The Short Title of this Act is “The Coroners Act, 1908.”

This Act is a consolidation of the enactments mentioned in the First Schedule hereto, and with respect to those enactments the following provisions shall apply:—

Savings.

The Governor, in the name and on behalf of His Majesty, may from time to time, by warrant under his hand, appoint fit persons to be Coroners, having jurisdiction throughout New Zealand, and holding their offices during the Governor’s pleasure.

Every Coroner shall, before acting, take the oath of allegiance and the judicial oath prescribed by “The Promissory Oaths Act, 1908.”

Such oaths may be administered by any Justice.

The Governor may at any time appoint a Justice to be Deputy to any Coroner, to act in the case of the illness or unavoidable absence of the Coroner from his usual place of residence, and such Deputy shall while so acting have all the powers, jurisdiction, privileges, and emoluments, and shall perform all the duties and be subject to the responsibilities of the Coroner.

In the case of such illness or absence the Deputy shall act as such from such day as the Coroner or, in the case of illness incapacitating him from so doing, his medical attendant certifies under his hand to the Deputy that the Coroner is ill and unable to perform his duties or that he is about to be absent from his usual place of residence; and the Deputy shall cease to act as such on the day on which he receives from the Coroner a certificate under his hand that he has resumed his duties.

Every Coroner shall by virtue of his office be a Justice for New Zealand, and shall, after taking the oaths hereby directed, have jurisdiction to inquire into—

Every Coroner shall, in respect to every inquest, have all the powers, authorities, and jurisdiction that now belong by law to the office of a Coroner in England, except so far as the same may be varied by or are inconsistent with this Act; and shall have the same power of punishing for wilful misbehaviour or wilful interruption of the proceedings of the Court as any Justice has by law in the case of like offences committed in any Court before him:

Provided that no one shall be tried upon a Coroner’s inquisition.

A Coroner shall not be required to hold any inquest at a greater distance than twenty miles from his residence; and a Deputy Coroner shall not be required to hold any inquest at a greater distance than twenty miles from the residence of the Coroner for whom he is Deputy.

Where it is fit that an inquest should be held, and no Coroner or Deputy Coroner entitled to act is present to hold such inquest, it shall be lawful for any Justice to hold such inquest, with full authority in respect thereof to exercise all the powers, authorities, and jurisdiction vested in Coroners:

Provided that no Justice shall so act until the expiration of twenty-four hours next after the death of any person, or the discovery of a body, or the occurrence of a fire, as the case may be.

Every inquest held by any Coroner shall be taken and made by jurors of the same description as have hitherto been used and accustomed to make such inquests, and such jurors shall be summoned either verbally or by precept by the Coroner.

At any inquest the number of jurors shall be not less than four nor more than six, and the concurrence of four jurors in the verdict of the jury shall be sufficient.

If any man who has been duly summoned and returned to serve as a juror upon any inquest before a Coroner fails, after being openly called three times, to appear and serve as a juror, the Coroner shall impose on him a fine not exceeding five pounds.

Where upon the summoning or holding of any inquest touching the death of any person it appears to the Coroner that the deceased person was not at or immediately before his death attended by any legally qualified medical practitioner, the Coroner may issue a summons for the attendance as a witness at such inquest of some legally qualified medical practitioner in actual practice who resides near to the place where such inquest is held; but, where the deceased person was attended by any such practitioner, the Coroner shall issue a summons for his attendance, or, if the deceased was attended by more than one such practitioner, the Coroner may cause all or any of them to be summoned, at his discretion.

The Coroner, either in such summons as aforesaid or by an order in writing, may at any time before the termination of the inquest direct any legally qualified medical practitioner to perform a post-mortem examination of the body of the deceased.

If it appears to the Coroner that the death of the deceased person was probably caused partly or entirely by the improper or negligent treatment of any medical practitioner or other person, then such practitioner or other person shall not be allowed to perform or assist at any such examination or analysis, but shall be allowed to be present thereat.

Where upon an inquest it appears to the Coroner or to a majority of the jury that the cause of death has not been satisfactorily explained by the medical practitioners examined in the first instance at such inquest, the Coroner shall forthwith cause some other legally qualified medical practitioner to be summoned as a witness, and shall direct him to perform a post-mortem examination, with or without such analysis as aforesaid, whether such examination has been previously performed or not.

Where such additional evidence is required by a majority of the jury, it shall be lawful for such majority to name to the Coroner any particular legally qualified medical practitioner whom they wish to attend, and in that case such practitioner shall be summoned, and no other.

