The title of Coroners Court is the name given to proceedings in which a coroner holds an inquest or an inquiry in the Northern Territory.
Coroners have jurisdiction over the remains of a person and the power to make findings in respect of the cause of death of a person. In the territory, they also have power to hold inquests into disasters that occur wholly or partly in the territory.
Generally there are no appeals from the decision of a coroner, although there is provision for the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory to order a fresh inquest or inquiry or to grant prerogative relief in respect of the proceedings.
The office of coroner in the territory derives from the legal framework of the office of coroner inherited from the United Kingdom when Australia was settled by the British in 1788.
The first Governor of New South Wales, Arthur Phillip, was a coroner by virtue of his commission as governor. [1] Technically, he was the first coroner of the territory as the territory was part of New South Wales at that time. Practically however, he had no presence there, and no need to exercise jurisdiction.
The governor's commission also entitled him to appoint others as coroners as required, and this was most likely to have been to justices of the peace.
The Administrator of the Northern Territory may appoint a Territory Coroner for the territory. The Territory Coroner has the function to oversee and co-ordinate coronial services in the territory, ensure that all deaths and suspected deaths concerning which a coroner has jurisdiction to hold an inquest properly investigated, ensuring that an inquest or inquiry is held whenever it is required, and to issue guidelines to coroners to assist them in the exercise or performance of their functions.
The administrator may also appoint deputy coroners. Deputy coroners essentially have all the functions of a coroner except that they cannot hold an inquest into a death in custody.
All stipendiary magistrates in the territory are coroners by virtue of their appointment as a magistrate.
Inquests in England and Wales are held into sudden or unexplained deaths and also into the circumstances of and discovery of a certain class of valuable artefacts known as "treasure trove". In England and Wales, inquests are the responsibility of a coroner, who operates under the jurisdiction of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009. In some circumstances where an inquest cannot view or hear all the evidence, it may be suspended and a public inquiry held with the consent of the Home Secretary.
A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into the manner or cause of death, and to investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within the coroner's jurisdiction.
A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or puisne court, elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the same meaning. Depending on the jurisdiction, such justices dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions. Justices of the peace are appointed or elected from the citizens of the jurisdiction in which they serve, and are usually not required to have any formal legal education in order to qualify for the office. Some jurisdictions have varying forms of training for JPs.
The Judiciary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is the judicial branch of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Under the Basic Law of Hong Kong, it exercises the judicial power of the Region and is independent of the executive and legislative branches of the Government. The courts in Hong Kong hear and adjudicate all prosecutions and civil disputes, including all public and private law matters.
Sally Gordon Thomas is a former Judge of the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory, serving from 1992 to 2009. She was appointed to the Court on 10 August 1992 and was the first woman to be appointed a Judge of the Court. She was sworn in as the first female Administrator of the Northern Territory in October 2011. One of her first engagements in the role was to welcome Barack Obama, the President of the United States, to Darwin during his visit in November 2011.
The Coroner's Court of New South Wales is the court in the Australian state of New South Wales where legal proceedings, in the form of an inquest or inquiry, are held and presided over by the State Coroner of New South Wales, a Deputy State Coroner of New South Wales, or another coroner of the state of New South Wales.
The Industrial Court of New South Wales was a court within the Australian court hierarchy that exercised the judicial functions of the Industrial Relations Commission of New South Wales within the Australian state of New South Wales. The Commission has exclusive jurisdiction in respect of industrial disputes in that state.
The Coroner's Court of Western Australia is a court which has exclusive jurisdiction over the remains of a person and the power to make findings in respect of the cause of death of a person in Western Australia.
The name of "Coroners Court" is the generic name given to proceedings in which a Coroner holds an inquest in Victoria.
The Coroners Court of Tasmania is the generic name given to the Coronial Division of the Magistrates Court of Tasmania. It is a court which has exclusive jurisdiction over the remains of a person and the power to make findings in respect of the cause of death of a person, a fire or an explosion in Tasmania.
The Coroner's Court of South Australia is a court which has exclusive jurisdiction over the remains of a person and the power to make findings in respect of the cause of death of a person or fire in South Australia, a state of Australia.
The Coroner's Court of the Australian Capital Territory is a court which has exclusive jurisdiction over the remains of a person and the power to make findings in respect of the cause of death of a person or fire in Australian Capital Territory.
The Youth Justice Court of the Northern Territory is an Australian court which hears and determines cases concerning crimes committed by children under the age of 18 years in the Northern Territory.
The Local Court of the Northern Territory is one of two levels of court in the Northern Territory of Australia. It has jurisdiction in civil disputes up to A$250,000, and in criminal cases in the trial of summary offences, and also deals with preliminary matters for indictable offences which are then heard by the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory. There are local courts held in Darwin, Northern Territory, Alice Springs, Katherine, Tennant Creek, and some "bush courts" in remote locations.
The Mental Health Review Tribunal is a specialist tribunal established in the Northern Territory of Australia, a territory of Australia which has jurisdiction to deal with mental health issues within its boundaries. It has exclusive jurisdiction in terms of most mental health issues, although it may share jurisdiction on some issue with other courts, such as the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory. The tribunal came into existence in 1998 and it is located on Level 3, 9–11 Cavenagh Street, Darwin.
The Magistrates Court of the Australian Capital Territory is a court of summary jurisdiction that deals with the majority of criminal law matters and the majority of small civil law matters in the Australian Capital Territory, the Jervis Bay Territory and the Australian Antarctic Territory.
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 coroner or medical examiner. Generally, inquests are conducted only when deaths are sudden or unexplained. An inquest may be called at the behest of a coroner, judge, prosecutor, or, in some jurisdictions, upon a formal request from the public. A coroner's jury may be convened to assist in this type of proceeding. Inquest can also mean such a jury and the result of such an investigation. In general usage, inquest is also used to mean any investigation or inquiry.
Paul Knapman DL was Her Majesty's coroner for Westminster, from 1980 to 2011. His responsibility for investigating sudden deaths as an independent judicial officer saw him preside over numerous notable cases.
John Charles Cawood was an Australian administrator who served as Government Resident of Central Australia during the territory's brief existence as a separate jurisdiction from the Northern Territory. The seat of power was Alice Springs, then known as Stuart Town.
The Judiciary of Sri Lanka are the civil and criminal courts responsible for the administration of justice in Sri Lanka. The Constitution of Sri Lanka defines courts as independent institutions within the traditional framework of checks and balances. They apply Sri Lankan Law which is an amalgam of English common law, Roman-Dutch civil law and Customary Law; and are established under the Judicature Act No 02 of 1978 of the Parliament of Sri Lanka.