Multimedia Mania/abacus-multimedia-mania.iso/dp/0052/00521.txt

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$Unique_ID{bob00521}
$Pretitle{}
$Title{United Kingdom
Status and Duties}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Embassy of the United Kingdom, Washington DC}
$Affiliation{Embassy of the United Kingdom, Washington DC}
$Subject{court
police
crown
prosecution
appeal
bail
courts
magistrates
criminal
england}
$Date{1990}
$Log{}
Title:       United Kingdom
Book:        Justice and the Law in Britain
Author:      Embassy of the United Kingdom, Washington DC
Affiliation: Embassy of the United Kingdom, Washington DC
Date:        1990

Status and Duties

Police Discipline

     A British police officer may be sued or prosecuted for any wrongful act
committed in carrying out duties. Police discipline codes are designed to
prevent any abuse of the considerable powers enjoyed by a police officer and
to maintain public confidence in the impartiality of the service. Statutory
procedures, including an independent element, govern the way in which
complaints from the public against the police are handled. The independent
Police Complaints Authority has powers to supervise the investigation of any
serious complaint against a police officer in England and Wales. In Scotland
complaints against police officers involving allegations of any form of
criminal conduct are investigated by an independent procurator fiscal service.

     The security forces in Northern Ireland are accountable to the law. If
they break it, their members are liable to prosecution and, in some cases,
this has led to conviction. The Northern Ireland Independent Commission for
Police Complaints is required to supervise the investigation of a complaint
regarding death or serious injury and has the power to supervise that of any
other complaint if it so wishes. In certain circumstances, the Secretary of
State may direct the Commission to supervise the investigation of matters that
are not the subject of a formal complaint.

Police Work

     Police work ranges from the protection of people and of property, street
patrolling and traffic control to crime prevention, criminal investigation
and arresting suspected offenders. In urban areas, particularly, police
officers have to deal with social problems and may bring in other social
agencies and expert help.

Community Relations

     Because the police cannot do their job without public support, virtually
all forces have community liaison departments designed to develop closer
contact between the force and the community. The Police and Criminal Evidence
Act 1984 requires arrangements to be made for obtaining the views of people
about the policing of their area. Almost all of areas have police/community
consultative groups. Particular efforts are made to develop relations with
young people, through greater contact with schools; the Education Act 1986
places a duty on governing bodies and head teachers to describe in their
annual reports the steps they take to strengthen their schools' links with the
community, including the police.

     Emphasis is placed on improving relations with ethnic minorities. The
Government believes that all police officers should receive a thorough
training in community and race relations. The Home Office sponsors two
national courses in these subjects for community liaison officers and police
managers. There is also a national specialist support unit responsible for
improving community and race relations training for the police. Discriminatory
behaviour by police officers is an offence under the Police Discipline Code.
The Home Office organises recruitment advertising campaigns in the press in
order to encourage black and Asian recruits to the police. In April 1990 there
were 1,339 ethnic minority police officers in England and Wales.

     To release as many uniformed police officers as possible for operational
duties, police authorities employ over 42,100 full-time civilians in England
and Wales and over 2,670 in Scotland. Traffic wardens-of whom there are over
4,610 in England and Wales and over 500 in Scotland-carry out duties concerned
with traffic and parking. Wardens are under the control of the chief
constable.

     Each force has an attachment of volunteer special constables who perform
police duties in their spare time, without pay, acting mainly as auxiliaries
to the regular force. In Northern Ireland there is a 4,600-strong part-time
and full-time paid reserve.

     Members of the police service may not belong to a trade union nor may
they withdraw their labour in furtherance of a trade dispute. All ranks,
however, have their own staff associations to represent their interests.

Co-ordination of Police Operations

     Several common services are provided by central government and by
arrangements between forces. In England and Wales the most important of these
cover forensic science, telecommunications and the central and provincial
criminal records available to all forces. In Scotland the main common services
cover centralised police training, the Scottish Crime Squad and the Scottish
Criminal Record Office.

     Certain special services such as liaison with the International Criminal
Police Organisation (Interpol) are provided for other British forces by the
Metropolitan Police. The National Drugs Intelligence Unit assists police
forces and the Customs service throughout Britain. The services of the Fraud
Squad, which is run jointly by the Metropolitan Police and City of London
Police to investigate company frauds, are available in England and Wales.

