Achieving Racial Justice at Inquests is a joint guide developed by human rights charities JUSTICE and INQUEST together and in consultation with advisory group members, including our Allison Munroe KC, Leslie Thomas KC, and Thalia Maragh.
Coverage in the Justice Gap.
This new guide produced by JUSTICE in association with INQUEST, equips lawyers and coroners with the tools to recognise, raise, evidence and investigate issues of race and racism and aims to achieve truth, justice and accountability for bereaved families and prevent further people from dying in state custody.
Our Professor Leslie Thomas KC, leading expert on inquests and public inquiries, said:
“Ensuring accountability and justice in cases of deaths in state custody is paramount. Yet, too often, inquests overlook the critical factor of race, particularly when Black and racialised individuals are involved. By ignoring or sidestepping this issue, they neglect to confront the systemic racism embedded in policies and practices that endanger lives.
“This guide will ensure race is no longer the elephant in the room in these investigations. Publicly acknowledging and investigating issues of racism are necessary first steps towards achieving justice and preventing further harm.”
Read the guide here.
Read INQUEST's press release here.
Garden Court Inquests & Inquiries Team
Garden Court is one of the leading barristers’ chambers in the UK representing bereaved families in inquests and core participants in public inquiries. Our inquest barristers have been involved in most of the landmark and far-reaching inquests including the Hillsborough inquests, the Birmingham Pub Bombings Inquest, the Mark Duggan inquest, the Litvinenko inquest and inquests into historic political deaths in Northern Ireland such as the Ballymurphy Inquest. Members of the team have acted as counsel to the Coroner in several notable inquests and we are active members and supporters of INQUEST.
