Interested Parties

Interested Parties in a Coronial Inquiry are people or organisations the Coroner considers to have a particular interest in the Inquiry. Under the Coroners Act 2006, this interest needs to be more than, or different to, the interest of a member of the general public.

Interested Parties are formally notified if any significant matters arise during the Inquiry and, if they wish, can receive information relevant to the Inquiry. As well, Interested Parties may make submissions to the Coroner as part of the Inquiry, and may also have the opportunity to be involved in the Inquest hearing.

Families of the deceased

If you are an immediate family member of one of the deceased, you are on the Interested Party list for the coronial Inquiry. If you are not sure whether this applies to you, you can contact Coronial Services by emailing coronial.response@justice.govt.nz or phoning 0800 88 88 20.

Registering as an Interested Party if you are a victim of gunshot wounds

If you are a victim or parents of a child victim of gunshot wounds, you can register as an Interested Party by emailing coronial.response@justice.govt.nz or phoning 0800 88 88 20. Alternatively, your lawyer can do this on your behalf.

Applying to be an Interested Party for all other individuals or groups

Groups, organisations or individuals who are not family members of the deceased or victims of gunshot wounds will need to apply to become an Interested Party.

You can apply to be an Interested Party at any time.  However, the closer it gets to the hearing, the harder it will be for you to review the material and participate meaningfully at the hearing.  We recommend any applications be filed as soon as possible.

Legal Aid is available to help pay for a lawyer to represent you and help you participate in the Coronial process.

 Apply to become an Interested Party [DOCX, 72 KB]

Once you’ve filled in the form, email it to Coronial Services at coronial.response@justice.govt.nz. Coroner Windley will consider your application and let you know the outcome.

If there’s a large group of people seeking to be Interested Parties, the group can apply through a representative. If this applies to you, you need to agree among yourselves on a representative. This person can then apply to become an Interested Party on behalf of the group. The same applies for organisations.

Other ways to keep up to date

You don’t need to be an Interested Party to be kept up to date with the Coroner’s Inquiry. You can find out what’s happening at any time by visiting this website at Christchurch masjidain coronial process.