48.—(1) The particulars concerning a death required to be registered pursuant to section 15 of the Act (which requires prescribed particulars of deaths to be registered) shall, subject to the provisions of this Part of these regulations, be the particulars required in spaces 1 to 8 in form 9; and form 9 shall be the prescribed form for the purposes of section 20 of the Act (which provides for registration of death free of charge).
(2) The form of a certificate of cause of death shall be form 10.
(3) The form of notice required by section 22(2) of the Act to be given by a medical practitioner to a qualified informant shall be form 11.
49.—(1) In the case of any death which occurred in the registrar's sub-district with respect to which a certificate of cause of death has been delivered to the registrar and which has not been and is not required to be reported to the coroner the registrar shall, on receiving from an informant, at any time within 12 months of the date of the death, information of the particulars required by regulation 48(1), register the death in the presence of the informant by completing spaces 1 to 8 in form 9.
(2) Where a child lived for less than 24 hours, the registrar shall enter after the date of the child's death the word “Aged …” and the age in completed hours or, if less than one hour, in minutes.
(3) Where the death relates to a dead body in relation to which the date and place of death are unknown, the registrar shall enter in space 1 the words “Dead body found on …” and the date of finding the body, followed by “at …” and the place of finding.
(4) Where the deceased was a child under the age of 15, the registrar shall enter in space 6 the words “son (or daughter) of …” and the name and occupation of the father or, if the name and occupation of the father is not given, the words “son (or daughter) of …” and the name and occupation of the mother.
(5) Where the deceased was a female aged 15 or over, the registrar shall enter—
(a)in the case of a married woman or widow, her own occupation and the words “wife (or widow) of …” and the name and occupation of her husband or deceased husband;
(b)in any other case, her own occupation.
(6) The registrar shall enter in space 8 the cause of death precisely as certified in the medical certificate, followed by the words “Certified by …” and the name and qualification of the medical practitioner who gave the medical certificate.
50.—(1) After completing spaces 1 to 8 in the entry, the registrar shall call upon the informant to verify the particulars entered in spaces 1 to 7; and if it appears that any error has been made in those particulars, the registrar shall thereupon in the presence of the informant make the necessary correction in the manner provided in regulation 72.
(2) The registrar shall then call upon the informant to sign the entry in space 9; and when the registrar has signed the entry in space 11 he shall add his official description.
51.—(1) Where a registrar is informed of the death of any person before the expiration of 12 months from the date of the death, he shall report the death to the coroner on a form provided by the Registrar General if the death is one—
(a)in respect of which the deceased was not attended during his last illness by a medical practitioner; or
(b)in respect of which the registrar has been unable to obtain a duly completed certificate of cause of death; or
(c)with respect to which it appears to the registrar, from the particulars contained in such a certificate or otherwise, that the deceased was seen by the certifying medical practitioner neither after death nor within 14 days before death; or
(d)the cause of which appears to be unknown; or
(e)which the registrar has reason to believe to have been unnatural or to have been caused by violence or neglect, or by abortion, or to have been attended by suspicious circumstances; or
(f)which appears to the registrar to have occurred during an operation or before recovery from the effect of an anaesthetic; or
(g)which appears to the registrar from the contents of any medical certificate to have been due to industrial disease or industrial poisoning.
(2) Where the registrar has reason to believe, with respect to any death of which he is informed or in respect of which a certificate of cause of death has been delivered to him, that the circumstances of the death were such that it is the duty of some person or authority other than himself to report the death to the coroner, he shall satisfy himself that it has been reported.
(3) The registrar shall not register any death which he has himself reported to the coroner, or which to his knowledge it is the duty of any other person or authority to report to the coroner, or which to his knowledge has been reported to the coroner, until he has received a coroner's certificate or a notification that the coroner does not intend to hold an inquest.