     Regional crime squads, co-ordinated at national level, deal with serious
crime such as drug trafficking and are used whenever operations cannot be
dealt with by individual police forces alone. In 1988 the specialist drug
wings of the regional crime squads arrested and charged over 700 people,
including 45 major traffickers.

     In all areas of police work the use of scientific aids is widespread. A
national police computer helps to rationalise records and speed up the
dissemination of information.

Police Powers

     Under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 a police officer in
England and Wales has a general power of stop and search if he or she has
reasonable grounds for suspicion that a person is carrying stolen goods,
offensive weapons or burglary implements. The officer must, however, state and
record the grounds for taking this action. The Act also defines police powers
to arrest and detain people for questioning but provides a number of
safeguards. In addition, there is a statutory right for suspects to have legal
advice on arrest. The Act contains provisions for the tape recording of police
interviews.

Arrest

     In England and Wales arrests may be made with or without a warrant issued
by a magistrate. The 1984 Act provides a general conditional power to arrest
a person reasonably suspected of an offence, but this power can only be used
where it is not possible or appropriate to proceed by way of summons to
appear in court.

     The Act categorises certain offences as 'arrestable' or 'serious
arrestable' and provides a full power of arrest without warrant in respect of
them for the protection of the public.

Detention, Treatment and Questioning

     A code of practice on detention, treatment and questioning is one of five
codes which the Home Secretary has issued under the 1984 Act. Failure to
comply with their provisions can render a police officer liable to
disciplinary proceedings.

     An arrested person has an statutory right to consult a solicitor and to
ask the police to notify a named person likely to take an interest in his or
her welfare about the arrest. Where a person has been arrested in connection
with a serious arrestable offence, but has not yet been charged, the police
may delay for up to 36 hours the exercise of these rights in the interests of
the investigation if certain criteria are met.

     The police must caution a suspect before any questions are put for the
purpose of obtaining evidence. Questions relating to an offence may
normally not be put to a person after he or she has been charged with that
offence or informed that he or she may be prosecuted for it.

     Under the Act a person can be detained for up to a maximum of 96 hours
without charge. A person can only be detained beyond 36 hours if a warrant
is obtained from a magistrates' court.

     Reviews must be made of a person's detention at regular intervals-six
hours after initial detention and thereafter every nine hours as a
maximum-to check whether the criteria for detention are still satisfied. If
they are not, the person must be released immediately.

     The Act provides for the tape recording of interviews with suspected
offenders at police stations. This has already been adopted in some police
authority areas, and will become standard throughout England and Wales by
1991. A code of practice governing these tape recordings has been approved
by Parliament.

     The Government is encouraging the establishment of schemes in England
and Wales whereby lay visitors make random checks on the treatment of
persons detained in police stations and the conditions in which they are held.
Lay visitor schemes have been established in the majority of Greater London
boroughs and more are being set up in other parts of the country. The
schemes have helped improve relations between the police and the local
community, particularly in inner city areas.

     A person who thinks that the grounds for detention are unlawful may
apply to the High Court for a writ of habeas corpus against the person who
detained him or her, requiring that person to appear before the court to
justify the detention. Similar procedures apply in Northern Ireland.

Charging

     Once there is sufficient evidence, the police have to decide whether or
not to charge the person with the offence. As an alternative to charging
immediately, they can, for example, decide to defer charging, to caution, or
to take no further action and release the person with or without bail. Where
an immediate charge is appropriate the person may continue to be held in
custody, if there are grounds for believing that detention is necessary for
his or her own protection or to prevent harm to people or property. This also
applies if there is a risk that the person could fail to appear in court or
could interfere with the administration of justice. When no such
considerations apply, the person must be released on or without bail. Where
someone is detained after charge, he or she must be brought before a
magistrates' court quickly. This will usually be no later than the following
day.

     Under the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 there are time limits on the
period from arrest to the beginning of trial in England and Wales. These are
in force in most English counties and throughout Wales and are to be phased
in elsewhere in England by the end of 1990. The limits are 56 days from first
appearance before magistrates to summary trial or 70 days to committal for
trial in the Crown Court. The limit is 112 days from committal to taking of
the plea in the case of the Crown Court. When a time limit expires the
defendant is entitled to bail unless the court extends the limit; it can only
do this if satisfied that there is a good and sufficient reason and that the
prosecution has acted expeditiously.

