UK Statutory Instrument SI 1984/552 United Kingdom

The Coroners Rules 1984

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Status
In Force
Penalty ceiling
Regulated

Does it bind you?

Business-side roles with duties under this instrument.

Any Person7

Plus 40 duties on the regulator, Crown ministers and public bodies — folded into the section list below.

Other Acts binding the same actors

If a role above is yours, these are the other instruments that most often bind it.

Any Person — also bound by 2340 other Acts

What it requires

Regulations creating concrete business duties or carrying penalties, grouped as the instrument is structured. Titles link to the source text — blue means you’re leaving for legislation.gov.uk.

Part 1

GENERAL

0 of 3 sections shown
3 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional
s.art001 Citation and commencement
s.art002 Interpretation
s.art003 Revocations and application
Part 2

AVAILABILITY OF CORONER

1 of 1 section shown
s.art004 Coroner to be available at all times Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Coroner must be available at all times for inquests and post-mortemsTribunal / Court
Part 3

POST-MORTEM EXAMINATIONS

7 of 7 sections shown
s.art005 Delay in making post-mortem to be avoided Regulated
  • Perform post-mortem examination promptly after coroner's directionAny Person
s.art006 Medical practitioner making post-mortem Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Coroner must choose post-mortem examiners with suitable qualifications avoiding conflictsCrown / Minister / Government department
s.art007 Coroner to notify persons of post-mortem to be made Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Coroner must notify certain persons of post-mortem examination detailsCrown / Minister / Government department
s.art008 Persons attending post-mortem not to interfere Regulated
  • Do not interfere with a post-mortem examinationAny Person
s.art009 Preservation of material Regulated
  • Preserve material that may relate to cause of death as directed by coronerAny Person
s.art010 Report on post-mortem Regulated
  • Report post‑mortem findings to the coroner and keep the report confidentialAny Person
s.art011 Premises for post-mortems Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Ensure post-mortems are conducted in adequately equipped premises, not in homes or pubsCrown / Minister / Government department
Part 4

SPECIAL EXAMINATIONS

2 of 2 sections shown
s.art012 Preservation of material Regulated
  • Preserve material submitted for special examination as directed by the coronerAny Person
s.art013 Report on special examination Regulated
  • Do not disclose special examination report without coroner's authorisationAny Person
Part 5

BURIAL ORDERS

2 of 2 sections shown
s.art014 Issue of burial order Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Coroner must hold an inquest before issuing a burial orderCrown / Minister / Government department
s.art015 Burial order where certificate for disposal of body issued Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Coroner must not issue burial order without surrendered certificateLocal authority
Part 6

