Deliver justice fairly and promptly

By KEVIN PAMBA
THE popular maxim “justice delayed, is justice denied” came to mind as I listened to two esteemed men, one from the judiciary, and the other from the church, speak at the opening of the legal year for Madang at the Holy Spirit Catholic Cathedral last Sunday.
As the speeches of Madang resident Supreme and National Court judge Justice David Cannings and Holy Spirit Cathedral Parish priest Father Elias Aiyako wore on, my mind ventured beyond the old maxim. I thought about justice that is not only denied by “delay” in dispensing it but by “ignorance” and “undue influence”.
Justice can be denied by the attitude of public officials who ignore their professional duties or by subjecting themselves to undue influence from vested interests.
Take for instance this increasingly common issue of police vehicles lacking fuel so the officers cannot attend to an alleged crime unless the complainant or informant pays for the fuel.
This “no fuel so pay for fuel” syndrome that the police place in front of members of the public can be interpreted as justice being denied by both ignorance and undue influence on the part of the police officers and their employer – the Government of the Independent State of Papua New Guinea.
Another example could be that of court cases either being thrown out or deferred due to files of the police prosecutors and lawyers not being ready or missing. How many times do we hear judges and magistrates raising this matter in their court sittings?
When ignorance and undue influence does take place (and the practice becomes common), it can undermine and comprise a country’s ability to uphold the rule of law, maintain order and advance the common good.
So the gist of the message from the speeches of Justice David Cannings and Fr Aiyako was that the professionalism of the public officials involved in the various stages of the justice process is critically important to enforce the rule of law and administer justice fairly, efficiently and effectively.
The two learned men called out to the officials from the Supreme and National Courts, magisterial service, public prosecutor’s office, public solicitor’s office, police, correctional service, lawyers and village court to be professional in their line of duty for the betterment of Papua New Guinea and its people.
Justice Cannings and Fr Aiyako pointed out that the personal conduct and professional work of the public officials involved in the administration of justice has to be above reproach at all times. Both leaders spoke of the paramount importance of dispensing justice fairly to members of the public irrespective of one’s station in society.
Justice Cannings told the assembled officials that they were in “privileged positions” to administer justice and they must perform their duties professionally and without malice.
He said the people of PNG needed them to perform above reproach and help foster a peaceful and orderly society.
“Your work is so important for peace and security,” Justice Cannings told the officials.
Citing the local situation in Madang as an example, Justice Cannings said “Madang has problems at this time.
“We need your help in solving these problems.”
Justice Cannings called on the officials to perform their duties professionally for the benefit of all people and not just a select few.
Speaking from his personal approach to his work as a judge, Justice Cannings said he was never “bored” or tired of performing his work.
Justice Cannings said he handles every case from those involving the very small grassroots people to the high flyers in society with equal interest and desire to serve for the common good.
“We must not be bored with what we do.
“We must do our job with honesty and integrity,” Justice Cannings reminded the officials of the law.
He said no matter how big or small the cases were, officials must be inspired to serve with interest and due care for the public good.
“Treat people equally,” he said.
Justice Cannings said public officials involved in administering justice can inspire everyone else in the country by the way they carried out their duties.
Justice Cannings gave his own example as a student in Sydney, Australia of being inspired by Prof Fred Hollows in his work on eye-care – for doing good work for underprivileged people affected by eye problems.
Fr Aiyako said PNG was at the cross-roads; there were good things happening but there were many more problems as well.
He said bribery and corruption were serious problems and undermined the future of the country. Therefore he called on members of the justice sector to step up in the fight against bribery and corruption.
Fr Aiyako said that out of the three arms of government, the work of the legislature and executive was seriously undermined by bribery and corruption. He said the judiciary therefore must stand up against it.
The priest referred to the National Constitution as the guide and mirror over the conduct of the three arms of government as they serve the citizens and guests of the nation alike.
The preamble of the Constitution which FrA iyako referred to reads in part:
“We the people, do now establish this sovereign nation and declare ourselves, underthe guiding hand of God, to be the Independent State of Papua New Guinea.
“And we assert, by virtue of that authority:
that all power belongs to the people—acting through their duly elected representatives;
that respect for the dignity of the individual and community interdependenceare basic principles of our society;
that we guard with our lives our national identity, integrity and self-respect;
that we reject violence and seek consensus as a means of solving our commonproblems;
that our national wealth, won by honest, hard work be equitably shared by all.”
So in the final analysis, if “all power belong to the people” it is incumbent upon public officials of the justice system (and the legislature and executive arm) to give due regard to the owners of that power in the lines of duty.