NCJ Number
121914
Journal
Journal of Law and Society Volume: 16 Issue: 4 Dated: (Winter 1989) Pages: 464-476
Date Published
1989
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This article analyzes the substantive and procedural fairness of a coroner's inquest conducted in Gibraltar to determine whether three members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) were lawfully killed in Gibraltar on March 6, 1988 by members of the British Special Air Services Regiment (SAS).
Abstract
Inquest procedures in Gibraltar, Wales, England and Northern Ireland are compared, with emphasis on the eleven member jury summoned by the coroner in Gibraltar to hear the case. Procedures in Gibraltar courts for disclosing statements, questioning witnesses, and summing up evidence are also analyzed. The article concludes that there were procedural and economic imbalances in the Gibraltar inquest that favored the British government over the families of the deceased IRA members, noting that the imbalances were aggravated by the hybrid inquisitorial/adversarial nature of the inquest procedure. The Gibraltar coroner interpreted the law in a way that assumed that the actions of the SAS were lawful. Modification of inquest procedures to ensure essential fairness is recommended. 54 references.