Where upon an inquest it appears to the Coroner or to a majority of the jury that the cause of death has not been satisfactorily accounted for, the Coroner may of his own motion, or shall if required by a majority of the jury, forthwith cause a competent analyst to be summoned as a witness; and if, upon the examination of such analyst, it appears to the Coroner or to a majority of the jury that an analysis is required, the Coroner shall direct forthwith the said analyst or some other competent skilled person to make an analysis.

The fee payable for any such analysis shall be of such amount as the Minister of Justice, upon consideration of all the circumstances, fixes as fair and reasonable.

Where any legally qualified medical practitioner has attended at an inquest in obedience to any such summons as aforesaid, he shall, for such attendance and for giving evidence at such inquest, be entitled to remuneration according to the scale of fees to medical witnesses specified in the Second Schedule hereto.

No remuneration shall be paid for the performance of any post-mortem examination instituted without the previous direction of the Coroner.

Where the death occurred in any hospital, prison, or other public building, no medical officer appointed with salary to attend such hospital, prison, or building shall be entitled to any such remuneration.

Every medical practitioner on whom any such summons or order of a Coroner as aforesaid is served, either personally or by leaving the same at his usual residence, in sufficient time for him to obey the same, who fails without good and sufficient excuse to obey such summons or order is liable to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds and not less than three pounds.

It shall not be necessary for the Coroner or the jury on any inquest to view the body of any deceased person where it appears, on the certificate of some duly qualified medical practitioner, that the deceased died of any infectious disease, or where, in the opinion of the Chief Health Officer, danger to the health of the jury might result from such view.

The Coroner before whom any inquisition of murder or manslaughter is found, whether charging any person or not, shall, as soon as conveniently may be, send a copy of such inquisition, together with a copy of all depositions taken before him, to the Attorney-General, who may thereupon institute an inquiry and take such steps as he deems desirable.

If the Coroner issues a warrant for the apprehension of the person against whom the inquisition is found, it shall be a warrant to take such person before a Justice, who may deal with him as though such warrant had been issued by a Justice upon an information duly laid before him.

There shall be no forfeiture of any chattel for or in respect of the same having moved to or caused the death of man.

In respect of every inquest there shall be paid to the Coroner holding the same, and to the person employed to summon the jury (not being a paid servant of the Government), such sums as the Governor by Order in Council from time to time appoints, but not exceeding in respect of any matter mentioned in the Second Schedule hereto the amount specified to be payable in such Schedule:

Provided that the Governor may, by any such Order in Council, prescribe that the actual travelling-expenses of a Coroner in holding an inquest may be paid in lieu of mileage fees in any case, at the discretion of the Minister of Justice.

Every person who is summoned and duly attends and serves as a juror at any inquest held before a Coroner shall be entitled to be paid for each day’s service the sum of eight shillings if he serves for more than four hours in the day, and the sum of four shillings if he serves for not more than four hours in the day.

Every holder of a publican’s license shall, at the request of any Justice or constable, receive into the house mentioned in such license, or upon the premises occupied therewith, any dead body brought to such house for the purpose of an inquest being held thereon; and for every dead body so received he shall be paid a fee of one pound; and if he refuses to receive such dead body for the purpose aforesaid he shall be liable to a fine not exceeding five pounds:

Provided that this section shall not apply in any case where the licensed premises are situate within a distance of three miles from any public morgue, or from any hospital dead-house deemed to be a public morgue under the provisions of “The Public Health Act, 1908.”

No Medical Officer to any lunatic asylum or licensed house for the reception of lunatics, or to any prison, shall be competent whilst holding such office to act as Coroner at any inquest on the body of any lunatic dying at such asylum or licensed house, or on the body of any prisoner dying or being executed at such prison.

The finding upon any inquest held by a Deputy Coroner or Justice shall not be invalid by reason merely that such Deputy or Justice was not in the particular case authorised by this Act to hold such inquest, and any such finding shall have the same force and effect as if the Deputy or Justice was authorised by this Act to hold the inquest.

No proceeding taken under this Act shall take away or affect, or be deemed to take away or affect, the right of any person to sue for and recover compensation for or in respect of any damage or injury occasioned by the reckless or negligent use of fire.

It shall be lawful to hold any inquest upon Sunday whenever, in the opinion of the Coroner, it is expedient to hold the same on that day.

All fees payable under this Act shall be paid by the Minister of Finance from moneys to be appropriated by Parliament out of the Consolidated Fund.

The forms in the Third Schedule hereto, or forms to the like effect, shall be deemed sufficient, and may be used in all proceedings by and before Coroners.