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 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.
[3] In 2014 the Royal College of Pathologists claimed that up to 10,000 deaths a year recorded as being from natural causes should have been investigated by inquests.
[9] Under the terms of article 2 of the European Convention of Human Rights, governments are required to "establish a framework of laws, precautions, procedures and means of enforcement which will, to the greatest extent reasonably practicable, protect life".
The European Court of Human Rights has interpreted this as mandating independent official investigation of any death where public servants may be implicated.
[17] The standard of proof for suicide and unlawful killing changed in 2018 from beyond all reasonable doubt to the balance of probabilities following a case in the courts of appeal.
[17] Owing in particular to the failures to notice the serial murder committed by Harold Shipman, the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 modernised the system with: