Search Legislation

Coroners and Justice Act 2009

 Help about what version

What Version

  • Latest available (Revised)
  • Original (As enacted)
 Help about advanced features

Advanced Features

Changes to legislation:

There are currently no known outstanding effects for the Coroners and Justice Act 2009, Cross Heading: Witnesses and evidence. Help about Changes to Legislation

Close

Changes to Legislation

Revised legislation carried on this site may not be fully up to date. At the current time any known changes or effects made by subsequent legislation have been applied to the text of the legislation you are viewing by the editorial team. Please see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ for details regarding the timescales for which new effects are identified and recorded on this site.

Witnesses and evidenceN.I.

1N.I.In the Coroners Act (Northern Ireland) 1959 (c. 15), for section 17 (witnesses to be summoned) substitute—

17APower to require evidence to be given or produced

(1)A coroner who proceeds to hold an inquest may by notice require a person to attend at a time and place stated in the notice and—

(a)to give evidence at the inquest,

(b)to produce any documents in the custody or under the control of the person which relate to a matter that is relevant to the inquest, or

(c)to produce for inspection, examination or testing any other thing in the custody or under the control of the person which relates to a matter that is relevant to the inquest.

(2)A coroner who is making any investigation to determine whether or not an inquest is necessary, or who proceeds to hold an inquest, may by notice require a person, within such period as the coroner thinks reasonable—

(a)to provide evidence to the coroner, about any matters specified in the notice, in the form of a written statement,

(b)to produce any documents in the custody or under the control of the person which relate to a matter that is relevant to the investigation or inquest, or

(c)to produce for inspection, examination or testing any other thing in the custody or under the control of the person which relates to a matter that is relevant to the investigation or inquest.

(3)A notice under subsection (1) or (2) shall—

(a)explain the possible consequences, under subsection (6), of not complying with the notice;

(b)indicate what the recipient of the notice should do if he wishes to make a claim under subsection (4).

(4)A claim by a person that—

(a)he is unable to comply with a notice under this section, or

(b)it is not reasonable in all the circumstances to require him to comply with such a notice,

is to be determined by the coroner, who may revoke or vary the notice on that ground.

(5)In deciding whether to revoke or vary a notice on the ground mentioned in subsection (4)(b), the coroner shall consider the public interest in the information in question being obtained for the purposes of the inquest, having regard to the likely importance of the information.

(6)A coroner may impose a fine not exceeding £1000 on a person who fails without reasonable excuse to do anything required by a notice under subsection (1) or (2).

(7)For the purposes of this section a document or thing is under a person's control if it is in the person's possession or if he has a right to possession of it.

(8)Nothing in this section shall prevent a person who has not been given a notice under subsection (1) or (2) from giving or producing any evidence, document or other thing.

17BGiving or producing evidence: further provision

(1)The power of a coroner under section 17A(6) is additional to, and does not affect, any other power the coroner may have—

(a)to compel a person to appear before him;

(b)to compel a person to give evidence or produce any document or other thing;

(c)to punish a person for contempt of court for failure to appear or to give evidence or to produce any document or other thing.

But a person may not be fined under that section and also be punished under any such other power.

(2)A person may not be required to give or produce any evidence or document under section 17A if—

(a)he could not be required to do so in civil proceedings in a court in Northern Ireland, or

(b)the requirement would be incompatible with a Community obligation.

(3)The rules of law under which evidence or documents are permitted or required to be withheld on grounds of public interest immunity apply in relation to an inquest as they apply in relation to civil proceedings in a court in Northern Ireland.

17COffences relating to evidence

(1)It is an offence for a person to do anything that is intended to have the effect of—

(a)distorting or otherwise altering any evidence, document or other thing that is given or produced for the purposes of any investigation or inquest under this Act, or

(b)preventing any evidence, document or other thing from being given or produced for the purposes of such an investigation or inquest,

or to do anything that the person knows or believes is likely to have that effect.

