The Coroners Court of Tasmania is the generic name given to the Coronial Division of the Magistrates Court of Tasmania. It is a court which has exclusive jurisdiction over the remains of a person and the power to make findings in respect of the cause of death of a person, a fire or an explosion in Tasmania.
The lieutenant governor's commission also entitled him to appoint others as coroners as required, and this was most likely to have been to justices of the peace.
Structure and JurisdictionEdit
Coroners have the power to investigate the causes of death within their jurisdiction. They also have power to retain a person’s remain, order autopsies, and direct how a person’s remains may be disposed of. In Tasmania, they have jurisdiction over fires and explosions, a function which coroners in the United Kingdom did not have.
Where a serious criminal offence has been disclosed during the course of an inquest or an inquiry, the Coroner may refer that matter to the Attorney-General of Tasmania for consideration of the institution of criminal proceedings.
Generally there are no appeals from the decision of a coroner, although there may be provision for the Supreme Court of Tasmania of the Chief Magistrate of Tasmania to reopen an inquest or inquiry.[2] There may also be power for the Supreme Court of Tasmania to grant prerogative relief in respect of the proceedings.
State CoronerEdit
Unlike other states in Australia, there is no specific requirement in Tasmania law to appoint a State Coroner. In Tasmania, the Chief Magistrate performs those functions. The Chief Magistrate has the function to oversee and co-ordinate coronial services in Tasmania, ensure that all deaths and suspected deaths concerning which a coroner has jurisdiction to hold an inquest are properly investigated, and ensuring that an inquest is held whenever it is required, and to issue guidelines to coroners to assist them in the exercise or performance of their functions.[3]
The Governor may also appoint Coroners. All magistrates in Tasmania are coroners by virtue of their appointment as a magistrate.
The secretary of the Department of Justice may appoint a public servant to be a Chief Clerk or Coroner’s Associate.
Every police officer in Tasmania is a coroner’s officer.
CaseloadEdit
In the financial year 2005-2006, the division of court had 636 deaths reported and held 14 inquests.[4]
ReferencesEdit
^. Archived from the original on 8 December 2007. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
- Annual Report 2005-2006 of the Tasmanian Magistrates Court
August 31, 2023
coroners, court, tasmania, generic, name, given, coronial, division, magistrates, court, tasmania, court, which, exclusive, jurisdiction, over, remains, person, power, make, findings, respect, cause, death, person, fire, explosion, tasmania, contents, history,. The Coroners Court of Tasmania is the generic name given to the Coronial Division of the Magistrates Court of Tasmania It is a court which has exclusive jurisdiction over the remains of a person and the power to make findings in respect of the cause of death of a person a fire or an explosion in Tasmania Contents 1 History 2 Structure and Jurisdiction 3 State Coroner 4 Caseload 5 References 6 External linksHistory EditThe office of coroner in Tasmania derives from the legal framework inherited from the United Kingdom The first Governor of New South Wales Arthur Phillip was a coroner by virtue of his commission as governor 1 Similarly Lieutenant Governors of Van Diemen s Land which subsequently became the state of Tasmania also had similar powers The lieutenant governor s commission also entitled him to appoint others as coroners as required and this was most likely to have been to justices of the peace Structure and Jurisdiction EditCoroners have the power to investigate the causes of death within their jurisdiction They also have power to retain a person s remain order autopsies and direct how a person s remains may be disposed of In Tasmania they have jurisdiction over fires and explosions a function which coroners in the United Kingdom did not have Where a serious criminal offence has been disclosed during the course of an inquest or an inquiry the Coroner may refer that matter to the Attorney General of Tasmania for consideration of the institution of criminal proceedings Generally there are no appeals from the decision of a coroner although there may be provision for the Supreme Court of Tasmania of the Chief Magistrate of Tasmania to reopen an inquest or inquiry 2 There may also be power for the Supreme Court of Tasmania to grant prerogative relief in respect of the proceedings State Coroner EditUnlike other states in Australia there is no specific requirement in Tasmania law to appoint a State Coroner In Tasmania the Chief Magistrate performs those functions The Chief Magistrate has the function to oversee and co ordinate coronial services in Tasmania ensure that all deaths and suspected deaths concerning which a coroner has jurisdiction to hold an inquest are properly investigated and ensuring that an inquest is held whenever it is required and to issue guidelines to coroners to assist them in the exercise or performance of their functions 3 The Governor may also appoint Coroners All magistrates in Tasmania are coroners by virtue of their appointment as a magistrate The secretary of the Department of Justice may appoint a public servant to be a Chief Clerk or Coroner s Associate Every police officer in Tasmania is a coroner s officer Caseload EditIn the financial year 2005 2006 the division of court had 636 deaths reported and held 14 inquests 4 References Edit Coroners and Morgue Archived from the original on 8 December 2007 Retrieved 29 July 2020 sections 59 amp 59A Coroners Act 1995 section 7 Coroners Act 1995 Annual Report of the Tasmanian Magistrates CourtExternal links Edithttps web archive org web 20100818233637 http www magistratescourt tas gov au divisions coronial Homepage of Tasmanian Coroners Court http www austlii edu au au legis tas consol act ca1995120 index html Coroners Act 1995 Tas https web archive org web 20070101022833 http www magistratescourt tas gov au data assets pdf file 68684 MagistratesCourtReport2005 2006 pdf Annual Report 2005 2006 of the Tasmanian Magistrates Court Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Coroners Court of Tasmania amp oldid 1105478417, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
