OF16 - The Coroners Act 2006

Question 1

What is the Coroner?

Answer 1

The Coroner is a person specifically appointed to enquire into the matter of death of a person.

Question 2

What’s the appropriate term you should refer to Coroners as?

Answer 2

Coroners are equivalent to a District Court Judge therefore you should refer to them as Sir or Maam

Question 3

What does the ‘S’ in the acronym SCUMBIE stand for?

Answer 3

Suicide

Question 4

What does the ‘C’ in the acronym SCUMBIE stand for?

Answer 4

Cause unknown or no Doctor’s Certificate issued

Question 5

What does the ‘U’ in the acronym SCUMBIE stand for?

Answer 5

Unnatural or violent death

Question 6

What does the ‘M’ in the acronym SCUMBIE stand for?

Answer 6

Medical or surgical or dental operation or procedure (includes administration of of anaesthetic or medicine)

Question 7

What does the ‘B’ in the acronym SCUMBIE stand for?

Answer 7

Birth deaths or deaths that appear to be the result of pregnancy it giving birth

Question 8

What does the ‘I’ in the acronym SCUMBIE stand for?

Answer 8

Institutional deaths (such as; in police custody, prison, children’s home or psychiatric hospital)

Question 9

What does the ‘E’ in the acronym SCUMBIE stand for?

Answer 9

Enactment requires the holding of an inquest / the law dictates reporting

Question 10

What does Section 13 of the Coroners Act 2006 mean?

Answer 10

A person who finds a body in NZ must report the finding to a Police employee as soon as practicable unless the person believes that the finding is already known to the NZ Police, or will be reported to a Police employee by another person.

Question 11

What does Section 15 of the Coroners Act 2006 mean?

Answer 11

Subsection (1) applies to a Police employee:

(a) who finds a body in NZ, or
(b) to whom a report of a death is made under section 13

Question 12

What does Section 15 (2) of the Coroners Act 2006 mean?

Answer 12

It means the Police have a duty to report the death immediately to the Coroner.

Question 13

What is a ‘post mortem’?

Answer 13

A post mortem is an examination of a person’s body to determine the cause of death.

Question 14

Who authorises a post mortem?

Answer 14

A post mortem is authorised by the Coroner, who directs a pathologist to perform the examination.

Question 15

What does Section 33 (1) of the Coroners Act 2006 mean?

Answer 15

If the Coroner determines a post mortem is necessary, the Coroner’s representative will advise Next of Kin (NOK) a post mortem is required.

The immediate family may have a right to object to the post mortem being carried out.

Question 16

What is the first purpose a Coroner makes an inquest?

Answer 16

• The FACT that a person has died
• The IDENTITY of the deceased
• The CAUSE of the death
• WHERE and WHEN the death occurred
• The CIRCUMSTANCES of the death

Question 17

When ‘MUST’ the Coroners hold an Inquest?

Answer 17

When the death is:

• a suicide
• an institutional death
• any death where the cause or circumstances of death have not been clearly established