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Exploring fatal facts: current issues in coronial law, policy and practice

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 June 2016

Rebecca Scott Bray  and
Greg Martin
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Abstract

Death investigation and coronial practices have undergone significant social, political and legal scrutiny in recent years. A wave of coronial reform has occurred across jurisdictions, including in the United Kingdom (UK), Australia, Canada and New Zealand, with a concomitant focus on the adequacy of death investigation law and policy. Taking key coronial developments in the UK and Australia as its starting point, this paper explores a legal jurisdiction undergoing immense legal and policy reform to illustrate why coronial law and practice is of increasing scholarly interest. It begins by tracing the contentious landscape of UK coronial law reform, which has also resonated internationally, thereafter examining key controversies that refocused attention on the value of the jurisdiction, before discussing contemporary coronial issues including, publicity, human rights and death prevention.

Type
Articles
Information
International Journal of Law in Context , Volume 12 , Issue 2: Frontiers in Coronial Justice – ushering in a new era of coronial research , June 2016 , pp. 115 - 140
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

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