CORONER'S ABOLITION ORDINANCE, 1888
Title
CORONER'S ABOLITION ORDINANCE, 1888
Description
ORDINANCE No. 5 OF 1888.
Corner's Abolition
AN ORDINANCE to abolish the Office of Corner and to make
provision for the Performance of the Duties thereof by
Magistrates.
[9th June, 1888]
BE it enacted by the Governor of Hongkong, with the advice and
consent of the Legislative Council thereof, as follows:
1.This Ordinance may be cited as the Corner's Abolition Ordinance,
1888.
2.In this Ordinance 'Magistrate' means any Magistrate appointed
by the Governor to discharge the duties of Corner or,in his absence
or inability to act, any Police Magistrate.
3.From and after the commencement of this Ordinance,the Office of
Corner and all incidental Offices thereof attached shall be abolished.
4.The duties hitherto performed by the Corner shall be performed
by the Magistrates or either of them as the Governor may from time
to time direct, and the Magistrates shall have, in relation to such duties,
all the powers and privileges which a Corner had by law at the commencement
of this Ordinance.
5.-(1.)The Governor may from time to time, by order under his
hand, set apart suitable places for the reception of dead bodies for the
purpose of post mortem examination,and may make regulations for the
management of such places.
(2.)When any such place has been set apart,the Magistrate may
order the removal of any dead body to and from such place for the pur-
pose of any post mortem examination,and may order the cost of such
removal to be defrayed from public funds.
6.-(1.)The Superintendent of the Civil Hospital,or such other
medical officer as may be appointed by the Governor for the duty,shall,
on receiving any dead body,make a preliminary external examination
thereof,and report in writing to the Magistrate,who may,if he con-
siders it necessary,order an autopsy.
7.-(1.)Whenever any person dies suddenly,or by accident or
violence,or under suspicious circumstances,or whenever any dead body
is found within the Colony or is brought into the Colony,the Magistrate
may,if he considers an inquiry to be necessary,inquire into the cause
of death of such person without a jury,or,if he thinks fit,with a jury
of three persons as hereinafter provided,and (in his discretion) with or
without view of the body,and may determine the cause of death,and
make such order with regard thereto as he may consider necessary.
(2.)Such inquiry may be held notwithstanding that the cause of
death did not arise within the Colony.
8.Whenever any prisoner dies in gaol,and whenever any person
suffers capital punishment,the Magistrate shall,within twenty-four
hours(or forty-eight hours if a Sunday inervenes),with a jury of three
persons as hereinafter provided,view the body and inquire into the
cause of death,and may make such order in relation thereto as he may
consider necessary.
9.-(1.)Whenever a Magistrate requires a jury under section 7 or
section 8,the Registrar of the Supreme Court shall,on receipt of a
requisition from the Magistrate,draw from the Common Jurors Ballot
Box for the year the names of six jurors to form a panel,and shall
transmit such panel to the Magistrate.
(2.)All the provisions of the Jury Ordinance,1887,shall apply,as
far as may be,to such drawing,in the same manner as if the jurors were
required for a common jury in the Supreme Court.
10.-(1.)The Magistrate's Clerk shall,before the holding of any
inquiry under this Ordinance at which a jury may be necessary ,issue
forms of summons,according to the Form No. 1 in the Schedule to this
Ordinance,requiring the attendance of the jurors drawn.
(2.)Every such summons shall be personally served on or left at the
usual place of abode of the juror so summoned.
(3.)Any juror who fails,without reasonable excuse,to attend at such
inquiry or at any adjournment thereof shall be liable to a fine not
exceeding twenty-five dollars,which may be recovered in a summary
way before a Magistrate,but the Magistrate before whom the juror is
required to attend may remit such fine ,if he sees fit to do so.
(4.)The Magistrate shall select the three jurors required from the
panel by ballot,and may,if necessary,require any bystander to serve
as a juror,but no officer of the gaol or prisoner confined therein shall
serve as a juror in any such inquiry.
11.The jury required hy the last preceding section may be sworn or
declared according to the Form No.2 or the Form No. 3 in the Sche-
dule to this Ordinance,which may be administered to two or more jurors
at once.
12.-(1.)Whenever an inquiry is made under this Ordinance with a
jury,it shall be the duty of the Magistrate making such inquiry to
record in writing the finding of the jury and it shall be duty of the
jurors to sign the same.
(2.)In any case under section 8,it shall be the duty of the Magistrate
to furnish to the superintendent of the gaol a copy of the finding of the
jury,signed by him.
