Publications and ReportsBoard of Inquiry (BOI) Process– Briefing Note
Purpose. A BOI is conducted by the MOD for the purpose of establishing the circumstances surrounding serious accidents and incidents1. The BOI is an ‘in-house' investigation within the Armed Forces; it is not a judicial process, does not follow legal rules regarding admissibility of evidence and does not apportion blame. It operates independently of any formal criminal or Health and Safety investigation.
Execution. The BOI is convened as soon as possible after an incident/accident and an officer of the appropriate single Service is appointed as president of the Board. Whilst the BOI is conducted as expediently as possible, there are external influences that could delay proceedings, such as a concurrent criminal investigation, which always takes primacy. Complex accident investigation by technical experts (for instance the Air Accident Investigation Team), or incidents involving more than one Nation also increase the length of the process.
Process. The BOI is a single Service responsibility convened by a 1* HQ. Oversight of the BOI remains within the single Service and, in the case of unnatural death or serious injury, is co-ordinated on behalf of the 3* Superior Authority by a newly established Senior BOI Co-ordinator (1*), whose essential role is to ensure that the BOI is carried out without unnecessary delay, and that the Next of Kin (NoK) are kept informed of progress and receive a copy (and if necessary a verbal debrief) of the completed investigation.2
The BOI is informed, where appropriate, by a number of specialist teams that produce a set of lessons identified known as the ‘Learning Account'. Often, to prevent an immediate re-occurrence of an incident, the Learning Account is published within the Services before the BOI has finished proceedings. Urgent operational lessons are implemented by the commanding headquarters (usually PJHQ). The value of the Learning Account is particularly evident when progress of a BOI is impeded for any reason.
In the case of unnatural death, it is not unusual for HM Coroner to delay a formal Inquest until the results of the BOI are known.
The completed BOI submission is forwarded to the Directorate of Safety and Claims within the MOD. This Branch has a direct link to the Health and Safety Executive and is able to take a pan-Service view of accidents and incidents, identify trends, and where necessary direct that procedures are implemented to prevent a re-occurrence.
1 Whilst BOIs have come to be associated with unnatural death and serious injury, they must also be convened where there is doubt over the conduct of any UK Service person who is a prisoner of war, and where damage or loss to property has occurred. By exception a BOI may be dispensed with, where there is clearly nothing to be gained; for example a simple road traffic accident.
2 The progress of BOI into unnatural deaths and serious injury are reported regularly to Ministers.
Last Updated: 13 Dec 05