### Coroners Ordinance 《死因裁判官條例》

14. Inquest into sudden or violent death, etc.
(1) Where—
(a) a person dies—
(i) suddenly;
(ii) by accident or violence; or
(iii) under suspicious circumstances; or
(b) the dead body of a person is found in or brought into Hong Kong,
and whether or not the death of the person is a reportable death, a coroner may, if he considers that an inquest is necessary, hold an inquest into the death, with or without a view of the body as he thinks fit.
(2) Subject to subsection (3), a coroner may hold an inquest under this section without a jury or, if he thinks fit, with a jury selected in accordance with section 23.
(3) A coroner shall not hold an inquest under this section without a jury unless—
(a) subject to section 28(2)(B), he has taken into account the representations, if any, made by or on behalf of any properly interested person on the matter; and
(b) he is satisfied that holding the inquest without a jury is not a less just manner of disposing of the inquest than holding the inquest with a jury.
(4) An inquest under this section may be held notwithstanding that the cause of death did not arise in Hong Kong.
(5) Where, in relation to the death of a person to which this section applies, a coroner considers that an inquest is not necessary, he shall forthwith upon the request of the Secretary for Justice forward to the Secretary for Justice all the evidence which he has considered in relation to the death. (Amended L.N. 362 of 1997)

15. Deaths in official custody
(1) Where a person dies whilst in official custody, a coroner shall as soon as practicable hold an inquest into the death.
(2) A coroner shall hold an inquest under this section with a jury selected in accordance with section 23.
(3) Where a person dies—
(a) whilst in the custody of a police officer; or
(b) during the course of a police officer’s discharge of his duty,
a coroner may request the Commissioner of Police to take such measures as are necessary to ensure that the investigation into the death is conducted independently and impartially.

16. Power of Secretary for Justice to require inquest
A coroner shall hold an inquest into the death of a person when required by the Secretary for Justice to do so.
(Amended L.N. 362 of 1997)

### Coroners Ordinance 《死因裁判官條例》

17. Inquest where body destroyed or irrecoverable
A coroner may hold an inquest into the death of a person where he has reason to believe that—
(a) the death occurred in Hong Kong in such circumstances that an inquest ought to be held; and
(b) owing to—
(i) the destruction of the body of that person;
(ii) the fact that the body is lying in a place from which it cannot be recovered; or
(iii) the fact that the body cannot be found,
an inquest cannot be held except by virtue of this section and section 19.

18. Inquests in respect of deaths arising out of certain civil aviation accidents or merchant shipping casualties
A coroner may hold an inquest into the death of a person where he has reason to believe that—
(a) the death occurred outside Hong Kong in connection with—
(i) an accident, within the meaning of the Hong Kong Civil Aviation (Investigation of Accidents) Regulations (Cap. 448 sub. leg. B)—
(A) to which those Regulations apply;
(B) which has occurred outside Hong Kong; and
(C) where the civil aircraft to which the accident relates is registered in Hong Kong; or
(ii) a casualty to a ship—
(A) to which Part VIII of the Merchant Shipping Ordinance (Cap. 281) applies;
(B) which has occurred outside Hong Kong; and
(C) where the ship is registered in Hong Kong;
(b) owing to—
(i) the destruction of the body of that person;
(ii) the fact that the body is lying in a place from which it cannot be recovered; or
(iii) the fact that, for whatever other reason, the body cannot or will not be brought into Hong Kong,
an inquest cannot be held except by virtue of this section and section 19; and
(c) the death has occurred in such circumstances that an inquest ought to be held.

19. Special provisions for purposes of sections 17 and 18
(1) The law relating to coroners and inquests (including all the provisions of this Ordinance) shall apply to the death of a person to which section 17 or 18 applies with such modifications as may be necessary in consequence of the absence of the body of that person.
(2) For the avoidance of doubt, it is hereby declared that a coroner may issue a certificate of the fact of death in respect of the death of a person to which section 17 or 18 applies.

### Coroners Ordinance 《死因裁判官條例》

20. Power of Court of First Instance to order inquest
(1) Where the Court of First Instance, upon the application in open court of a properly interested person or the Secretary for Justice, is satisfied— (Amended L.N. 362 of 1997)
(a) that a coroner has failed to hold an inquest which ought to be held;
(b) where an inquest has been held by a coroner, that by reason of fraud, rejection of evidence, irregularity of proceedings (including a failure to comply with section 14(3)), insufficiency of inquiry, or otherwise, it is necessary or desirable that another inquest should be held; or
(c) where an inquest has been held by a coroner, that by reason of the discovery of new facts or evidence it is necessary or desirable that another inquest should be held,
the Court of First Instance may order an inquest to be held into the death of a person and, where an inquest has been already held, may quash the findings of the coroner or jury at that inquest already held.
(2) Where the Court of First Instance orders under subsection (1) that an inquest be held, it may also order that the inquest shall be held by any coroner and, where a coroner other than the coroner referred to in subsection (1)(b) or (c) holds the inquest, the law relating to coroners and inquests (including all the provisions of this Ordinance) shall apply as if that inquest were a new inquest.
(3) Where—
(a) an inquest referred to in subsection (1)(b) or (c) into the death of a person was held with a jury; and
(b) the Court of First Instance orders under subsection (1) that the inquest be reopened or that a new inquest be held into the death,
the jurors at the inquest referred to in paragraph (a) shall, unless the Court of First Instance otherwise orders, be the jurors at that reopened or new inquest.
(Amended 25 of 1998 s. 2)

21. Panel for jury
(1) Where the Registrar is notified by a coroner that an inquest is to be held with a jury, the Registrar shall—
(a) select by ballot or by any other method of random selection, from the list of jurors, such number of names of jurors as the Registrar, after consultation with the coroner, thinks fit, to form a panel; and
(b) shall transmit the names of the jurors forming that panel to the coroner.
(2) The provisions of the Jury Ordinance (Cap. 3) shall, so far as they are applicable, apply to the selection of the names of the jurors under subsection (1).