4Coroner's role

1. A coroner's role in relation to a death is—

2. to receive a report of the death from the New Zealand Police; and
3. to decide whether to direct a post-mortem and, if one is directed, to determine whether to authorise certain people (other than the pathologist) to attend; and
4. to authorise the release of the body (including determining, if a post-mortem has been directed, whether the pathologist wishes and is permitted, on the release of the body, to retain body parts or bodily samples); and
5. to decide whether to open an inquiry (and, if one is to be conducted, whether an inquest should be held); and
6. if an inquiry is to be opened and conducted,—
   1. to open and conduct it for the 3 purposes stated in subsection (2) (and in section 57), and not to determine civil, criminal, or disciplinary liability; and
   2. to determine related matters such as whether to prohibit the making public of evidence and whether to authorise the making public of certain particulars of deaths suspected or found to be self-inflicted deaths; and
   3. to complete and sign a certificate of findings in relation to the death (if the inquiry is completed and not earlier closed); and
7. to give members and representatives of the immediate family of the person who is, or of a person who is suspected to be, the dead person concerned, and certain others, notice of significant matters in the carrying out of the duties and processes required by law to be performed or followed in relation to the death.

8. The 3 purposes referred to in subsection (1)(e)(i) are—

9. to establish, so far as possible,—
   1. that a person has died; and
   2. the person's identity; and
   3. when and where the person died; and
   4. the causes of the death; and
   5. the circumstances of the death; and
10. to make recommendations or comments under section 57A that, in the coroner's opinion, may, if drawn to public attention, reduce the chances of the occurrence of other deaths in circumstances similar to those in which the death occurred; and
11. to determine whether the public interest would be served by the death being investigated by other investigating authorities in the performance or exercise of their functions, powers, or duties, and to refer the death to them if satisfied that the public interest would be served by their investigating it in the performance or exercise of their functions, powers, or duties.

12. This section is only a general guide to a coroner's role.