A month was allowed for familiarisation and an opportunity for seeking changes to these guidelines. There were, however, no suggested changes and those guidelines operated from then on in the hearings into individual deaths. These guidelines were designed to secure efficiency in hearings and the maximum access to all material by all parties. The hearings were open to the public and advertised. The individual case reports with the appendices showing the list of witnesses and exhibits testify to the thoroughness of the inquiries.
Many transcripts run to over one thousand pages.
In most cases the post-mortem reports were reviewed by eminent forensic pathologists engaged by the Commission and in some cases engaged by advisers to the family of the deceased. In virtually every case the family was legally represented at the hearing. In the final analysis, as a result of rigourous inquiry and the free flow of information, there were very few cases where foul play was alleged at the conclusion of the inquiry. I cannot sufficiently stress the need when a death occurs in custody for full, open and searching inquiry in which the families feel that they are given all the available facts and given the power to participate in a meaningful way.