Coroners (Amendment) Act 2019
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Notice of inquest | ||
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13. The Principal Act is amended by the insertion of the following section after section 18A (inserted by section 12 ): | ||
“18B. (1) A coroner shall, whether by post or such other means as he or she considers appropriate, arrange for notice of the date, time and place of the holding of an inquest in relation to the death of a person to be given to the following persons not less than 14 days before that date: | ||
(a) a family member of the deceased person; | ||
(b) a person required to attend at the inquest as a witness; | ||
(c) any other person who, in the opinion of the coroner, ought to receive such notice. | ||
(2) Subsection (1) shall not prevent a coroner from holding an inquest where less than 14 days’ notice of it is given under that subsection if the coroner is satisfied that to do so does not unfairly prejudice the interests of a family member of the deceased person concerned and that it is appropriate to hold the inquest on an earlier date— | ||
(a) due to the circumstances of the death of the deceased person, to facilitate the attendance of witnesses whose evidence would, in the opinion of the coroner, be of assistance at the inquest, or | ||
(b) where the body of the deceased person is being repatriated to a place outside the State, to facilitate the repatriation of the body.”. |