Grant of Bail by the Court

     It is a basic principle in Britain that accused people should not be
remanded in custody except where strictly necessary. Under the Bail Act 1976,
which applies to England and Wales, the court decides whether a defendant
should be released on bail pending trial. Unconditional bail may only be
withheld in certain specified circumstances, for instance, if the court has
substantial grounds for believing that the accused person would abscond,
commit an offence, interfere with witnesses, or otherwise obstruct the course
of justice if released on bail. A court may also impose conditions before
granting bail. If bail is refused, the defendant may apply to High Court judge
or to the Crown Court for bail, and application can be made to the Crown Court
for conditions imposed by a magistrates' court to be varied. The majority of
people remanded by magistrates are given bail.

     In some cases a court may grant bail to a defendant on condition that he
or she lives in an approved bail or probation/bail hostel. There are 22 bail
hostels with nearly 380 places; the 82 probation/bail hostels have almost
1,700 places. An expansion programme is underway to provide 1,000 additional
bail places in the period from 1988 to 1993. The probation service has
developed bail information schemes which provide the Crown Prosecution Service
with verified information about a defendant. This assists the Service when it
takes decisions on whether to oppose bail and enables the courts to take an
informed decision on whether to grant bail. Planned provision should allow 100
courts to be served by April 1992.

Scotland

     In Scotland the police may detain and question a suspected person for a
period of up to six hours. Thereafter the person must either be released or
charged. An arrest must be accompanied by a criminal charge. Once a person has
been charged, only voluntary statements will normally be allowed in evidence
at the trial. The court will reject statements unless satisfied that they have
been fairly obtained. The tape recording of interviews with suspects is being
implemented over a period of two years which began in 1988.

     Anyone arrested must be brought before a court with the least possible
delay (generally not later than the first day after being taken into custody),
or-in less serious cases-liberated by the police, often on a written
undertaking to attend court on a specified date.

     Where an accusation of a more serious offence is to be made, the accused
is brought before the sheriff in private to be committed, either for further
examination or until liberated in due course of law. A judicial examination
may take place. A maximum of eight days may elapse between committal for
further examination and committal for trial. No evidence needs to be presented
to the sheriff for such committal.

     Anyone accused of a crime, except murder or treason, is entitled to apply
for release on bail. Even in cases of murder or treason, bail may be granted
at the discretion of the Lord Advocate or a quorum of the High Court. Money
bail has been virtually abolished and the courts, or the Lord Advocate, may
release an accused person if he or she accepts certain conditions.

     There is a right of appeal to the High Court by the accused person
against the refusal of bail, or by the prosecutor against the granting of
bail, or by either party against the conditions imposed. The writ of habeas
corpus does not apply in Scotland, but if a person charged with a more serious
offence has been kept in custody pending trial, the trial must begin within
110 days of the date of full committal. The trial of a person charged with a
summary offence and held in custody must begin within 40 days of the date of
first appearance in court.

CRIMINAL COURTS

Prosecution

     In England and Wales the initial decision to begin criminal proceedings
normally lies with the police. Once the police have brought a criminal charge,
the papers are passed to the Crown Prosecution Service, which decides whether
to prosecute. In Scotland procurators fiscal decide whether to bring
proceedings. In Northern Ireland there is a Director of Public Prosecutions.
In England and Wales (and exceptionally in Scotland) a private person may
institute criminal proceedings.

     Instead of prosecuting, the police can issue a caution. In Scotland the
procurator fiscal may make use of various alternatives to prosecution (see p
11).

England and Wales

     The Crown Prosecution Service, headed by the Director of Public
Prosecutions, prosecutes criminal offences in magistrates' courts and the
Crown Court. The Service is divided into 31 areas, each of which is run by a
locally-based Chief Crown Prosecutor appointed by the Director. The Service
provides lawyers to prosecute cases in the magistrates' courts and briefs
barristers to appear in the Crown Court. Although the decision to prosecute is
generally delegated to the lawyers in the area offices, some cases are dealt
with by the headquarters of the Service. These include cases of national
importance, exceptional difficulty or great public concern and those which
require that suggestions of local influence be avoided. Such cases might
include terrorist offences, breaches of the Official Secrets Acts, largescale
conspiracies to import drugs and the prosecution of police officers.

