Extra powers for judges in the North to probe 'presumed dead' cases

Judges in the North may be given extra powers to probe mystery disappearances to guard against a repeat of the John Darwin missing canoeist fraud, it was revealed today.

The Stormont government is considering introducing laws that would enable the High Court to order disclosure of information from third party witnesses before granting any family a certificate of presumed death for a vanished loved one.

Darwin, 58, and his wife Anne, 56, were jailed for more than six years earlier this year after tricking their sons, friends, police and insurance companies into believing he had drowned while canoeing off the coast of Hartlepool in the UK back in 2002.

He reappeared at a London police station last December claiming he had lost his memory, however it later emerged that he and his wife had attempted to set up a new life in Panama on the back of his life insurance pay out.

A bill to enable the issuing of presumed death certificates in the North is currently going through its legislative stages in the Stormont Assembly.

There has been no such provision in the past, resulting in a variety of problems for families of missing people, particularly in regard to dealing with the person’s estate.

Finance minister Nigel Dodds told Assembly members that he was considering the third party proof measures – to try and prevent attempted deception.

“Given the recent media coverage of the Darwin case – the once missing canoeist – members will be understandably concerned about the possibility of fraud,” he said

“I will not make the claim that it would never be possible for a person to fraudulently obtain a declaration of presumed death in respect of a person and thereby gain some financial benefit, either for the applicant and the applicant together with the missing person.

“I am satisfied, however, that by conferring this declaratory jurisdiction in the High Court there will be a thorough examination of the applicant’s affidavit evidence, and if necessary a request from the Court for further evidence or for the calling of witnesses.

“I should add, Mr Speaker, that I am considering introducing a new provision to the Bill which would give the High Court power to order a third person to disclose to the Court information which might assist the Court in deciding whether to grant a declaration of presumed death.

“This new power would reduce further the scope for a person being declared dead who is in fact alive.”

The Presumption of Death Bill has particular significant for families of the North’s Disappeared – IRA victims whose bodies were never recovered.

Under the current rules, a death certificate cannot be issued unless a person’s body is recovered, while a coroner’s certificate is also necessary in some cases.

But unlike Britain, a coroner in the North can rarely, if ever, hold an inquest if a missing person’s remains have not been found.

Under the new legislation, evidence of an individual’s presumed death can be brought before the High Court.

The court will then make a ruling and the person’s name added to the official record of those presumed dead, which will run alongside the existing register of deaths.

A certificate of presumed death will be issued and will have all the legal status of a normal death certificate, allowing the deceased’s estate to be dealt with in the normal manner.

“New legislation cannot help locate the remains of the Disappeared,” said Mr Dodds.

“It cannot turn back the clock and erase the fact that these individuals were abducted and murdered. It cannot compensate for the anxiety, fear and grief that the families of the Disappeared and indeed the families of any person who goes missing endure on a daily basis.

“What this short Bill does is no more than provide the structure within which decisions can be made and arrangements put in place which allows for, as a first step, an authoritative judicial ruling that the person concerned may now be regarded as dead, and a death certificate made available to the family.”