13.The Magistrate may adjourn any inquiry from time to time,and
may,if he considers it necessary,use the same jury for a second inquiry.
14.The Magistrate shall have,in relation to the inquiries provided
for in section 7 and 8,the same powers in all respects as he possesses or
may possess in relation to any other proceedings taken before him,and
may,at the conclusion of any such inquiry,commit any person for trial
at the Supreme Court without further proceedings beofre himself or any
other Magistrate.
15.The Magistrate shall not order the interment of the body of any
person otherwise than in some public cemetery within the Colony and
in the ordinary and customary manner in which persons of the same
nationality ate commonly interred:Provided always that this section
shall not be so construed as to require the performance of any religious
rite at the interment of the body of any person buried by order of a
Magistrate under this Ordinance,or to alter the laws and usages relating
to religious ceremonies at the burial of such persons.
16.No inquisition shall be necessary in any inquiry by a Magistrate
under this Ordinance,and no committal under this Ordinance by any
Magistrate shall be held to be bad on the ground that no inquisition was
drawn up.
17.Whenever any inquiry as to the cause of a death has been held
by a Magistrate without a jury,the Magistrate shall forthwith return the
depositions taken by him on such inquiry to the Attorney General,
together with a certificate in the Form No. 4 in the Schedule to this
Ordinance,duly filled up and signed by him.
18.Any person who is committed for trial at the Supreme Court
by any Magistrate under this Ordinance on a charge of murder or
manslaughter shall be entitled to have at any time from the Magistrate's
Clerk copies of the depositions on which such committal has been made,
on payment of a reasonale sum for the same,not exceeding five cents
for every folio of ninety words.
19.When any person is committed for trial at the Supreme Court by
a Magistrate under this Ordinance on a charge of murder or manslaughter,
or as accessory before the fact to any murder,in any case in which the
cause of the death inquired into did not arise within the Colony,
the Magistrate,the Judges and Officers of the Supreme Court,and all
other persons or authorities shall have the same powers respectively for
the commitment of,trial of,and execution of teh sentence upon the
person so charged as they now or hereafter may by law possess in rela-
tion to the commitment of,trial of,and execution of the sentence upon
any person committed and tried for murder or manslaughter where the
cause of death arose within the Colony.
20.The following fees shall be payable to any duly qualified medical
practitioner,not being an officer of the Government of the Colony,who
has made any autopsy in pursuance of an order from the Magistrate
under section 6 or who has attended any inquiry,on summons,as a
medical witness:-
1.For an autopsy $10
2.For attendance to give evidence $5
SCHEDULE.
FORMS.
FORM No. 1.
Summons to Juror.
Mr. A.B.
You are hereby summoned to appear as a Juror at an inquiry to be held by
a Magistrate concerning the death of one C.D. at in this
Colony on day, the day of ,1 ,at o'clock m.,
and there to attend until you shall be discharged.
Dated the day of ,1
(Signed.)
E.F.,
Magistrate's Clerk.
Note.-The penalty for disobedience hereto is any sum not exceeding
Twenty-five Dollars.Personal service of this Summons is not necessary to
subject the Juror summoned to this penalty.
FORM No. 2.
Oath for Juror.
You shall diligently inquire and true presentment make of all such matters
and things as shall be here given you in charge,on behalf of Our Sovereign
Lady the Queen,touching the death of now lying dead [of
whose body you shall have the view]. You shall present no man for hatred,
malice,or ill-will;nor spare any through fear,favour,or affection;but a
true verdict give according to the evidence and the best of your skill and
knowledge: So help you God.
FORM No. 3.
Declaration for Juror.
I do solemnly,sincerely,and truly declare that I will diligently inquire
and true presentment make of all such matters and things as shall be here
given me in charge,on behalf of Our Sovereign Lady the Queen,touching
the death of now lying dead [of whi=ose body I am to have the
view].I will present no man for hatred,malice,or ill-will;nor spare any
through fear,favour,or affection;but a true verdict give according to the
evidence and the best of my skill and knowledge.
FORM No. 4.
Certificate of Magistrate.
I hereby certify that on the day of ,1 ,
I held,under the provosions of the Coroner's Abolition Ordinance,1888,an
inquiry as to the cause fo a death in and that the following
particulars were then disclosed;_
1.Name of deceased.
2.Residence and occupation.
3.Where found,and when,and under what circumstances.
4.Date of death.