Scotland

     Discharging his duties through the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal
Service, the Lord Advocate is responsible for prosecutions in the High Court
of Justiciary, sheriff courts and district courts. There is no general right
of private prosecution; with a few minor exceptions crimes and offences may
be prosecuted only by the Lord Advocate or his deputes or by the locally-based
procurators fiscal holding a commission from the Lord Advocate. The
permanent adviser to the Lord Advocate on prosecution matters is the Crown
Agent, who is head of the procurator fiscal service and is assisted in the
Crown Office by a staff of legally qualified civil servants, all of whom have
had experience as depute procurators fiscal.

     Prosecutions in the High Court are prepared by procurators fiscal and
Crown Office officials and prosecuted by the Lord Advocate, the Solicitor
General for Scotland (the Lord Advocate's ministerial deputy) and advocate
deputes, who are collectively known as Crown Counsel. Crimes tried before the
sheriff and district courts are prepared and prosecuted by procurators fiscal.
The police and other law enforcement agencies investigate crimes and offences
and report to the procurator fiscal, who decides whether to prosecute, subject
to the directions of Crown Counsel.

     When dealing with minor crime, the procurator fiscal increasingly makes
use of alternatives to prosecution such as formal warnings and fixed
penalties. The offender is not obliged to accept such an offer but if he or
she does so the prosecution loses the right to prosecute.

Northern Ireland

     The Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland, who is
responsible to the Attorney General, prosecutes all offences tried on
indictment, and may do so in summary cases of a serious nature. Other summary
offences are prosecuted by the police.

Serious Fraud Office

     The Serious Fraud Office investigates and prosecutes the most serious
and complex cases of fraud in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Investigations are conducted by teams of lawyers, accountants, police officers
and other specialists, each headed by a case controller who decides whether to
prosecute, although this decision may, if necessary, be taken by a more senior
lawyer. If proceedings are instituted, the case controller and the case
secretary prepare the case for trial and instruct counsel for the prosecution.
The Office has computer-aided equipment for the presentation of evidence in a
graphic form to make it more comprehensible to jurors.

     In Scotland the Crown Office Fraud Unit investigates and prepares-in
co-operation with the police and other agencies-cases of serious and complex
fraud. It also deals with drug profit confiscation procedures and
international criminal investigations.

Courts in England and Wales

     Criminal offences may be grouped into three categories. Very serious
offences such as murder, manslaughter, rape and robbery are tried only by the
Crown Court presided over by a judge sitting with a jury. Summary offences-the
least serious offences and the vast majority of criminal cases-are tried by
unpaid lay magistrates sitting without a jury. A third category of offences
(such as theft, burglary or malicious wounding) are known as `either way'
offences; they can be tried either by magistrates or by the Crown Court,
depending on the circumstances of each case and the wishes of the defendant.

     All those charged with offences triable only in the Crown Court must
first appear before a magistrates' court, which decides whether or not to
commit them to the Court for trial. Committal proceedings also apply to
`either way' offences which it has been determined will be tried in the Crown
Court. The magistrates court may also commit a defendant tried summarily in
an `either way' case, and found guilty, to the Crown Court for sentence.

     Magistrates must as a rule sit in open court, to which the public and the
media are admitted. A court normally consists of three lay magistrates-known
as justices of the peace-advised on points of law and procedure by a legally
qualified clerk or a qualified assistant. Magistrates are appointed by the
Lord Chancellor, except in Lancashire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside,
where appointments are made by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. There
are nearly 28,000 lay magistrates.

     There are 63 full-time, legally qualified stipendiary magistrates who
may sit alone and usually preside in courts in urban areas where the workload
is heavy.

     Cases involving people under 17 are heard in juvenile courts. These are
specially constituted magistrates' courts which either sit apart from other
courts or are held at a different time. Only limited categories of people may
be present and media reports must not identify any juvenile appearing either
as a defendant (unless a judge directs otherwise) or a witness. Where a young
person under 17 is charged jointly with someone of 17 or over, the case is
heard in an ordinary magistrates' court or the Crown Court. If the young
person is found guilty, the court may transfer the case to a juvenile court
for sentence unless satisfied that it is undesirable to do so.

     The Crown Court sits at about 90 centres and is presided over by High
Court Judges, full-time `circuit judges' and part-time recorders. All
contested trials takes place before a jury. Magistrates sit with a circuit
judge or recorder to deal with appeals and committals for sentence.

     In cases of serious or complex fraud, full committal proceedings in
magistrates' courts may be bypassed at the discretion of the prosecution.
However, there is a special procedure under which the accused is able to apply
to the Crown Court to be discharged on the ground that there is no case to
answer.

