Delays in the issuing of death certificates will be reduced under legislation to be tabled in the new Parliamentary session.

In the Throne Speech yesterday, Rena Lalgie, the Governor, said that the existing law would be “modernised and revised” to speed up the process.

At the moment, those who have lost a relative may have to wait a year or more before a death certificate is issued, putting probate on hold.

Reading from the Throne Speech, the Governor said: “A sad remnant of the pandemic has been the delay in the certification of death of those who succumbed during that period.

“This has extended to other instances of death such that families cannot settle their loved one’s affairs in circumstances where a doctor or a GP is not prepared to certify the cause of death.

“To assist these families and others who may suffer such losses, the Government will amend the Registration (Births and Deaths) Act 1949 to revise and modernise the Form E death certificate and in appropriate circumstances make provision for a short-form death certificate, which will allow for urgent estate matters to be settled.”

Under current law, the Registry General Department, which issues death certificates, must be notified of a death by either a medical practitioner, hospital, funeral home, or by the Coroner’s Office or a Magistrate where an inquest into the cause of death is held.

Earlier this year Walter Roban, the Minister of Home Affairs, acknowledged that there were “unfortunate“ delays in the process.

He said: “Unfortunately, while the Coroner’s Office or the Magistrates’ Court are reviewing the circumstances of death, the Registry General’s department cannot process or issue a death certificate until they receive the Form E death notice from either the Coroner’s Office or Magistrates’ Court.

“These reviews or inquests by the Magistrates’ Court or Coroner’s Office can take months and sometimes over a year to conclude, which delays the Registry General’s Department from receiving the application and issuing a death certificate.

“Also, delays in producing a death certificate can occur when the Form E submitted by funeral homes contains errors that are detected at the verification stage of processing, and the Registry General Department has to send the Form E back to the funeral home to be corrected.”

The Royal Gazette has recently reported on a series of cases where relatives had to suffer “torturous” delays before they were able to settle the affairs of their loved ones.

This week one woman, whose son was murdered, revealed that it took her several months to obtain his death certificate.

The delay meant that she was unable to claim for criminal injury compensation because she had exceeded the two-year time limit to make an application.