5,Cause of death.
6.The names of the persons last seen in the company of the seceased.
7.Any suspicious circumstances which point to any person or persons as
having caused the death.
Note.-The following are the names,residence,and callings of the wit-
nesses examined:-
I have issued my warrant for the arrest of on a
charge of
Dated the day of ,1
(Signed.)
Police Magistrate.
To be filled up in case the death is supposed to have been caused by improper means.
A.D. 1888. Ordinance No. 17 of 1888, with Ordinance No. 7 of 1889 incorporated. Short title. Interpretation of term. Abolition of office of Coroner. Performance of duties of Coroner. Places for past mortem examination. 29 & 30 Vict.c. 90 s. 20: 38 & 39 Vict.c. 55 s. 143. Preliminary examination of body. Inquiry into cause of sudden or violeut death, etc. Inquiry into cause of death in case of prisoner dying in gaol or person executed. Panel for jury. No. 6 of 1887. Summoning of jurors. Schedule: Form No. 1 . Procedure with jury. Schedule: Form Nos. 2 and 3. Recording of finding of jury. Adjournment of inquiry. Powers of Magistrate. Burials. 45 & 46 Vict.c. 19 ss. 2, 4. Abolition of inquisition. Forwarding depositions. Schedule: Form No. 4. Copies of depositions. 22 Vict.c. 33 s. 3. Trial, etc., when cause of death was out of the Colony. 6 Vict.c. 12 s. 3. Fees for medical evidence. Section 10. Section 11. Section 11. Section 17.
Corner's Abolition
AN ORDINANCE to abolish the Office of Corner and to make
provision for the Performance of the Duties thereof by
Magistrates.
[9th June, 1888]
BE it enacted by the Governor of Hongkong, with the advice and
consent of the Legislative Council thereof, as follows:
1.This Ordinance may be cited as the Corner's Abolition Ordinance,
1888.
2.In this Ordinance 'Magistrate' means any Magistrate appointed
by the Governor to discharge the duties of Corner or,in his absence
or inability to act, any Police Magistrate.
3.From and after the commencement of this Ordinance,the Office of
Corner and all incidental Offices thereof attached shall be abolished.
4.The duties hitherto performed by the Corner shall be performed
by the Magistrates or either of them as the Governor may from time
to time direct, and the Magistrates shall have, in relation to such duties,
all the powers and privileges which a Corner had by law at the commencement
of this Ordinance.
5.-(1.)The Governor may from time to time, by order under his
hand, set apart suitable places for the reception of dead bodies for the
purpose of post mortem examination,and may make regulations for the
management of such places.
(2.)When any such place has been set apart,the Magistrate may
order the removal of any dead body to and from such place for the pur-
pose of any post mortem examination,and may order the cost of such
removal to be defrayed from public funds.
6.-(1.)The Superintendent of the Civil Hospital,or such other
medical officer as may be appointed by the Governor for the duty,shall,
on receiving any dead body,make a preliminary external examination
thereof,and report in writing to the Magistrate,who may,if he con-
siders it necessary,order an autopsy.
7.-(1.)Whenever any person dies suddenly,or by accident or
violence,or under suspicious circumstances,or whenever any dead body
is found within the Colony or is brought into the Colony,the Magistrate
may,if he considers an inquiry to be necessary,inquire into the cause
of death of such person without a jury,or,if he thinks fit,with a jury
of three persons as hereinafter provided,and (in his discretion) with or
without view of the body,and may determine the cause of death,and
make such order with regard thereto as he may consider necessary.
(2.)Such inquiry may be held notwithstanding that the cause of
death did not arise within the Colony.
8.Whenever any prisoner dies in gaol,and whenever any person
suffers capital punishment,the Magistrate shall,within twenty-four
hours(or forty-eight hours if a Sunday inervenes),with a jury of three
persons as hereinafter provided,view the body and inquire into the
cause of death,and may make such order in relation thereto as he may
consider necessary.
9.-(1.)Whenever a Magistrate requires a jury under section 7 or
section 8,the Registrar of the Supreme Court shall,on receipt of a
requisition from the Magistrate,draw from the Common Jurors Ballot
Box for the year the names of six jurors to form a panel,and shall
transmit such panel to the Magistrate.
(2.)All the provisions of the Jury Ordinance,1887,shall apply,as
far as may be,to such drawing,in the same manner as if the jurors were
required for a common jury in the Supreme Court.