Appeals

     A person convicted by a magistrates' court may appeal to the Crown Court
against the sentence imposed if he or she has pleaded guilty; or against the
conviction or sentence imposed if he or she has pleaded not guilty. Where
the appeal is on a point of procedure or of law, either the prosecutor or the
defendant may appeal from the magistrates' court to the High Court (see
above). Appeals from the Crown Court, either against conviction or against
sentence, are made to the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division). The House of
Lords is the final appeal court for all cases, from either the High Court or
the Court of Appeal. Before a case can go to the Lords, the court hearing the
previous appeal must certify that it involves a point of law of general public
importance and either that court or the Lords must grant leave for the
appeal to be heard. The ten Lords of Appeal in Ordinary are the judges who
deal with Lords appeals.

     The Attorney General may seek the opinion of the Court of Appeal on a
point of law which has arisen in a case where a person tried on indictment is
acquitted; the Court has power to refer the point to the House of Lords if
necessary. The acquittal in the original case is not affected, nor it is the
identity of the acquitted person revealed without his or her consent.

     Under the Criminal Justice Act 1988, the Attorney General may refer a
case to the Court of Appeal if he considers that a sentence passed by the
Crown Court is over-lenient. This only applies to a case triable exclusively
in the Crown Court. If the Court of Appeal agrees, it may increase the
sentence within the statutory maximum laid down by Parliament for the offence.

Scotland

     The High Court of Justiciary, which sits in Edinburgh and other major
towns and cities, tries the most serious crimes and has exclusive jurisdiction
in cases involving murder, treason and rape. The sheriff court is concerned
with less serious offences and the district court with minor offences.
Criminal cases are heard either under solemn procedure, when the judge sits
with a jury of 15 members, or under summary procedure, when the judge sits
without a jury. All cases in the High Court and the more serious ones in
sheriff courts are tried by a judge and jury. Summary procedure is used in the
less serious cases in the sheriff courts, and in all cases in the district
courts. District courts are the administrative responsibility of the district
and the islands local government authorities; the judges are lay justices of
the peace and the local authorities may appoint up to one-quarter of their
elected members to be ex-officio justices. In Glasgow there are four
stipendiary magistrates who are full-time salaried lawyers and have equivalent
criminal jurisdiction to a sheriff sitting under summary procedure.

     Children under 16 who have committed an offence are normally dealt with
by children's hearings (see p 23).

     All appeals are dealt with by the High Court. In both solemn and summary
procedure, an appeal may be brought by the accused against conviction, or
sentence, or both. The Court may authorise a retrial if it sets aside a
conviction. There is no further appeal to the House of Lords. In summary
proceedings the prosecutor may appeal on a point of law against acquittal
or sentence. The Lord Advocate may seek the opinion of the High Court on a
point of law which has arisen in a case where a person tried on indictment
is acquitted. The acquittal in the original case is not affected.

Northern Ireland

     Cases involving minor summary offences are heard by magistrates' courts
presided over by a full-time, legally qualified resident magistrate. Young
offenders under 17 and young people under 17 who need care, protection and
control are dealt with by a juvenile court. They consist of the resident
magistrate and two lay members (at least one of whom must be a woman)
specially qualified to deal with juveniles. Appeals from magistrates' courts
are heard by the county court; an appeal on a point of law alone can be heard
by the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal.

     The Crown Court deals with criminal trials on indictment. It is served by
High Court and county court judges. Proceedings are heard before a single
judge, and all contested cases, other than those involving offences specified
under emergency legislation, take place before a jury. Appeals from the Crown
Court against conviction or sentence are heard by the Northern
Ireland Court of Appeal. Procedures for a further appeal to the House of Lords
are similar to those in England and Wales.

     Those accused of terrorist type offences are tried in non-jury courts to
avoid the intimidation of jurors. The onus remains on the prosecution to prove
guilt beyond reasonable doubt and the defendant has the right to be
represented by a lawyer of his or her choice. The judge must set out in a
written statement the reasons for convicting and there is an automatic right
of appeal against sentence on points of fact as well as of law. In 1989 some
50 per cent of people tried in the non-jury court were found not guilty.

