1COR
2 Contributions by 1COR Experts
PRACTICE NOTES
The way a public inquiry is run can differ markedly from one to another. Even where an inquiry is set up under the Inquiries Act 2005 (IA 2005), the accompanying rules give limited prescription on process. Likewise, formal guidance is sparse. The Cabinet Office’s Inquiries Guidance: Guidance for Inquiry Chairs and Secretaries and Sponsor Departments was characterised by a witness before the House of Lords Select Committee on the Inquiries Act 2005 as ‘frankly…no use at all’. This Practice Note concentrates on statutory, not non‑statutory, inquiries. For further context, see Practice Note: Public inquiries.
Key stages of an inquiry
the announcement of the inquiry, its terms of reference, and appointment of a chair or panel
the formal opening of the inquiry
recruiting an inquiry secretary and team, plus a solicitor to the inquiry and counsel to the
Public Law
PRACTICE NOTES
Purpose and aims of public inquiries
Public inquiries are typically convened to scrutinise, in depth, events that trigger widespread concern. They fall into two broad categories:
statutory inquiries—constituted under the Inquiries Act 2005 (IA 2005) or other statutory powers available to Parliamentary Commissioners, local authorities, regulators and similar bodies, and
non-statutory inquiries—such as those initiated under the royal prerogative to form a Royal Commission
Section 44(4) of the IA 2005 expressly preserves the Sovereign’s ability to establish a Royal Commission, and also safeguards any power of a Minister or other person—whether arising from statute or otherwise—to institute an inquiry outside the framework of the Act.
Depending on the applicable procedure, inquiry hearings may proceed in public or in private. Lord Justice Salmon, who chaired the 1966 Royal Commission on Tribunals of Inquiry, remarked that secrecy tends to swell the volume of evidence while
Public Law
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