have been made since reforms were introduced by the Coroners and Justice Act 2009

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

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Boies Schiller Flexner—Tim Smyth

Firm promotes London international arbitration specialist to partnership

Katten Muchin Rosenman—James Davison & Victoria Procter

Firm bolsters restructuring practice with senior London hires

HFW—Guy Marrison

Global aviation disputes practice boosted by London partner hire

NEWS

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NLJ this week: The insider returns

Writing in NLJ this week, NLJ columnist Dominic Regan surveys a landscape marked by leapfrog appeals, costs skirmishes and notable retirements. With an appeal in Mazur due to be heard next month, Regan notes that uncertainties remain over who will intervene, and hopes for the involvement of the Lady Chief Justice and the Master of the Rolls in deciding the all-important outcome

NLJ this week: Drawing the line on contempt

After the Southport murders and the misinformation that followed, contempt of court law has come under intense scrutiny. In this week's NLJ, Lawrence McNamara and Lauren Schaefer of the Law Commission unpack proposals aimed at restoring clarity without sacrificing fair trial rights

NLJ this week: Stop and search by the numbers

The latest Home Office figures confirm that stop and search remains both controversial and diminished. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort University analyses data showing historically low use of s 1 PACE powers, with drugs searches dominating what remains

NLJ this week: Looking back on the prorogation that never was

Boris Johnson’s 2019 attempt to shut down Parliament remains a constitutional cautionary tale. The move, framed as a routine exercise of the royal prerogative, was in truth an extraordinary effort to sideline Parliament at the height of the Brexit crisis. Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC dissects how prorogation was wrongly assumed to be beyond judicial scrutiny, only for the Supreme Court to intervene unanimously

NLJ this week: How not to plead a schedule of loss

A construction defect claim in the Court of Appeal offers a sharp lesson in pleading discipline. In his latest 'Civil way' column for NLJ, Stephen Gold explains how a catastrophically drafted schedule of loss derailed otherwise viable claims. Across the areas explored in this week's column, the message is consistent: clarity, economy and proper pleading matter more than ever

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Coronial law

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Boies Schiller Flexner—Tim Smyth

Katten Muchin Rosenman—James Davison & Victoria Procter

HFW—Guy Marrison