The Commissioner appealed an order requiring the North London Coroner to re-open an inquest into a death of Mr Hurst. Following the adjournment a neighbour had been convicted of the murder. The commissioner argued that since the death had occurred before the coming into effect of the Human Rights Act, the coroner was not under the same duty to hold an inquest.
Held: The duty to apply a convention applied before its incorporation into English law under the 1998 Act, and particularly so where there was a discretion being exercised. Had the coroner taken those obligations into account, he would have ordered an inquest. McKerr had considered only obligations as created by the 1998 Act, not those which had existed before it. The coroner was to be required to re-open the inquest.
Judges:
Buxton, Sedley LJJ, Sir Martin Nourse
Citations:
[2005] EWCA Civ 890, Times 11-Aug-2005
Links:
Statutes:
Coroners Act 1988 16(1), Human Rights Act 1998
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Regina v Lyons, Parnes, Ronson, Saunders HL 15-Nov-2002
The defendants had been convicted on evidence obtained from them by inspectors with statutory powers to require answers on pain of conviction. Subsequently the law changed to find such activity an infringement of a defendant’s human rights.
Cited – In re McKerr (Northern Ireland) HL 11-Mar-2004
The deceased had been shot by soldiers of the British Army whilst in a car in Northern Ireland. The car was alleged to have ‘run’ a checkpoint. The claimants said the investigation, now 20 years ago, had been inadequate. The claim was brought under . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Police, Coroners, Human Rights
Updated: 01 July 2022; Ref: scu.228941