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The task of the Coroner's Court is to inquire into
the causes and circumstances of certain deaths. As this
booklet outlines, the Coroner has extensive powers related
to the conduct of affairs relating to such deaths. |
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The Coroner is a judicial officer who has the power
to:
- grant burial orders
- grant cremation orders
- grant waivers of autopsy
- grant autopsy orders
- grant exhumation orders
- grant orders to remove dead bodies outside Hong
Kong
- order police investigations of death
- order inquests to be held
- approve removal and use of body parts of the
dead body
- issue certificates of fact of death
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The Coroners Ordinance sets out 20 categories of
deaths (see Appendix I) which should be reported to
the Coroner. Anyone responsible for reporting deaths
to the Coroner (see the list in Appendix II) should
do so as soon as they reasonably can after they know
of the death.
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The fact that a death is reportable to the Coroner
does not necessarily mean that an inquest has to be
held, except for certain categories of death. When
a reportable death occurs, the body is sent to either
a hospital or a public mortuary, where the pathologist:
- conducts an external examination of the body
- reports the findings of this examination or the
cause of death, if ascertained, to Coroner
- recommends waiver of autopsy, and seeks a burial
or cremation order if the cause of death can be
ascertained
- seeks an autopsy order if the cause of death
cannot be ascertained
- submits a brief description of circumstances,
for example the clinical background.
The Coroner considers the pathologist's report and,
depending on the case, makes one of the following
orders:
- autopsy
- waiver of autopsy
- burial order
- cremation order.
If the Coroner is uncertain of the cause of death
or for other reasons, he will:
- order an autopsy
- study the autopsy report from the pathologist
- consider whether an investigation is needed.
If the pathologist recommends an autopsy, but the
deceased's family applies for a waiver, the Coroner
sees the family in chambers, and then decides whether
to order an autopsy or a waiver.
If the Coroner decides that a reportable death should
be investigated, the police carry out the investigation
and submit a death investigation report to the Coroner.
The Coroner considers this report and decides whether
an inquest should be held, calling on expert advice
where he so chooses.
The Coroner can issue a warrant of entry and search
in respect of any premises and place where a death
has occurred.
If the Coroner decides not to hold an inquest, properly
interested persons can write to him to request a copy
of the death investigation report. |
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The Coroner may hold an inquest with a jury of five
or without a jury when a person dies
- suddenly
- by accident
- by violence
- under suspicious circumstances
- and when the dead body of a person is found in
or brought into Hong Kong
An inquest must be held:
- when a death occurs in official custody, for example
in a prison or a detention centre (this inquest must
be held with a jury)
- upon the request of the Secretary for Justice.
The Coroner will usually hold an inquest where a person
dies in an industrial accident.
The Coroner may conduct a pre-inquest review to decide
how the inquest may best be carried forward promptly
and justly. Pre-inquest reviews do not take place in
open court, but inquests are held in open court unless
the Coroner directs otherwise.
Summonses will be issued to witnesses to attend the
inquest to give evidence and to produce documents. Legal
representation for a properly interested person is allowed.
Properly interested persons may upon payment of fees
obtain copies of medical and other technical reports.
The Duty Lawyer Scheme also provides legal representation to persons who are at risk of criminal prosecution as a result of giving incriminating evidence in the inquest.
In complicated cases, the Coroner may request the
Secretary for Justice to assist him to conduct the inquest.
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At the inquest, the Coroner and the jury should ascertain:
- the identity of the deceased
- how, when and where the deceased died
- the particulars required under the Births and Deaths
Registration Ordinance to be registered concerning
the death
- the conclusion as to the death
The proceedings of the inquest are as follows:
- the Coroner opens the inquest
- witnesses are called and examined by the Coroner's
Officer or Government counsel, the jury, family members
of the deceased, other interested persons and the
Coroner
- the Coroner sums up the case
- the Coroner or the jury delivers the finding (Typical
examples of findings are set out in Appendix III)
By law, the Coroner and jury may not frame a finding
in such a way as to determine any question of civil
liability. Claims for damages and civil liabilities
should be lodged and heard in the civil law courts.
Recommendations may be recorded if they are designed
to prevent the recurrence of similar fatalities, for
instance in cases of deaths in industrial accidents,
to prevent other hazards to life disclosed by evidence
at the inquest and to bring deficiencies in a system
or method of work to the attention of a person who may
have power to take appropriate action.
