The law governing inquests into sudden deaths will be reviewed by a bipartisan committee appointed by the Attorney-General, it has been confirmed.

Scott Pearman, the deputy leader of the One Bermuda Alliance, proposed in September that the Coroners Act 1938 be scrutinised after The Royal Gazetterevealed that only four public inquests were held in the past ten years.

During that period, there were 981 sudden deaths reported to the senior magistrate and coroner, including more than 100 road fatalities, 20-plus drownings and several workplace fatalities.

The Ministry of Justice confirmed in a statement on Wednesday that “work is under way to finalise a bipartisan working committee to review matters relating to inquests”.

The statement said Kim Wilkerson, the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, would sit on the committee, along with shadow legal affairs minister Mr Pearman, lawyer Allan Doughty and a representative from the judiciary.

Senate leader Ms Wilkerson said: “The Government recognises that this is an area that impacts many Bermudians and the intention is to approach the issue collaboratively and constructively.”

Mr Pearman welcomed the minister’s announcement.

He said: “The Opposition recognises that Bermuda’s inquest laws and procedures are not adequately addressing the needs of our island community.

“The past few decades have seen an increase in unresolved deaths.

“Yet at the same time, only a handful of inquests have been held, leaving some Bermudian families without the answers they deserve.”

He said the working committee would develop amendments to the present law, “including considering the possibility of new procedures to enable families to request that an inquest be held”.

The Paget East MP added: “We have indicated that the Opposition is prepared to work together on this important issue to deliver much needed legal reform for grieving families.”

The Gazette’s in-depth report on inquests, published in August, detailed how different Bermuda’s approach to inquests was from that of other jurisdictions, both large and small.

Only about 0.4 per cent of deaths reported to the coroner here proceed to a public inquest — a fact-finding inquiry to determine how, when and where a person suddenly died — compared with 21 per cent in England and Wales.

In the Cayman Islands, the Coroner’s Court sits every four to six months for about a week, with multiple inquests listed for each sitting.

On the rare occasions a public inquest is held in Bermuda, it is often not until many years after the sudden death. The two most recent inquests, in 2023 and 2024, were for deaths in 2015 and 2018 respectively.

The island’s senior magistrate and coroner is responsible for holding inquests, under the Coroners Act, but has the discretion to dispense with the need for them in most circumstances.

Chief Justice Larry Mussenden has referenced space and resource constraints in relation to why there are so few inquests.

Mr Pearman suggested in September that it could be useful to consider an amendment to Section 10 of the Act to empower relatives to compel the coroner to hold an inquest in certain circumstances, where there was an “unresolved issue” about the deceased’s death.

He added that it was also worth looking at whether Section 9 should be changed to require the coroner to provide reasons publicly for dispensing with the need for an inquest.

When Mr Pearman raised the issue in the House of Assembly, David Burt encouraged him to write to the Attorney-General.

The Premier said: “When there are matters that do touch on families, I think that is something that is important, so I will commend the honourable member for raising this particular issue and will happily work towards it.”

• If you have suffered the sudden death of a loved one and want to share your views or experiences regarding inquests, please e-mail sstrangeways@royalgazette.com