Article 4 Amendments to the principal Rules
For rule 12 of the principal Rules (preservation of material) substitute –
“Preservation of material from special examination
12.(1)A person making a special examination shall make provision, so far as possible, for the preservation of the material submitted to him for examination.
(2)Where a person makes a special examination he must send forthwith to the coroner a notification in writing (which expression, for the avoidance of doubt, includes electronic communication), identifying the material which he is preserving in accordance with this rule.
(3)A notification under paragraph (2) may specify the period for which he believes the material should be preserved and may specify different periods for different material.
(4)Where a coroner receives a notification under paragraph (2) he must notify the person making the special examination of the period for which the material is to be preserved, being such period as in the coroner’s opinion the material needs to be preserved for the purpose of fulfilling his functions under the 1988 Act in relation to the deceased, and he may specify different periods for different material.
(5)subject to paragraph (6), on making the notification under paragraph (4) or, if not then known, as soon as their whereabouts are known, the coroner must also notify–
(i)one of the persons referred to in rule 20(2)(a), and
(ii)any other relative of the deceased who has previously notified the coroner of his desire to attend, or be represented at the post-mortem examination,
that the material is being preserved, the period or periods for which it is required to be preserved under paragraph (4), and the options for dealing with the material on expiry of a period notified under that paragraph.
(6)In the case of a child who has identified himself as such to the coroner, the coroner may, if he considers it more appropriate, notify a person who has parental responsibility for the child instead of notifying the child himself.
(7)The options referred to in paragraph (5) are–
(a)disposal of the material by burial, cremation or other lawful disposal by the person making the special examination;
(b)return of the material to a person referred to in that paragraph who requests that the material be returned to him, or
(c)retention of the material with the consent of a person referred to in paragraph (5) for medical research or other purposes.
(8)If a period notified under paragraph (4) does not expire before the date on which the coroner’s functions cease under the 1988 Act it shall expire on that date, and the coroner shall notify the persons referred to in paragraphs (4) and (5) accordingly.
(9)The person making the special examination must, so far as possible, preserve material to which this rule applies until the expiry of the period notified to him in relation to it under paragraph (4).
(10)In paragraph (6)–
“child” means a person who has not attained the age of 18 years; and
“parental responsibility” has the same meaning as in the Children Act 1989.
Further provisions relating to preservation of material from special examinations
12A.(1)Where the coroner–
(a)is informed under section 16 of the 1988 Act that a person has been charged with an offence in relation to, or connected with, the death of the deceased or,
(b)receives a request under rule 26 on the ground that a person may be charged with an offence in relation to the death of the deceased,
the coroner must notify the chief officer of police or, in the case of a notification under section 16(1)(b), the Director of Public Prosecutions, of any period for which he requires the material to be preserved under paragraph (4) of rule 12.
(2)Where the coroner is informed under section 17A of the 1988 Act that a public inquiry is being or is to be held, the coroner must consult the chairperson of the inquiry before deciding any period for which he requires material to be preserved under paragraph (4) of rule 12.
(3)A coroner may from time to time vary a period notified under paragraph (4) of rule 12 and must promptly notify the person making the special examination and any person notified under paragraph (5) of rule 12 of the variation.
(4)Where a period is varied under this paragraph, paragraphs (8) and (9) of rule 12 and paragraphs (1), (2), (5) and (7) shall apply to the period so varied as they apply to the period notified under paragraph (4) of rule 12.
(5)Where, at any time during a period notified to him under paragraph (4) of rule 12, the person making the special examination believes that any of the material retained under that rule should be retained for a different period he must notify the coroner of that fact.
(6)Paragraph (4) of rule 12 applies to a notification under paragraph (5) as it applies to a notification under paragraph (2) of rule 12.
(7)Where a person making a special examination has retained material under rule 12 and the period notified under paragraph (4) of rule 12 in relation to the material has expired that person must record–
(a)that the material has been disposed of by him or on his behalf;
(b)that the material has been delivered into the possession of a specified person; or
(c)that he has retained the material on behalf of a specified person,
and must retain such a record.”.