One important aspect of the support FAIR provides is to families as they engage with the criminal justice system. Sadly many families have never seen justice and for those who do get a taste of it find it a leaves a very bitter taste. The role of FAIR has evolved over the years from taking a leading role in justice and human rights work in many pivotal cases to today providing the support and care to those who seek justice. Behind the headlines we deal with the heartache and with the practical support and care needed to equip victims to engage with the criminal justice system. They have often waited decades and the process they encounter can often re-traumatise them. Weeks of attendance at court, the disclosure of painful details around the murder of their loved ones and the frustration of seeing those responsible often escape justice takes it toll.

Our work is often behind the scenes, preparing victims and families for this process, managing their expectations and giving them a listening ear and a range of support as they proceed. The first step for many is to engage with the Police or other legacy investigative processes. Then a Coroners Court will hold an Inquest. An inquest is an inquiry into the circumstances of a death. The purpose of the inquest is to find out who the deceased person was and how, when and where they died and to provide the details needed for their death to be registered. It is not a trial. It is not for the Coroner to decide, or appear to decide, any question of criminal or civil liability or to apportion guilt or attribute blame.

The average time families have waited for a conclusion to adjourned inquests is 20 years and seven months. Many of the reopened inquests waiting to be heard concern deaths that occcurred as far back as 1971. The majority of the cases have not led to prosecutions. Many inquests were opened shortly after the deaths happened but were adjourned and never concluded, while half were reopened in recent years on the orders of John Larkin QC, the then attorney general of Northern Ireland, following complaints that the original hearings were fundamentally unfair.

In February 2019 the Lord Chief Justice, Sir Declan Morgan, issued the following statement in response to the announcement by the Department of Justice that funding is to be made available for legacy inquests commencing in April 2019:

“On 12 February 2016 I proposed a plan for dealing with what have now come to be known as the “legacy inquests”. Legacy inquests have an impact on bereaved families, those who have served in the police and armed forces, other state agencies; and very often the wider communities in which these deaths occurred.

I am pleased that funding is now going to be provided to implement the plan for dealing with legacy inquests which I proposed over three years ago. There is clearly a great deal of preparatory work to be done to establish the Legacy Inquest Unit and deliver my plan. During this preparatory period, it will be important to engage with all the relevant agencies and parties who will have to play their part in ensuring that the outstanding inquests can be completed within a five year period once the unit has been established.

While the preparations for the Legacy Inquest Unit are ongoing, I expect that there will be a further Judge-led review to follow up on the work undertaken by Lord Justice Weir when he carried out a comprehensive review of these cases in February 2016. We anticipate this review will be completed before the summer recess.”

Sadly progress has been slow and the entire process has become politicised. In the case of the Kingsmills Inquest families has been continually denied access to information and have lost faith in the process. This experience has caused more suffering and during it many victims have passed away before they can see the truth established. Through all of this FAIR has provided support and care giving victims the strength to continue.

One of our important roles is to provide information to victims and families as they engage in the criminal justice system. That ranges from basis advice and orientation about what they can expect through to complex legal advice and support. Often an explanation of what an Inquest is will help manage expectations and avoid disappointment. A sample of the information we provide is included below.

 

Inquests

An inquest is an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding a death. The purpose of the inquest is to find out who the person was and how, when and where they died, and to find out the details the Registrar of Deaths need to register the death.

An inquest is not a trial. It is not the role of the Coroner to decide any question of criminal or civil liability or to apportion guilt or attribute blame.

Once the Coroner’s investigation into a death is complete, the Coroner will decide if an inquest is to be held. This can take some time to complete and is dependent on the circumstances of the death and the final report of the postmortem examination.

If the Coroner is informed that someone has been charged with an offence directly linked to the death, the inquest or a decision on whether to hold and inquest, will not be made until the criminal proceedings end.

If an inquest is to be held a date will be arranged in consultation with the family. Inquests are open to the public and the media.

Coroners decide who should give evidence as witnesses at an inquest. Witnesses will first be questioned by the Coroner, and there may be further questions by ‘properly interested people’ or their legal representatives. Person’s with a ‘proper interest’ include:

  • relatives of the deceased
  • the executor(s) of the deceased’s will or a person appointed as the deceased’s personal representative
  • solicitors acting for the next of kin
  • insurers with a relevant interest
  • anyone who may, in some way, be responsible for the death
  • others at some special risk or appearing to the Coroner to have a proper interest

The findings of an inquest will record the essential facts about the means by which the deceased came by his or her death.


Coroners Inquest (PDF) – Northern Ireland Court Service Online