The Coroners Act 1887 (50 & 51 Vict. c. 71) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that consolidated for England and Wales enactments relating to coroners and repealed statutes from 1275 to 1882 which had ceased to be in force or had become necessary.
Background
In the United Kingdom, acts of Parliament remain in force until expressly repealed. Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England, published in the late 18th-century, raised questions about the system and structure of the common law and the poor drafting and disorder of the existing statute book.
From 1810 to 1825, The Statutes of the Realm was published, providing the first authoritative collection of acts. The first statute law revision act was not passed until 1856 with the Repeal of Obsolete Statutes Act 1856 (19 & 20 Vict. c. 64). This approach — focusing on removing obsolete laws from the statute book followed by consolidation — was proposed by Peter Locke King MP, who had been highly critical of previous commissions' approaches, expenditures, and lack of results. +Previous statute law revision actsYear passedTitleCitationEffect1861Statute Law Revision Act 186124 & 25 Vict. c. 101Repealed or amended over 800 enactments1863Statute Law Revision Act 186326 & 27 Vict. c. 125Repealed or amended over 1,600 enactments for England and Wales1867Statute Law Revision Act 186730 & 31 Vict. c. 59Repealed or amended over 1,380 enactments1870Statute Law Revision Act 187033 & 34 Vict. c. 69Repealed or amended over 250 enactments1871Promissory Oaths Act 187134 & 35 Vict. c. 48Repealed or amended almost 200 enactments1871Statute Law Revision Act 187134 & 35 Vict. c. 116Repealed or amended over 1,060 enactments1872Statute Law Revision Act 187235 & 36 Vict. c. 63Repealed or amended almost 490 enactments1872Statute Law (Ireland) Revision Act 187235 & 36 Vict. c. 98Repealed or amended over 1,050 enactments1872Statute Law Revision Act 1872 (No. 2)35 & 36 Vict. c. 97Repealed or amended almost 260 enactments1873Statute Law Revision Act 187336 & 37 Vict. c. 91Repealed or amended 1,225 enactments1874Statute Law Revision Act 187437 & 38 Vict. c. 35Repealed or amended over 490 enactments1874Statute Law Revision Act 1874 (No. 2)37 & 38 Vict. c. 96Repealed or amended almost 470 enactments1875Statute Law Revision Act 187538 & 39 Vict. c. 66Repealed or amended over 1,400 enactments1876Statute Law Revision (Substituted Enactments) Act 187639 & 40 Vict. c. 20Updated references to repealed acts1878Statute Law Revision (Ireland) Act 187841 & 42 Vict. c. 57Repealed or amended over 460 enactments passed by the Parliament of Ireland1878Statute Law Revision Act 187841 & 42 Vict. c. 79Repealed or amended over 90 enactments.1879Statute Law Revision (Ireland) Act 187942 & 43 Vict. c. 24Repealed or amended over 460 enactments passed by the Parliament of Ireland1879Civil Procedure Acts Repeal Act 187942 & 43 Vict. c. 59Repealed or amended over 130 enactments1881Statute Law Revision and Civil Procedure Act 188144 & 45 Vict. c. 59Repealed or amended or amended almost 100 enactments relating to civil procedure.1883Statute Law Revision Act 188346 & 47 Vict. c. 39Repealed or amended over 475 enactments1883Statute Law Revision and Civil Procedure Act 188346 & 47 Vict. c. 49Repealed or amended over 475 enactments1887Statute Law Revision Act 188750 & 51 Vict. c. 59Repealed or amended over 200 enactments1887Sheriffs Act 188750 & 51 Vict. c. 55Repealed or amended almost 75 enactments related to sheriffs
Passage The Coroners Bill had its first reading in the House of Lords on 19 July 1887, introduced by the Lord Chancellor, Hardinge Giffard, 1st Baron Halsbury. The bill had its second reading in the House of Lords on 21 July 1887 and was committed to a Committee of the Whole House, which met on 4 August and reported on 5 August 1887, with amendments. The amended Bill had its third reading in the House of Lords on 8 August 1887 and passed, without amendments.
The bill had its first reading in the House of Commons on 15 August 1887. The bill had its second reading in the House of Commons on 10 September 1887, introduced by the attorney general, Richard Webster . During debate, the bill was criticised for appearing late in the session, and for containing no provision for the fining of Coroners for neglect of duty. The bill was committed to a Committee of the Whole House, which was delayed several times, receiving criticism from MPs. The Committee which met and reported on 13 September 1887, with amendments. The bill had its third reading in the House of Commons on 13 September 1887 and passed, with amendments.
The amended bill was considered and agreed to by the House of Lords on 13 September 1887.
The bill was granted royal assent on 16 September 1887.
Subsequent developments Part of section 45 and the third schedule to the act were repealed by section 1 of, and the schedule to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1908 (8 Edw. 7. c. 49)), which came into force on 21 December 1908.
Section 31 of the act was repealed by section 1(1) of, and the first schedule to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1950 (14 Geo. 6. c. 6), which came into force on 23 May 1950.
Section 44 of the act was repealed by section 10(2) of, and part I of schedule 3 to, the Criminal Law Act 1967, which came into force on 1 January 1968.
The whole act was repealed by section 36(2) of, and schedule 4 to, the Coroners Act 1988, which came into force on 10 July 1988.
Provisions
Repealed enactments Section 45 of the act repealed 33 enactments, listed in the third schedule to the act.
Section 45 of the act included several safeguards to ensure that the repeal does not negatively affect existing rights or ongoing legal matters, including:
The continuation in office of coroners elected before the act's passing The preservation of existing fee schedules and allowances until new ones were made The protection of past operations of any repealed enactments The preservation of rights, privileges, obligations, or liabilities acquired or incurred under repealed enactments The continuation of penalties and punishments for offences committed against repealed enactments The ability to continue any inquests, investigations, or legal proceedings that began before the act The preservation of existing jurisdictions, offices, customs, and practices that were in force at the time of passing