Pre-Inquest Review hearings

In some cases an administrative or ‘housekeeping’ hearing will be held some weeks before an Inquest to ensure all procedural matters have been dealt with before the substantive inquest hearing begins. This is known as a ‘Pre-Inquest Review’ Hearing or PIR.

At the PIR the coroner will discuss and determine issues such as: who are the appropriate interested persons, any disclosure required, the scope of the inquest, whether a jury should be called, the witness list, the length of hearing and the listing window etc.

A PIR will invariably be held in public in open court, although no evidence will be heard. These are often held as remote hearings by video link unless the issues to be determined are particualrly complex.