Voicing loss: Meanings and implications of participation by bereaved people in inquests

验尸官是由地方当局任命的独立司法官员。在英格兰和威尔士，每年超过40%的登记死亡通常会报告给验尸官，其中约12-16%（2018年约有3万人死亡）成为验尸官调查的对象。调查的目的是确定谁死亡以及死亡发生的时间、地点和方式，如果死亡是暴力死亡、非自然死亡、无法解释死亡或发生在拘留或其他形式的国家拘留中。死者的近亲可作为“有关人士”出席研讯。这使他们有权询问证人（直接或通过法律代表），并要求在听证会前查看证据。然而，迄今为止对验尸法庭进行的有限的实证研究表明，在实践中，丧失亲人的人在调查中的角色和地位是不确定和模糊的，并且受到高度可变的待遇。尽管政府以及现任和前任首席验尸官一再声称，死者家属应该是验尸过程的“核心”，而且为了支持这一广泛目标，已经制定了改革，最明显的是根据《2009年验尸官和司法法》。目标和目标鉴于政策目标和经验现实之间的明显分歧，我们建议调查在理论和实践中，对失去亲人的人“处于”调查程序的“核心”意味着什么。我们将审查死者家属对调查的理解、期望和经验，以及验尸法庭运作的法律和政策框架。我们将确定和评估让丧失亲人的人参与和参与审讯程序的不同理由，并考虑不同职能之间的任何紧张或矛盾-例如行政，预防和治疗-加冕程序。在此基础上，我们将提出以下问题的答案：丧失亲人的人是否确实应该成为加冕过程的“核心”，并在调查中发挥积极作用；如果是这样，是为了什么目的，以什么方式。我们将进一步探讨这些研究结果对政策和实践的影响，并提出改革建议。研究活动将包括政策审查、实证调查、概念和规范分析以及广泛的利益相关者参与。主要的经验组成部分将需要收集在各种情况下失去亲人的个人的个人叙述。在一对一的访谈和书面记录中，以及在家庭聆听日（由慈善机构INQUEST举办），研究参与者将被邀请反映他们对调查结果的期望和经历，调查进行的方式，他们得到的支持或帮助，他们在诉讼程序中扮演的角色，以及参加调查是否以及如何影响他们的悲伤。潜在的应用和效益研究和分析将为所研究的实证和政策现象提供丰富的见解，同时也将完善这些问题的理论观点。在与非专业人士、从业者和政策利益相关者的密切合作下，我们将得出调查结果的实际应用：确定什么样的政策和实践变化可以支持以可行、适当和符合其自身期望的方式将丧失亲人的人纳入和参与调查。在此过程中，我们还将考虑对涉及死亡和丧偶者的其他类型法律诉讼（包括公开调查和刑事起诉）的影响。

Context of the researchCoroners are independent judicial office holders appointed by the local authority. Over 40% of registered deaths in England and Wales are typically reported to the coroner each year, of which around 12-16% (amounting to nearly 30,000 deaths in 2018) become the subject of a coroner's inquest. The purpose of the inquest - an inquisitorial hearing almost always held in public - is to determine who died and when, where and how the death occurred, in cases where the death was violent, unnatural, unexplained, or took place in custody or other form of state detention. Close family of the deceased can attend the inquest as 'interested persons'. This gives them the right to question witnesses (either directly or through a legal representative) and to ask to see evidence in advance of the hearing. However, the limited empirical research conducted to date on coroners' courts suggests that, in practice, bereaved people have an uncertain and ambiguous role and status in the inquest, and receive highly variable treatment. This is notwithstanding the repeated assertion by government and both the current and prior Chief Coroner that bereaved families should be 'at the heart of' the coronial process, and reforms having been instituted in support of this broad goal, most notably under the Coroners and Justice Act 2009. Aims and objectivesIn light of the apparent divergence between policy goals and empirical realities, we are proposing to investigate what it means - in theory and practice - for bereaved people to be 'at the heart of' inquest proceedings. We will examine bereaved family members' understandings, expectations and experiences of inquests, and the legal and policy framework within which coroners' courts operate. We will identify and assess contrasting justifications for bereaved people's inclusion and involvement in inquest proceedings, and consider any tensions or contradictions between different functions - such as the administrative, preventive and therapeutic - of the coronial process. On this basis, we will propose answers to the questions of whether bereaved people should indeed be 'at the heart of' the coronial process and have an active role in inquests; and, if so, for what purposes and in what ways. We will, further, explore the implications of these findings for policy and practice, and devise recommendations for reform.The research activities will encompass a policy review, empirical investigation, conceptual and normative analysis, and extensive stakeholder engagement. The main empirical component will entail gathering personal accounts from individuals who have been bereaved in a range of circumstances. In one-to-one interviews and written accounts and at Family Listening Days (to be run by the charity INQUEST), research participants will be invited to reflect on their expectations and experiences of the inquest with respect to its outcome, the way it was conducted, the support or assistance they received, the part they played in proceedings, and whether and how attending the inquest impacted their grieving. Potential applications and benefitsThe research and analysis will provide rich insights into the empirical and policy phenomena under study, while also refining the theoretical perspectives typically brought to bear on these issues. In close collaboration with lay, practitioner and policy stakeholders, we will draw out the practical applications of the findings: identifying what kinds of policy and practice changes could support the inclusion and involvement of bereaved people in inquests in ways that are viable, appropriate and attuned to their own expectations. In so doing, we will also consider the implications for other kinds of legal proceedings (including public inquiries and criminal prosecutions) which are concerned with deaths and involve bereaved people.