Coroners and Justice Act 2009

Section 33

Schedule 6 Offences

Part 1 Offences relating to jurors

1 (1) It is an offence for a person to serve on a jury at an inquest if the person—

(a) is disqualified from jury service (by reason of being a person listed in Part 2 of Schedule 1 to the Juries Act 1974 (c. 23)), and

(b) knows that he or she is disqualified from jury service.

(2) A person guilty of an offence under this paragraph is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

2 (1) It is an offence for a person—

(a) to refuse without reasonable excuse to answer any question put under section 8(5),

(b) to give an answer to such a question knowing the answer to be false in a material particular, or

(c) recklessly to give an answer to such a question that is false in a material particular.

(2) A person guilty of an offence under this paragraph is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

3 (1) It is an offence for a person who is duly summoned as a juror at an inquest—

(a) to make any false representation, or

(b) to cause or permit to be made any false representation on his or her behalf,

with the intention of evading service as a juror at an inquest.

(2) A person guilty of an offence under this paragraph is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

4 (1) It is an offence for a person to make or cause to be made, on behalf of a person who has been duly summoned as a juror at an inquest, any false representation with the intention of enabling the other person to evade service as a juror at an inquest.

(2) A person guilty of an offence under this paragraph is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

5 (1) A senior coroner, or (as the case may be) the Coroner for Treasure, may impose a fine not exceeding £1000 on a person duly summoned as a juror at an inquest who—

(a) fails without reasonable excuse to attend in accordance with the summons, or

(b) attends in accordance with the summons but refuses without reasonable excuse to serve as a juror.

(2) But a fine may not be imposed under this paragraph unless the summons was duly served on the person in question not later than 14 days before the day on which he or she was required to attend.

Part 2 Offences relating to witnesses and evidence

6 A senior coroner, or (as the case may be) the Coroner for Treasure, may impose a fine not exceeding £1000 on a person who fails without reasonable excuse to do anything required by a notice under paragraph 1 of Schedule 5.

7 (1) It is an offence for a person to do anything that is intended to have the effect of—

(a) distorting or otherwise altering any evidence, document or other thing that is given, produced or provided for the purposes of an investigation under this Part of this Act, or

(b) preventing any evidence, document or other thing from being given, produced or provided for the purposes of such an investigation,

or to do anything that the person knows or believes is likely to have that effect.

(2) It is an offence for a person—

(a) intentionally to suppress or conceal a document that is, and that the person knows or believes to be, a relevant document, or

(b) intentionally to alter or destroy such a document.

(3) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (2) a document is a “relevant document” if it is likely that a person conducting an investigation under this Part of this Act would (if aware of its existence) wish to be provided with it.

(4) A person does not commit an offence under sub-paragraph (1) or (2) by doing anything that is authorised or required—

(a) by a senior coroner or the Coroner for Treasure, or

(b) by virtue of paragraph 2 of Schedule 5 or any privilege that applies.

(5) Proceedings for an offence under sub-paragraph (1) or (2) may be instituted only by or with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

(6) A person guilty of an offence under sub-paragraph (1) or (2) is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 51 weeks, or to both.

8 (1) It is an offence for a person, in giving unsworn evidence at an inquest by virtue of section 45(2)(a), to give false evidence in such circumstances that, had the evidence been given on oath, he or she would have been guilty of perjury.

(2) A person guilty of an offence under this paragraph is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1000, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 51 weeks, or to both.

(3) In relation to a person under the age of 14, sub-paragraph (2) has effect as if for the words following “summary conviction” there were substituted “to a fine not exceeding £250”.

(4) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (3), a person’s age is to be taken to be that which it appears to the court to be after considering any available evidence.

Part 3 Miscellaneous

9 (1) The powers of a senior coroner or the Coroner for Treasure under paragraph 5 or 6 are additional to, and do not affect, any other power the coroner may have—

(a) to compel a person to appear before him or her;

(b) to compel a person to give evidence or produce any document or other thing;

(c) to punish a person for contempt of court for failure to appear or to give evidence or to produce any document or other thing.

(2) But a person may not be fined under paragraph 5 or 6 and also be punished under any such other power.

10 In relation to an offence committed before the commencement of section 281(5) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (c. 44), a reference in this Schedule to 51 weeks is to be read as a reference to 6 months.