Inquiries Act 2005

Quality 0.50 · 2 views · Updated 2 months ago

Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom

title: "Inquiries Act 2005" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["united-kingdom-acts-of-parliament-2005", "constitutional-laws-of-the-united-kingdom"] description: "Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom" topic_path: "law" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inquiries_Act_2005" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox UK legislation"]

FieldValue
short_titleInquiries Act 2005
typeAct
parliamentParliament of the United Kingdom
long_titleAn Act to make provision about the holding of inquiries.
year2005
statute_book_chapter2005 c. 12
territorial_extentUnited Kingdom
royal_assent7 April 2005
commencement7 June 2005
replacesTribunals of Inquiry (Evidence) Act 1921 and other parts of acts
statuscurrent
original_texthttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2005/12/contents/enacted
revised_texthttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2005/12/contents
::

|short_title=Inquiries Act 2005 |type=Act |parliament=Parliament of the United Kingdom |long_title=An Act to make provision about the holding of inquiries. |year=2005 |statute_book_chapter=2005 c. 12 |introduced_by= |territorial_extent=United Kingdom |royal_assent=7 April 2005 |commencement=7 June 2005 |replaces=Tribunals of Inquiry (Evidence) Act 1921 and other parts of acts |repeal_date= |amendments= |related_legislation= |repealing_legislation= |status=current |original_text=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2005/12/contents/enacted |legislation_history= |revised_text=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2005/12/contents |}}

The Inquiries Act 2005 (c. 12) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. According to the explanatory notes, published by the Department for Constitutional Affairs, the act "is intended to provide a comprehensive statutory framework for inquiries set up by Ministers to look into matters of public concern".

The act repealed the entirety of the Tribunals of Inquiry (Evidence) Act 1921, a much shorter bill that also empowered Ministers to set up so-called statutory inquiries.

The act was motivated in part by the spiralling costs of the Bloody Sunday Inquiry and a desire to control the length and cost of future inquiries. The act has been criticised by a number of groups and individuals, generally concerned with the power ministers have over the remit of the inquiry and the publication of its final report.

Criticisms

The Parliament of the United Kingdom's Joint Committee on Human Rights has voiced concerns about certain aspects of the Act, as have the Law Society of England and Wales.

Amnesty International has asked members of the British judiciary not to serve on any inquiry held under the Act, as they contend that "any inquiry would be controlled by the executive which is empowered to block public scrutiny of state actions".

The family of Pat Finucane, a solicitor killed by loyalist paramilitaries in Belfast in suspicious circumstances, announced they would not be co-operating with a forthcoming inquiry into the events surrounding his death if it was held under the terms of the Act.

The Canadian judge Peter Cory, who was commissioned by the British and Irish governments to investigate the possibility of state collusion in six high-profile murders, is also a critic. He recommended public inquiries into four of the killings, but has strongly condemned the legislation that quickly followed. In a letter read at a hearing of the United States House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights and International Operations Subcommittee while the legislation was pending, Cory stated:

The chairman of the hearing, Representative Chris Smith, declared that "the bill pending before the British Parliament should be named the 'Public Inquiries Cover-up Bill'."

Indeed, the Act repealed the entirety of the Tribunals of Inquiry (Evidence) Act 1921 which had allowed Parliament to vote on a resolution establishing a tribunal that had "all such powers, rights, and privileges as are vested in the High Court" and placed the power solely under the control of a Minister.

Notable inquiries

Main article: List of public inquiries in the United Kingdom#Public inquiries under the Inquiries Act 2005

As of November 2021 there have been 29 inquiries established under the act with a further two announced. Of these, 17 have completed costing a total of £158m.

Active inquiries

Some of the highest profile, open inquiries authorised under the act include:

Former inquires

Forthcoming inquiries

  • It was announced in August 2023 that a statutory inquiry would be held into the circumstances surrounding the killings of children carried out by Lucy Letby.

Repeals and revokes

The Inquiries Act 2005 repealed or revoked all or part of the following acts of Parliament or sections of acts:

References

References

  1. The citation of this Act by this [[short title]] is authorised by [http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2005/12/section/53 section 53] of this Act.
  2. The Inquiries Act 2005, [http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2005/12/section/52 section 52]
  3. The Inquiries Act 2005, [http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2005/12/section/51 section 51]; the Inquiries Act 2005 (Commencement) Order 2005 (S.I. 2005/1432 (C. 62)), [http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2005/1432/article/2/made article 2]
  4. [https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2005/12/notes Explanatory notes] published by [[Department for Constitutional Affairs]] accompanying the act
  5. {{Cite legislation UK
  6. Ireton, Emma. (2014-03-27). "The Inquiries Act 2005 – fit for purpose?".
  7. (2005-04-21). "Judges urged to boycott inquiries".
  8. "Joint Committee On Human Rights - Fourth Report".
  9. Ireton, Emma. (27 March 2014). "The Inquiries Act 2005 – fit for purpose?". [[The Law Society Gazette]].
  10. (25 August 2005). "UK – The Finucane Case: Judiciary must not take part in inquiry sham - Amnesty International".
  11. (21 April 2005). "Judges urged to boycott inquiries". The Guardian.
  12. "IAUC Pittsburgh/W. Pa. Newsletter".
  13. The [[Tribunals of Inquiry (Evidence) Act 1921]], [http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo5/11-12/7/section/1/1995-11-08 section 1(1)] (Revised text as at 8 November 1995 from [[Legislation.gov.uk]])
  14. "Iraq War Inquiry: 25 Mar 2009: House of Commons debates".
  15. House of Commons Library (2021), ''[https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn06410/ Statutory public inquiries: the Inquiries Act 2005]''. (SN06410)
  16. "About {{!}} Grenfell Tower Inquiry".
  17. "About – Manchester Arena Inquiry".
  18. "Post Office Horizon IT inquiry 2020".
  19. (8 July 2014). "Ex-senior judge Butler-Sloss to head child sex abuse inquiry". [[BBC News Online]].
  20. Tim Jarrett. (11 August 2016). "The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse and background". House of Commons Library.
  21. "About the Inquiry {{!}} Infected Blood Inquiry".
  22. (28 June 2022). "UK Covid-19 Inquiry".
  23. "Covid-19 Public Inquiry".
  24. "Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Public Inquiry 2013".
  25. "The Litvinenko inquiry: report into the death of Alexander Litvinenko".
  26. "Leveson Inquiry - Report into the culture, practices and ethics of the press".
  27. Allegretti, Aubrey. (2023-08-30). "Lucy Letby inquiry will have power to force witnesses to give evidence". The Guardian.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

united-kingdom-acts-of-parliament-2005constitutional-laws-of-the-united-kingdom