A judge heading a public inquiry into the province's pediatric forensic system has granted standing to a group of nine people who say they were wrongly convicted of crimes.

Justice Stephen Goudge yesterday issued his ruling on standing, giving this group the right to make submissions and to cross-examine witnesses at the public inquiry, which is scheduled to begin in late fall.

"The members of this group all suffered the death of a child in their family, each of which was the subject of a pediatric forensic pathology examination or consultation by (former forensic pathologist Dr. Charles) Smith," Goudge wrote.

Smith's work is at the centre of the probe.

The province created the inquiry after a coroner's review found that Smith erred in 20 of 45 autopsies conducted from 1981 to 2001.

In 13 of those cases, people were convicted of crimes, including killing their own children.

Nine of those individuals will participate in the inquiry.

"Each individual in this group was charged and convicted of a criminal offence or offences following the death of a loved one," Goudge wrote.

"These individuals share the added perspective of experiencing the effects of the practice of pediatric forensic pathology in the full context of the criminal justice system."

Ten additional parties have been granted standing at the inquiry, including the Hospital for Sick Children, the Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted and Defence for Children International-Canada.