Inquests can be high-profile, are conducted in a similar way to trials and are of fundamental importance to the families and friends of the deceased
Writing in NLJ this week, Athelstane Aamodt, group legal advisor, Associated Newspapers, asks some searching questions of the inquest process itself.
As Aamodt writes, the origins of the inquest can be traced back to the ancient Gauls, although the system has thankfully been substantially reformed since those times. In a fascinating article, he traces more recent developments and their causes, for example, the move away from use of juries or the legislation that was enacted partly in response to concern about public access to poisons.