INQUESTS

23 of 28 sections shown
s.art016 Formality Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Coroner must open, adjourn and close inquests formallyTribunal / Court
s.art017 Inquest in public Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Coroner must hold inquests in public unless national security requires exclusionTribunal / Court
s.art018 Days on which inquest not to be held Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Coroner must not hold inquest on Christmas Day, Good Friday, bank holidays or Sunday unless urgentTribunal / Court
s.art019 Coroner to notify persons of inquest arrangements Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Coroner must notify bereaved and other interested persons of inquest detailsTribunal / Court
s.art020 Entitlement to examine witnesses Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Coroner must allow properly interested persons to examine witnesses and disallow irrelevant questionsTribunal / Court
s.art021 Examination of witnesses Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Coroner controls the order of witness examination at inquestsTribunal / Court
s.art023 Adjournment where inspector or representative of enforcing authority Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Coroner must adjourn inquest if regulator inspector is not presentTribunal / Court
s.art024 Notice to person whose conduct is likely to be called in question Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Coroner must give reasonable notice of inquest to person whose conduct may be questionedCrown / Minister / Government department
s.art025 Adjournment where person whose conduct is called in question is not present Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Coroner must adjourn inquest if your conduct is questioned and you were not notifiedTribunal / Court
s.art026 Request by chief officer of police for adjournment Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Coroner must adjourn inquest when police request due to potential criminal chargesTribunal / Court
s.art027 Request by Director of Public Prosecutions for adjournment Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Coroner must adjourn inquest on request by Director of Public ProsecutionsTribunal / Court
s.art028 Coroner to adjourn in certain other cases Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Coroner must adjourn inquest if death may be due to an offence and someone may be chargedTribunal / Court
s.art029 Coroner to furnish certificate after adjournment Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Coroner must furnish death certificate to registrar within 5 daysCrown / Minister / Government department
s.art031 Coroner to furnish certificate stating result of criminal proceedings Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Coroner must furnish certificate stating result of criminal proceedings within 28 daysTribunal / Court
s.art032 Effect of institution of criminal proceedings Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Coroner must not adjourn inquest solely because of criminal proceedingsLocal authority
s.art033 Coroner to notify persons as to resumption of, and alteration of arrangements for, adjourned inquest Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Coroner must notify persons about resumption or changes to adjourned inquestsTribunal / Court
s.art035 Coroner to notify Crown Court officer of adjournment in certain cases Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Coroner must notify Crown Court officer of adjournment when person committed for trialCrown / Minister / Government department
s.art036 Matters to be ascertained at inquest Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Coroner and jury must limit inquest to statutory mattersTribunal / Court
s.art038 Exhibits Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Coroners must mark inquest exhibits with 'C' and consecutive numbersTribunal / Court
s.art039 Notes of evidence Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Coroner must take notes of evidence at every inquestTribunal / Court
s.art040 No addresses as to facts Regulated
  • Do not address the coroner or jury on the factsAny Person
s.art041 Summing-up and direction to jury Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Coroner must sum up evidence and direct jury on lawTribunal / Court
s.art042 Verdict Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Coroner must not frame verdict to determine criminal or civil liabilityTribunal / Court
5 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional
s.art022 Self-incrimination
s.art030 Coroner's interim certificate of the fact of death
s.art034 Recognizance of witness or juror becoming void
s.art037 Documentary evidence
s.art043 Prevention of similar fatalities
Part 7

SUMMONING OF JURORS AND EXCUSAL FROM JURY SERVICE

6 of 10 sections shown
s.art044 Summoning of jurors Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Coroner's officer must consider juror convenience and travel distanceLocal authority
s.art045 Method of summoning Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Coroner must summon jurors by written notice sent by post or delivered by handCrown / Minister / Government department
s.art046 Notice to accompany summons Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Coroner must provide information notice with jury summonsLocal authority
s.art049 Excusal for previous jury service Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Coroner must excuse jurors with recent jury service on requestLocal authority
s.art050 Certificate of attendance Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Issue certificate of attendance to jurors on requestLocal authority
s.art052 Discharge of summons in case of doubt as to capacity to act effectively as a juror Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Coroner must discharge jurors unable to serve due to disability or languageTribunal / Court
4 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional
s.art047 Withdrawal or alteration of summons
s.art048 Summoning in exceptional circumstances
s.art051 Excusal for certain persons and discretionary excusal
s.art053 Saving for inquests held by the coroner of the Queen's household
Part 8

RECORDS, DOCUMENTS, EXHIBITS AND FORMS

6 of 7 sections shown
s.art054 Register of deaths Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Coroners must keep an indexed register of reported deathsLocal authority
s.art055 Retention and delivery or disposal of exhibits Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Coroner must retain, deliver or dispose of inquest exhibitsLocal authority
s.art056 Retention and delivery of documents Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Coroner must retain inquest documents for at least 15 yearsTribunal / Court
s.art057 Inspection of, or supply of copies of, documents etc Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Coroner must supply copies of inquest documents to properly interested personsCrown / Minister / Government department
s.art058 Deputy or assistant deputy to sign documents in own name Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Deputy coroners must sign documents in their own nameStatutory regulator
s.art059 Transfer of documents etc. to next-appointed coroner Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Coroner must transfer all inquest records to successorLocal authority
1 other section in this Part — procedural and definitional
s.art060 Forms

Duty extraction and severity labels are Guvnor’s analysis of the instrument, not the instrument itself. Always verify against the linked source text.