The Coroner must adjourn an inquest and refer the
matter to the Secretary for Justice where it appears
that a criminal offence of murder, manslaughter, infanticide
or death by dangerous driving may have been committed
by any person. An inquest cannot be resumed until the
criminal proceedings are finished. |
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Properly interested persons or the Secretary for Justice
can apply to the Court of First Instance of the High
Court for an inquest to be held into a death including,
where an inquest has already been held, a new inquest
into that death. The jury who served in the first inquest
will also serve as the jury for the re-opened inquest.
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The Coroner may also issue a certificate of the fact
of death. This is in effect an interim document certifying
the fact of death. The certificate of the fact of death
can be used, for example, to assist
in the transport of a dead body to another country
for
burial, in particular where the relevant authorities
of that country require official documentation that
the deceased did not die from an infectious disease.
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The Coroner's Court will
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as soon as possible upon the receipt of an application
from the pathologist |
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- grant an exhumation order
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- grant an order to remove dead bodies outside Hong Kong
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- grant a waiver of autopsies
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- issue a certificate of fact of death
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10 days after receipt of the post-mortem report |
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42 days from the date of the Coroner's decision
to hold an inquest |
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| Monday to Friday |
9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. |
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2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. |
| Saturday |
9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon |
- The Coroner's Court and the Registry / Accounts Office will
close when tropical cyclone signal No. 8 or a black rainstorm warning is issued.
- Proceedings will resume and the Registry / Accounts Office
will open if such signal or warning is cancelled before 6:00 a.m.
- They will open at 2:30 p.m.
if such signal or warning is cancelled between 6:00
a.m. and 11:00 a.m.
- They will remain closed for
the whole day if such signal or warning is cancelled
after 11:00 a.m.
- If an inquest in which you are involved
is affected as the result of a tropical cyclone or rainstorm,
please listen to radio and television announcements about court
re-opening times or contact the Court by phone.
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- Death the medical cause of which is uncertain
- Sudden / unattended death, except where a person
has been diagnosed before death with a terminal illness
- Death caused by an accident or injury
- Death caused by crime
- Death caused by an anaesthetic or under the influence
of a general anaesthetic or which occurred within
24 hours of the administering of anaesthetic
- Death caused by a surgical operation or within
48 hours after a surgical operation
- Death caused by an occupational disease or directly
/ indirectly connected with present or previous occupation
- Still birth
- Maternal death
- Deaths caused by septicaemia with unknown primary
cause
- Suicide
- Death in official custody
- Where death occurred during discharge of duty of
an officer having statutory powers of arrest or detention
- Death in the premises of a Government department
any public officer of which has statutory powers of
arrest or detention
- Death of certain mental patients (as defined by
law) in a hospital or in a mental hospital
- Death in a private care home
- Death caused by homicide
- Death caused by a drug or poison
- Death caused by ill-treatment, starvation or neglect
- Death which occurred outside Hong Kong where the
body of the person is brought into Hong Kong.
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| Person Responsible for Reporting
Death |
Report made to |
| Medical practitioners for cases requiring Coroner's consent for organ removal |
Coroner |
| Police for death in police custody or premises |
Coroner |
| Department heads receiving a statutory notice of reportable death |
Coroner |
| Police officers |
Coroner |
| Registrar of Births and Deaths |
Coroner |
| Any person (except police) exercising official custody duty |
Coroner via police |
| Any person in charge of Government department
premises |
Coroner via police |
| Administrator of a hospital or other care facilities |
Coroner with a copy to Police |
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| Finding |
Example |
| Natural causes |
An illness such as cancer or a heart attack |
| Industrial / occupational disease |
A disease arising from employment, e.g. asbestosis |
| Dependence on drugs / non-dependent abuse of drugs |
An overdose of narcotic drugs or other medication |
| Want of attention at birth |
Death as a result of insufficient care being given
to a child at birth |
| Suicide |
Taking one's own life |
| Attempted / self-induced abortion |
Death resulting from an abortion or an attempt
to abort a child |
| Accident |
Death resulting from an unexpected or untoward event, e.g. a traffic accident or a fall at work |
| Misadventure |
Where act that is lawful but that has an unexpected consequence has caused the death |
| Self-neglect |
Death from anorexia nervosa |
| Lawful killing |
Death as a result of police use of firearms to prevent injury to a person or self defence |
| Unlawful killing |
Murder or manslaughter |
| Stillbirth |
The death of a foetus prior to birth |
| Open verdict |
This finding is made if the evidence is not sufficient
for any other finding to be made |
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