INQUISITIONS AND VERDICTS

When property was required for public undertakings, the local Act of parliament which authorised the scheme also specified which properties were liable for compulsory purchase and procedure to be followed for assessing compensation when the landowner and the company or local authority were unable to reach agreement. This generally involved a hearing before a specially-summoned jury following the practice established for inquisitions ad quod damnum.

Compensation procedure was standardised by the Lands Clauses Consolidation Act, 1845 (8 and 9. c.15). In cases where owners refused to treat; where there was an irreconcilable disagreement over the value of the property; or where owners or trustees were not ordinarily empowered to dispose of their property, the company issued a warrant to the sheriff to empanel a jury. At the inquisition the jury heard witnesses for both parties and then made an award. This award, or verdict, was signed by the sheriff and deposited with the clerk of the peace, often with the writ issued to the sheriff. In instances where the sheriff himself possessed an interest in the property at issue, the inquisition was held by a coroner.