Non-adversarial justice and the coroner's court: a proposed therapeutic, restorative, problem-solving model

Increasingly courts are using new approaches that promote a more comprehensive resolution of legal problems, minimise any negative effects that legal processes have on participant wellbeing and/or that use legal processes to promote participant wellbeing. Therapeutic jurisprudence, restorative justice, mediation and problem-solving courts are examples. This article suggests a model for the use of these processes in the coroner's court to minimise negative effects of coroner's court processes on the bereaved and to promote a more comprehensive resolution of matters at issue, including the determination of the cause of death and the public health and safety promotion role of the coroner.