Chief Coroner's Guidance No.42 ' New Guidance In Respect Of Remote Participation At Hearings

• Published date: 01 July 2022
• Subject Matter: Litigation, Mediation & Arbitration, Trials & Appeals & Compensation
• Law Firm: Gatehouse Chambers
• Author: Ms Emma Zeb

Subject to the court having effective technology, the pandemic has seen a significant change in the way that pre-inquest review hearings (PIRHs) and final inquest hearings have been conducted with widespread use of remote attendance of both witnesses and legal representatives. To my mind this has worked well for PIRHs and in most cases for the inquest itself.

On 28 June 2022, section 85A of the Courts Act 2003, and the Remote Observation and Recording (Courts and Tribunals) Regulations 2022 ('the Regulations') came into effect. These provisions allow the remote observation of proceedings in any court, tribunal or body exercising the judicial power of the State, including Coroners' courts.

In light of this, the Chief Coroner, HHJ Thomas Teague QC, issued Chief Coroner Guidance (CCG) 42 on 28 June 2022, which provides guidance on remote attendance in the Coroner's Court by the public, including the media, participants (IPs, witnesses and representatives) and, to a more limited extent, Coroners and juries.

Key takeaway points from the CCG 42

Remote observers

• No-one has the right to observe a hearing remotely. Individuals are entitled to apply for permission, but applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis and may be refused.
• To manage the administrative burden of dealing with applications for remote observation, coroner areas may wish to publish guidance on the application process. The details are likely to differ depending on the area's staffing levels and resources.
• When deciding an application to observe a hearing remotely coroners must refer directly to the legislation and ensure that they
  • apply the test in regulation 3 of the Regulations (which allows the coroner to permit remote attendance if satisfied that it would be in the interests of justice, there is the capacity and technological capability to enable it, and it would not create an unreasonable administrative burden); and
  • take into account the mandatory considerations in regulation 4 and any other relevant matters.
• Individuals seeking remote attendance will need to explain why it is in the interests of justice to allow them to observe a hearing remotely when there is the option to attend in person.
• Coroners will make judicial decisions about remote observation based on the circumstances of each individual case. The CCG provides some examples of how such decisions may be made.
• It is unlikely that coroners will need to consult interested persons before deciding remote observation...