A death is suspicious if it is unexpected and its circumstances or cause are medically or legally unexplained. Normally, this occurs in the context of medical care, suicide or suspected criminal activity.
Legal procedure
United Kingdom
In cases of suspicious death in
England and Wales
England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is ...
, the police are required to contact a
coroner, who will open an
inquest
An inquest is a judicial inquiry in common law jurisdictions, particularly one held to determine the cause of a person's death. Conducted by a judge, jury, or government official, an inquest may or may not require an autopsy carried out by a co ...
, which is automatically adjourned to allow the police to continue their investigations. This adjourned inquest means that the death can be officially registered and a temporary
death certificate
A death certificate is either a legal document issued by a medical practitioner which states when a person died, or a document issued by a government civil registration office, that declares the date, location and cause of a person's death, as ...
issued. If, as a result of police enquiries, a criminal is charged or an accident is shown to have occurred, a full death certificate is issued. Otherwise, the coroner holds a full inquest. In
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...
, the coroner's functions are carried out by a "
procurator fiscal", who is appointed by the
Lord Advocate
His Majesty's Advocate, known as the Lord Advocate ( gd, Morair Tagraidh, sco, Laird Advocat), is the chief legal officer of the Scottish Government and the Crown in Scotland for both civil and criminal matters that fall within the devolved po ...
to investigate unexpected or accidental deaths.
Any suspicious death of a British national outside of Britain is required to be investigated through an inquest. When a suspicious death occurs aboard a British
naval or merchant vessel, the body is preserved by refrigeration until the ship arrives at port, at which point the police and coroner begin their investigations.
[{{cite book, last=Green, first=Jennifer & Michael, title=Dealing with Death: A Handbook of Practices, Procedures and Law, url=https://archive.org/details/dealingwithdeath00gree, url-access=limited, year=2006, publisher=Jessica Kingsley Publishers, page]
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References
Causes of death
Legal procedure