Coroners

Coroners Inquests

An inquest determines the circumstances surrounding certain deaths and answers questions about who, when, where, and how the person passed away.

The guide to coroner services provides an explanation of the process and organisations that provide support and advice.

Inquests do not deal with blame or criminal liability, which are addressed in other courts if needed.

Inquests are usually held on Wednesdays and Thursdays between 10am and 4:30pm.

Process

Opening an inquest

Parties are contacted before the inquest.

An inquest is opened as quickly as possible with a brief public hearing in the court. You can attend this by contacting our office - but you don't need to.

Inquests can be delayed if waiting for evidence from key witnesses or if there are ongoing investigations by other agencies.

Reports and statements

Relevant reports and statements are shared with close relatives and other legally interested people before the final hearing. This is usually by email, but can sometimes be by post if needed.

Final hearing

A date will be chosen that allows reasonable time for information gathering and investigation. The coroner decides on the scope and nature of the enquiries.

The duration of the inquest can vary.

Attendance

There aren't any restrictions on the number of people attending, but please contact the team if a large number of people are going to attend.

You can't eat or drink inside the court room. We recommend bringing bottled water.

Witnesses

Witnesses need to attend and these vary depending on the case, including:

• doctors
• nurses
• police officers
• carers
• eyewitnesses
• any other relevant persons

The coroner decides which evidence can be read aloud or if witnesses need to attend in person. The coroner can consider written requests to attend by video link.

Interested persons will be invited by the coroner to ask relevant and reasonable questions to witnesses. The coroner decides if questions are relevant.

Conclusions

Once all the evidence has been heard, the coroner will make their conclusions. This can be in short form and the coroner may also give a brief narrative conclusion.

After an inquest

The coroner will notify the registrar, who will register the death. You don't need to be present. The family can then order a copies of death certificates.

For deaths outside of Northamptonshire, you will need to contact the Registration office for that area.

For deaths outside of England and Wales, the death will have already been registered in that country and won't need to be re-registered.

Queries

Please call 01604 526100 or email [email protected]. New referrals will be dealt with as soon as possible (allow 1 to 2 working days for contact).

Upcoming

Support

The Coroners Court Support Service is a charity organisation that supports bereaved family members and witnesses during the Inquest process. Their volunteers operate at Northamptonshire Coroner’s inquest court to support bereaved families, witnesses and other parties at court.

Should you need any support or advice in relation to inquest issues you can contact the Coroners Court support service:

• Telephone: 01604 526100
• Email: [email protected]

Last updated 21 May 2024