10.-(1.)The Magistrate's Clerk shall,before the holding of any
inquiry under this Ordinance at which a jury may be necessary ,issue
forms of summons,according to the Form No. 1 in the Schedule to this
Ordinance,requiring the attendance of the jurors drawn.
(2.)Every such summons shall be personally served on or left at the
usual place of abode of the juror so summoned.
(3.)Any juror who fails,without reasonable excuse,to attend at such
inquiry or at any adjournment thereof shall be liable to a fine not
exceeding twenty-five dollars,which may be recovered in a summary
way before a Magistrate,but the Magistrate before whom the juror is
required to attend may remit such fine ,if he sees fit to do so.
(4.)The Magistrate shall select the three jurors required from the
panel by ballot,and may,if necessary,require any bystander to serve
as a juror,but no officer of the gaol or prisoner confined therein shall
serve as a juror in any such inquiry.
11.The jury required hy the last preceding section may be sworn or
declared according to the Form No.2 or the Form No. 3 in the Sche-
dule to this Ordinance,which may be administered to two or more jurors
at once.
12.-(1.)Whenever an inquiry is made under this Ordinance with a
jury,it shall be the duty of the Magistrate making such inquiry to
record in writing the finding of the jury and it shall be duty of the
jurors to sign the same.
(2.)In any case under section 8,it shall be the duty of the Magistrate
to furnish to the superintendent of the gaol a copy of the finding of the
jury,signed by him.
13.The Magistrate may adjourn any inquiry from time to time,and
may,if he considers it necessary,use the same jury for a second inquiry.
14.The Magistrate shall have,in relation to the inquiries provided
for in section 7 and 8,the same powers in all respects as he possesses or
may possess in relation to any other proceedings taken before him,and
may,at the conclusion of any such inquiry,commit any person for trial
at the Supreme Court without further proceedings beofre himself or any
other Magistrate.
15.The Magistrate shall not order the interment of the body of any
person otherwise than in some public cemetery within the Colony and
in the ordinary and customary manner in which persons of the same
nationality ate commonly interred:Provided always that this section
shall not be so construed as to require the performance of any religious
rite at the interment of the body of any person buried by order of a
Magistrate under this Ordinance,or to alter the laws and usages relating
to religious ceremonies at the burial of such persons.
16.No inquisition shall be necessary in any inquiry by a Magistrate
under this Ordinance,and no committal under this Ordinance by any
Magistrate shall be held to be bad on the ground that no inquisition was
drawn up.
17.Whenever any inquiry as to the cause of a death has been held
by a Magistrate without a jury,the Magistrate shall forthwith return the
depositions taken by him on such inquiry to the Attorney General,
together with a certificate in the Form No. 4 in the Schedule to this
Ordinance,duly filled up and signed by him.
18.Any person who is committed for trial at the Supreme Court
by any Magistrate under this Ordinance on a charge of murder or
manslaughter shall be entitled to have at any time from the Magistrate's
Clerk copies of the depositions on which such committal has been made,
on payment of a reasonale sum for the same,not exceeding five cents
for every folio of ninety words.
19.When any person is committed for trial at the Supreme Court by
a Magistrate under this Ordinance on a charge of murder or manslaughter,
or as accessory before the fact to any murder,in any case in which the
cause of the death inquired into did not arise within the Colony,
the Magistrate,the Judges and Officers of the Supreme Court,and all
other persons or authorities shall have the same powers respectively for
the commitment of,trial of,and execution of teh sentence upon the
person so charged as they now or hereafter may by law possess in rela-
tion to the commitment of,trial of,and execution of the sentence upon
any person committed and tried for murder or manslaughter where the
cause of death arose within the Colony.
20.The following fees shall be payable to any duly qualified medical
practitioner,not being an officer of the Government of the Colony,who
has made any autopsy in pursuance of an order from the Magistrate
under section 6 or who has attended any inquiry,on summons,as a
medical witness:-
1.For an autopsy $10
2.For attendance to give evidence $5
SCHEDULE.
FORMS.
FORM No. 1.
Summons to Juror.
Mr. A.B.
You are hereby summoned to appear as a Juror at an inquiry to be held by
a Magistrate concerning the death of one C.D. at in this
Colony on day, the day of ,1 ,at o'clock m.,
and there to attend until you shall be discharged.
Dated the day of ,1
(Signed.)
E.F.,
Magistrate's Clerk.
Note.-The penalty for disobedience hereto is any sum not exceeding
Twenty-five Dollars.Personal service of this Summons is not necessary to
subject the Juror summoned to this penalty.
