ICCL welcomes government commitment to reform the Coroner Service

25 October 2024

The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) welcomes the publication today of the report on the public consultation on reform of the Coroner Service and the commitment from the Minister for Justice to draft legislation to reform the Coroner Service.

ICCL has long campaigned for the Coroner Service to be reformed to better protect the rights of, and serve, bereaved families. In the upcoming general election campaign, we are calling on all political parties to commit to publishing a “Charter for the Bereaved” setting out the rights of bereaved people and instigating thorough structural reform of the management and delivery of the Coroner Service.

Any reform of the Service must be in line with the rights of bereaved families under Article 2 of the European Convention of Human Rights and it must include legal aid for families and the reform of jury system at inquests.

ENDS

Notes for editors

In 2021 ICCL published a landmark report, Death Investigation, Coroners’ Inquests and the Rights of the Bereaved which identifies human rights failings within the Coroner Service and sets out a comprehensive programme of reform, centred on 52 recommendations.