The term ‘interested person’ refers to:
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Any relative of the deceased
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Any person present at death
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The deceased’s executor or other legal representative
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Any other person having knowledge of the particulars to be registered (if there is no-one in the first four categories)
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Healthcare professionals or carers involved with the deceased
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Funeral Directors
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A person having charge of the place of disposal of the body.
An interested person review exists to provide a further measure of public and professional reassurance, over and above the randomised review selection process.
Such reviews:
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Cannot be conducted where the death pre-dated the implementation of the 2011 Act (or where the death has been referred to the Procurator Fiscal)
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Must be requested within three years of the date of death
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Can only be conducted if a review has not already taken place.
Requests for an interested person review are expected to be a rare occurrence and should be raised by the interested person directly with the MR Service, rather than via the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages.
A downloadable digital leaflet from the DCRS, providing guidance on Interested Person review, is available at this link.
Targeted review
A targeted review may be conducted in response to any identified pattern that raises concern.
Both interested person and targeted reviews can be a trigger for a Level 2 Review.