Trial

     Criminal trials in Britain have two parties: the prosecution and the
defence. Since the law presumes the innocence of an accused person until guilt
has been proved, the prosecution is not granted any advantage over the
defence. A defendant (in Scotland called an accused) has the right to employ a
legal adviser and may be granted legal aid from public funds. If remanded in
custody, the person may be visited by a legal adviser to ensure a properly
prepared defence. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland the prosecution
usually tells the defence about relevant documents which it is not proposed
to put in evidence and discloses them if asked to do so. The prosecution
should also inform the defence of witnesses whose evidence may help the
accused and whom the prosecution does not propose to call. The defence or
prosecution may suggest that the defendant's mental state renders him or her
unfit to be tried. If the jury (or in Scotland, the judge) decides that this
is so, the defendant is admitted to a specified hospital.

     Criminal trials are normally in open court and rules of evidence, which
are concerned with the proof of facts, are rigorously applied. If evidence is
improperly admitted, a conviction can be quashed on appeal. During the trial
the defendant has the right to hear and cross-examine witnesses for the
prosecution, normally through a lawyer. He or she can call his or her own
witnesses who, if they will not attend voluntarily, may be legally compelled
to do so. The defendant can also address the court in person or through a
lawyer, the defence having the right to the last speech at the trial before
the judge sums up. The defendant cannot be questioned without consenting to be
sworn as a witness in his or her own defence. When he or she does testify,
cross-examination about character or other conduct may be made only in
exceptional circumstances; generally the prosecution may not introduce such
evidence.

     In England, Wales and Northern Ireland the judge in complex fraud cases
may order a preparatory open Crown Court hearing to be held at which he or she
can hear and settle points of law and define the issues to be put to the jury.
The law on evidence has been changed to make it possible for courts to have
before them a wider range of written evidence in the form of business
documents which could be relevant to a successful prosecution.

The Jury

     In jury trials the judge decides questions of law, sums up the evidence
for the jury and instructs it on the relevant law, and discharges the accused
or passes sentence. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland the jury is
responsible for deciding whether a defendant is 'guilty' or 'not guilty', the
latter verdict resulting in acquittal. If the jury cannot reach a unanimous
verdict, the judge may direct it to bring in a majority verdict provided that,
in the normal jury of 12 people, there are not more than two dissenters.

     In Scotland the jury's verdict may be 'guilty', 'not guilty' or 'not
proven'; the accused is acquitted if one of the last two verdicts is given.
The jury consists of 15 people and a verdict of 'guilty' can only be reached
if at least eight members are in favour. As a general rule no one may be
convicted without corroborated evidence.

     If the jury acquits the defendant, the prosecution has no right of appeal
and the defendant cannot be tried again for the same offence. The defendant,
however, has a right of appeal to the appropriate court if found guilty.

     A jury is independent of the judiciary. Any attempt to interfere with a
jury once it is sworn in is punishable under the Contempt of Court Act 1981.

     Potential jurors are empanelled in court before the start of the trial.
The prosecution and the defence may challenge individual jurors on the panel,
giving reasons for doing so.

     People between the ages of 18 and 65 (70 in England and Wales) whose
names appear on the electoral register, with certain exceptions, are liable
for jury service and their names are chosen at random. Ineligible people
include judges, priests, people who have within the previous ten years been
members of the legal profession, the Lord Chancellor's Department or the
police, prison and probation services, and certain sufferers from mental
illness. Other disqualified people include those who have, within the previous
ten years, served a sentence of imprisonment, youth custody or detention, or
been subject to a community service order. Disqualification also applies to
anyone who, within the previous five years, has been placed on probation.
Anyone who has been sentenced to five or more years' imprisonment is
disqualified for life.

Coroners' Courts

     Coroners investigate violent and unnatural deaths or sudden deaths where
the cause is unknown. If the death is sudden and the cause unknown, the
coroner need not hold an inquest if, after a post-mortem examination has been
made, he or she is satisfied that the death was due to natural causes. He or
she must do so where there is reason to believe that the deceased died a
violent or unnatural death or died in prison or in other specified
circumstances. It is the duty of the coroner's court to establish how, when
and where the deceased died. A coroner may sit alone or, in certain
circumstances, with a jury.

     In Scotland the local procurator fiscal inquiries privately into all
sudden and suspicious deaths and may report the findings to the Crown Office.
In a minority of cases a fatal accident inquiry may be held before the
sheriff. For certain categories, such as deaths resulting from industrial
accidents and deaths in custody, a fatal accident inquiry is mandatory. In
addition, the Lord Advocate has discretion to instruct an inquiry in the
public interest in cases where the circumstances give rise to serious public
concern.