Judicial review cases rise

The number for judicial review cases has increased significantly to over 1000 today since 2005, says Chief Justice Sir Salamo Injia.
Sir Salamo revealed this during the third National Underlying Law Conference in Port Moresby.
“Today, there are up to three judges assigned to this in Waigani and judges from other provinces have their own judicial review (JR) case lists,” Sir Salamo said.
“The total JR case load from 2005 to date is 1562 cases of which 866 (55 per cent) have been completed and 696 cases (45 per cent) remain pending.”
He said on average 160-170 cases were filed per year and by the end of 2017 the number would increase to 200 from 171 at present.
He said the increased workload signified a rise in challenges administrative decisions faced for all manner of reasons. He said the trend would continue.
“Of the cases filed since 2005, the available data shows that no administrative decision-maker has been spared the watchful eyes of challengers, including some very unlikely figureheads like the Speaker of Parliament, the Chief Justice and the Head of State.