(2)It is an offence for a person—

(a)intentionally to suppress or conceal a document that is, and that the person knows or believes to be, a relevant document, or

(b)intentionally to alter or destroy such a document.

(3)For the purposes of subsection (2) a document is a “relevant document” if it is likely that a coroner making any investigation or holding an inquest would (if aware of its existence) wish to be provided with it.

(4)A person does not commit an offence under subsection (1) or (2) by doing anything that is authorised or required—

(a)by a coroner, or

(b)by virtue of section 17B(2) or (3) or any privilege that applies.

(5)Proceedings for an offence under subsection (1) or (2) may be instituted only by or with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland.

(6)A person guilty of an offence under subsection (1) or (2) is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months, or to both.

Commencement Information

I1Sch. 11 para. 1 in force at 29.2.2016 by S.R. 2016/23, art. 2

2N.I.Omit sections 19 (service of summonses) and 20 (provisions as to witnesses) of that Act.

Commencement Information

I2Sch. 11 para. 2 in force at 29.2.2016 by S.R. 2016/23, art. 2

Back to top

Options/Help

Print Options

You have chosen to open The Whole Act

The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.

Would you like to continue?

You have chosen to open The Whole Act as a PDF

The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download.

Would you like to continue?

You have chosen to open the Whole Act

The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.

Would you like to continue?

You have chosen to open the Whole Act without Schedules

The Whole Act without Schedules you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.

Would you like to continue?

You have chosen to open Schedules only

The Schedules you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.

Would you like to continue?

Close

Legislation is available in different versions:

Latest Available (revised):The latest available updated version of the legislation incorporating changes made by subsequent legislation and applied by our editorial team. Changes we have not yet applied to the text, can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area.

Original (As Enacted or Made): The original version of the legislation as it stood when it was enacted or made. No changes have been applied to the text.

Close

See additional information alongside the content

Geographical Extent: Indicates the geographical area that this provision applies to. For further information see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.

Show Timeline of Changes: See how this legislation has or could change over time. Turning this feature on will show extra navigation options to go to these specific points in time. Return to the latest available version by using the controls above in the What Version box.

Close

Opening Options

Different options to open legislation in order to view more content on screen at once

Close

Explanatory Notes

Text created by the government department responsible for the subject matter of the Act to explain what the Act sets out to achieve and to make the Act accessible to readers who are not legally qualified. Explanatory Notes were introduced in 1999 and accompany all Public Acts except Appropriation, Consolidated Fund, Finance and Consolidation Acts.

Close

More Resources

Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:

  • the original print PDF of the as enacted version that was used for the print copy
  • lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
  • confers power and blanket amendment details
  • all formats of all associated documents
  • correction slips
  • links to related legislation and further information resources
Close

Impact Assessments

Impact Assessments generally accompany all UK Government interventions of a regulatory nature that affect the private sector, civil society organisations and public services. They apply regardless of whether the regulation originates from a domestic or international source and can accompany primary (Acts etc) and secondary legislation (SIs). An Impact Assessment allows those with an interest in the policy area to understand:

  • Why the government is proposing to intervene;
  • The main options the government is considering, and which one is preferred;
  • How and to what extent new policies may impact on them; and,
  • The estimated costs and benefits of proposed measures.
Close

Timeline of Changes

This timeline shows the different points in time where a change occurred. The dates will coincide with the earliest date on which the change (e.g an insertion, a repeal or a substitution) that was applied came into force. The first date in the timeline will usually be the earliest date when the provision came into force. In some cases the first date is 01/02/1991 (or for Northern Ireland legislation 01/01/2006). This date is our basedate. No versions before this date are available. For further information see the Editorial Practice Guide and Glossary under Help.

Close

More Resources

Use this menu to access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:

  • the original print PDF of the as enacted version that was used for the print copy
  • correction slips

Click 'View More' or select 'More Resources' tab for additional information including:

  • lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
  • confers power and blanket amendment details
  • all formats of all associated documents
  • links to related legislation and further information resources