JUDICIAL
INQUIRIES
Whenever a death or
fire of accidental or mysterious circumstances occurs within the
territorial jurisdiction of Newfoundland and Labrador there is the
potential that a public inquiry, to be presided over by a provincial
court judge, will be ordered undertaken.
 The decision to order an inquiry is not up to the court. This decision
falls upon the shoulders of the Attorney General (or in the case of
nonfatal fires, the Director of Public Prosecutions) for the province
pursuant to the provisions of the
Provincial Offences Act or the
Fatalities Investigations Act.
If so ordered, the court will appoint a judge to conduct an inquiry to
look into the facts leading up to the occurrence, and to make
recommendations, if any, as to how to prevent repetition of such an
event in the future.
Government is not bound by any such recommendations.
The presiding judge is not permitted to affix criminal or civil
responsibility for such occurrence upon any individual or corporation or
entity. The process is not a search for who to blame, but rather a
public airing of the evidence available concerning what lead to the
occurrence. The aim is to inform and educate the public and those in a
position to make changes for the better to enable them to take
appropriate actions, based on the evidence and the recommendations, if
any, to prevent or at least minimize the likelihood of another such
event. |
