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GAZETTE
T h e O f f i c e o f C o r o n e r i n I r e l a n d
The office of coroner is one of great
antiquity and it is mentioned as far
back as 871 AD during the reign of
King Alfred,
but the institution of the
office is usually dated from the
publication of the Articles of Eyre in
1 194.
The reason for the creation of the
office of coroner was to establish an
official whose primary duty was to
protect the financial interest of the
crown in criminal proceedings. The
title of coroner was derived from this
duty of securing a payment to the
crown, namely,
a corona.
This fine
was imposed by the king where the
inhabitants of a district concealed a
felony or permitted a guilty person to
escape.
The law concerning coronership in
Ireland is now governed by the
Coroners Act. 1962. Under this Act
the primary function or 'general duty'
of the coroner is to hold an inquest
where he is informed of a violent,
unnatural or sudden death in his
district. His role is judicial in nature
and effects the co-ordination of
medico-legal investigation into deaths
reported. A coroner must be a
'practising barrister, solicitor or
medical practitioner for at least five
years'. There are currently forty-nine
coroners in Ireland, twenty-three of
whom are either solicitors or
barristers.
An unusual feature of the role of the
coroner is his operational
independence. There are elements in
this which are common with the
operational independence of a judge
yet his role is in some measure
different in its legal setting from this
model. The coroner like a judge
frequently reaches verdicts by a
judicial procedure, but unlike a
judge the coroner's decisions are
by no means directly subject
to appeal.
The Office of Coroner in Ireland
In Ireland of the 1990s, the role of
coroner is increasingly social and
educational in nature. A substantial
minority of deaths reported to
coroners are deaths that may be
ascribable to social breakdown in one
form or another and he increasingly
has to deal with distressed relatives.
He has valuable insight into the social
dynamics behind such deaths.
According to official statistics the
number of deaths from suicide during
the period 1972 to 1992 has increased
fourfold (See table).
The coroner is in a position where he
has great potential to highlight areas
of prevention i.e. road safety,
potential health hazards and other
possible sources of danger or fatal
injury both in and outside the
workplace.
The quality, calibre and commitment
of Irish coroners is evident from the
fact that the community place great
confidence in the office of the coroner
and it is an office that is seen to
operate in the public interest.
Coroners Association of Ireland
1
MAY 1994
Cr imi nal L aw
C omm i t t ee
(Continued from page 157)
relation to visits to prisoners by
solicitors. Visiting solicitors will
complete a form setting out the names
of the prisoners they wish to visit.
Solicitors will then be shown into a
waiting room, which has been
provided specially for them, until the
prisoners are ready. At the
termination of the visit the solicitor
may obtain a certificate from the
warden at the gate indicating the fact
of such visit. This form should then
be attached to the legal aid claim
form and the solicitor will be paid for
the visit at the completion of the case.
This new procedure obviates the
difficulties that have arisen in the past
where the prison was unable to
confirm visits. Furthermore, the new
waiting room is much more
comfortable than the old. The
Committee has already written to the
relevant authorities thanking them for
their assistance in this matter and
asking them to extend the new
procedure to all prisons in the State.
General
The Criminal Law Committee has
representatives from each province
and hopes that it is dealing with all
the problems of practitioners of
criminal law throughout the State.
However, if there are any local
problems affecting practitioners the
Committee would be happy to deal
with them if the problems are brought
to its attention.
Michael Staines.
Chairman,
Criminal Law Committee.
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