Fatal Accident Inquiries Under Review

The legislation governing the operation of fatal accident inquiries (FAIs) in Scotland is to be reviewed for the first time in over 30 years. Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill and the Lord Advocate, Elish Angiolini have agreed that a review of the Fatal Accident and Sudden Deaths Inquiry (Scotland) Act 1976 (the "1976 Act") should take place, and be lead by Lord Cullen of Whitekirk. Lord Cullen presided over public inquiries into the Piper Alpha disaster and the Dunblane school massacre.

FAIs are inquiries held in the public interest into the circumstances of deaths in the workplace, in custody, and those which have caused serious public concern. The Procurator Fiscal will determine whether (in the case of a sudden, suspicious, accidental or unexplained death) it would be appropriate to instruct a FAI. However, under the 1976 Act, an Inquiry is mandatory where there has been a fatality in the workplace. FAIs are held in the Sheriff Court and are inquisitorial in nature. The outcome is a determination of the facts and circumstances of the death. Although the Sheriff can make recommendations as to how deaths may be avoided in future, these have no force in law.

The review of the current law is expected to take around a year. Concerns have been raised in recent years about delays in the system and how the implementation of Sheriff's recommendations have been monitored. The review will examine the operation of judicial inquiries and consider whether the FAI system continues to be 'fit for purpose'. In particular it will determine whether the Sheriff Court is the best forum for such investigations.

Similarly, in England, a draft Coroners Bill was published on 12 June 2006. The Bill is intended to repeal and replace the Coroners Act 1988 (the Act) and parts of the Coroners Rules 1984. It aims to modernise the...