"An inquest ought to be held in every case of violent or unnatural death, and in cases of sudden death where the cause of death is unknown, and also where, though the death is apparently natural, reasonable suspicion of criminality exists."  House of Commons, Parliamentary Select Committee on the Office of Coroner, 1860.

Chair: His Honour Justice K. Bokhary, Court of Final Appeal, HKSAR.

Speakers
Professor Jeff Jentzen, Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office, USA
Mr. Andrew Chan, Coroner, Coroner's Court, HKSAR
Dr. Philip S.L. Beh, Department of Pathology, HKU
Dr. H.K. Mong, Consultant Forensic Pathologist [i/c], Forensic Pathology Service, Department of Health, HKSAR

The death of any person is a significant event. At the least, most advanced societies wish to account for the death in terms of its population and health monitoring data. Wherever  individual human rights and dignity are valued death is even more intensely examined in order determine the causes of death, issues of responsibility, liability and other matters. There are broadly two systems of death investigation: the Coroner's Courts developed in Britain from medieval times [De Offcio Coronatoris (4 Edward I) 1275-76] and exported to the territories which once formed the British Empire; and the Continental 'System' [e.g. jurisdictions d'instruction] of Europe, Scotland and China. Somewhere in between are the diverse practices found in the USA. The seminar will begin with an account by Prof. Jentzen of the various American practices followed by an overview of the Hong Kong Coroner's Court and an introduction to the Coroner's Ordinance [1997] by Mr. Chan. Dr.Beh will share the results of a study on how the recent changes to the Coroner's Ordinance have affected the reporting behaviour of medical practitioners. The discussant is Dr. Mong and the seminar concludes with a Q& A session.

Date: Tuesday, June 13, 2000

Time: 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

Venue: 15/F, Senior Common Room, K.K. Leung Bldg., The University of Hong Kong.

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