FORM No. 2.
Oath for Juror.
You shall diligently inquire and true presentment make of all such matters
and things as shall be here given you in charge,on behalf of Our Sovereign
Lady the Queen,touching the death of now lying dead [of
whose body you shall have the view]. You shall present no man for hatred,
malice,or ill-will;nor spare any through fear,favour,or affection;but a
true verdict give according to the evidence and the best of your skill and
knowledge: So help you God.
FORM No. 3.
Declaration for Juror.
I do solemnly,sincerely,and truly declare that I will diligently inquire
and true presentment make of all such matters and things as shall be here
given me in charge,on behalf of Our Sovereign Lady the Queen,touching
the death of now lying dead [of whi=ose body I am to have the
view].I will present no man for hatred,malice,or ill-will;nor spare any
through fear,favour,or affection;but a true verdict give according to the
evidence and the best of my skill and knowledge.
FORM No. 4.
Certificate of Magistrate.
I hereby certify that on the day of ,1 ,
I held,under the provosions of the Coroner's Abolition Ordinance,1888,an
inquiry as to the cause fo a death in and that the following
particulars were then disclosed;_
1.Name of deceased.
2.Residence and occupation.
3.Where found,and when,and under what circumstances.
4.Date of death.
5,Cause of death.
6.The names of the persons last seen in the company of the seceased.
7.Any suspicious circumstances which point to any person or persons as
having caused the death.
Note.-The following are the names,residence,and callings of the wit-
nesses examined:-
I have issued my warrant for the arrest of on a
charge of
Dated the day of ,1
(Signed.)
Police Magistrate.
To be filled up in case the death is supposed to have been caused by improper means.
A.D. 1888. Ordinance No. 17 of 1888, with Ordinance No. 7 of 1889 incorporated. Short title. Interpretation of term. Abolition of office of Coroner. Performance of duties of Coroner. Places for past mortem examination. 29 & 30 Vict.c. 90 s. 20: 38 & 39 Vict.c. 55 s. 143. Preliminary examination of body. Inquiry into cause of sudden or violeut death, etc. Inquiry into cause of death in case of prisoner dying in gaol or person executed. Panel for jury. No. 6 of 1887. Summoning of jurors. Schedule: Form No. 1 . Procedure with jury. Schedule: Form Nos. 2 and 3. Recording of finding of jury. Adjournment of inquiry. Powers of Magistrate. Burials. 45 & 46 Vict.c. 19 ss. 2, 4. Abolition of inquisition. Forwarding depositions. Schedule: Form No. 4. Copies of depositions. 22 Vict.c. 33 s. 3. Trial, etc., when cause of death was out of the Colony. 6 Vict.c. 12 s. 3. Fees for medical evidence. Section 10. Section 11. Section 11. Section 17.
Abstract
A.D. 1888. Ordinance No. 17 of 1888, with Ordinance No. 7 of 1889 incorporated. Short title. Interpretation of term. Abolition of office of Coroner. Performance of duties of Coroner. Places for past mortem examination. 29 & 30 Vict.c. 90 s. 20: 38 & 39 Vict.c. 55 s. 143. Preliminary examination of body. Inquiry into cause of sudden or violeut death, etc. Inquiry into cause of death in case of prisoner dying in gaol or person executed. Panel for jury. No. 6 of 1887. Summoning of jurors. Schedule: Form No. 1 . Procedure with jury. Schedule: Form Nos. 2 and 3. Recording of finding of jury. Adjournment of inquiry. Powers of Magistrate. Burials. 45 & 46 Vict.c. 19 ss. 2, 4. Abolition of inquisition. Forwarding depositions. Schedule: Form No. 4. Copies of depositions. 22 Vict.c. 33 s. 3. Trial, etc., when cause of death was out of the Colony. 6 Vict.c. 12 s. 3. Fees for medical evidence. Section 10. Section 11. Section 11. Section 17.
Identifier
https://oelawhk.lib.hku.hk/items/show/643
Edition
1901
Volume
v1
Subsequent Cap No.
504
Cap / Ordinance No.
No. 5 of 1888
Number of Pages
6
Files
Collection
Historical Laws of Hong Kong Online
Citation
“CORONER'S ABOLITION ORDINANCE, 1888,” Historical Laws of Hong Kong Online, accessed April 22, 2025, https://oelawhk.lib.hku.hk/items/show/643.
