Tim Suter traces the origins & achievements of public inquiries
“We have sought to establish the truth, insofar as it could be established.” The opening lines of the foreword to the report of the Rosemary Nelson Public Inquiry (HC 947) neatly encapsulate the overriding role of the modern public inquiry as a legal mechanism to investigate, examine, and report upon issues of grave public concern. Well-managed, a public inquiry can offer a cathartic opportunity that reassures public opinion and identifies lessons learned in the report upon its terms of reference.
The announcement of the Leveson Inquiry into issues arising from the News International phone hacking scandal highlights both how events and politics can suddenly combine to create the need for an inquiry and how little the public debate displays an understanding of the process, time, and money it will involve.
History matters
Public inquiry is a ubiquitous term that is applied to planning tribunals, investigations into transport accidents, and commissions on public policy reform.
The modern public inquiry grew from the parliamentary tradition, through committees, of holding ministers to account for