52. Where, before the expiration of 12 months from the date of a death which it is his duty to register, the registrar is notified by the coroner that he does not intend to hold an inquest thereon, the registrar shall, unless the death has already been registered, register the death in accordance with regulations 49 and 50:
(a)if the coroner in his notification certifies the cause of death disclosed by any report on a post-mortem examination of the body made by his direction under section 21 of the Coroners (Amendment) Act 1926, the entry in space 8 of the cause of death shall be of the cause of death as so certified, followed by the words “Certified by …”, the name and description of the coroner and the words “after post-mortem without inquest”; and
(b)if it appears from the coroner's notification that no post-mortem examination was held by his direction, and the registrar is unable to obtain delivery of a certificate of cause of death, the entry in space 8 of the cause of death shall be of the cause of death as stated in the coroner's notification, or if none is stated therein as stated to the registrar by the informant, without any further or other entry in that space.
53.—(1) Where a registrar receives a coroner's notification that he does not intend to hold an inquest in respect of a death which the registrar has already registered on the information of an informant, and the coroner certifies in that notification the cause of death as disclosed by any report on a post-mortem examination made by his direction, the registrar shall, without altering the entry of the death, enter in the margin of that entry the words “Post-mortem without inquest held by the direction of …” and the name and description of the coroner and the words “and cause of death disclosed as …” and the cause of death as certified by the coroner, and shall add his initials and the date.
(2) If the register containing the entry is in the custody of the superintendent registrar, the registrar shall deliver the notification to the superintendent registrar, who shall enter in the margin of the entry the particulars required by paragraph (1) and add his initials and the date.
54.—(1) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (2), where, before the expiration of 12 months from the date of a death which it is his duty to register, a registrar receives a coroner's certificate upon an inquest with reference to that death, the registrar shall register the death as follows:—
(a)in spaces 1 to 6 and 8 he shall enter the particulars contained in the certificate, precisely as stated therein, as particulars to be entered in those spaces respectively:
(b)in space 7 he shall enter the words “Certificate received from …” and the name and description of the coroner, and the words “Inquest held …” and the date of the inquest as stated in the certificate;
(c)in space 10 he shall enter the date on which the entry is made and in space 11 he shall sign the entry and add his official description.
(2) Where the coroner's certificate relates to an inquest which has been adjourned and not resumed, the registrar shall register the death in accordance with the foregoing provisions of this regulation with the following modifications:—
(a)in space 8 he shall enter the cause of death as stated in the certificate, and where it appears that the inquest was adjourned under section 20 of the Coroners (Amendment) Act 1926 and a person has been charged with the murder, manslaughter or infanticide of the deceased person, the registrar shall enter after the entry of the cause of death the result of the criminal proceedings as stated in the certificate:
(b)in space 7, instead of the words “Certificate received from” the registrar shall enter—
(i)if the inquest was adjourned and not resumed, the words “Certificate on inquest adjourned and not resumed received from …”; and
(ii)if the inquest was adjourned sine die, the words “Certificate on inquest adjourned sine die received from …”
55. Where a registrar has received a coroner's certificate upon an inquest relating to the death of any person in respect of whom an entry has previously been made in a register of still-births or deaths on the information of an informant, the registrar shall make a fresh entry in respect of the death in accordance with regulation 54, and the officer having custody of the register containing the previous entry shall write in the margin of that entry “Re-registered on coroner's certificate at entry No. …”, and the number of the new entry, particulars of the register in which it is contained and his initials.
56.—(1) Where a registrar is informed that the death of a person who died more than 12 months previously has not been registered, the registrar shall make a report to the Registrar General stating to the best of his knowledge and belief the particulars required to be registered concerning the death, the source of his information and the name and address of any qualified informant available to give information for the registration, and shall send with the report any certificate of the cause of death and any coroner's notification that he does not intend to hold an inquest or coroner's certificate after an inquest held with reference to the death.
(2) On receiving the Registrar General's written authority to register the death on the information of an informant, the registrar shall arrange for the informant specified in the authority to attend at his office and shall register the death in the presence of the informant; and the provisions of regulations 49 and 50 shall, subject to the modifications set out in paragraph (3), apply as they apply to the registration of a death within 12 months.
(3) On receiving the Registrar General's authority to register a death which occurred more than 12 months previously in respect of which the registrar has received a coroner's certificate after an inquest, the registrar shall register the death; and the provisions of regulation 54 shall apply as they apply to the registration of a death within 12 months, subject to the modification that in space 10 the registrar shall, after entering the date on which the entry is made, enter the words “On the authority of the Registrar General”.