Davani, a woman with many talents: Injia

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By DEMAS TIEN
THE late Justice Catherine Anne Davani was a woman with many talents, Chief Justice Sir Salamo Injia said yesterday.
“She was an outstanding judge, very disciplined, a specialist, reliable, dedicated, a judicial educator, an elite sportswoman and a sports disputes arbitrator,” he said.
Justice Sir Salamo paid tribute to Justice Davani  during a ceremonial sitting at the Waigani Court House to honour her services following her  untimely death on Nov 4.
Justice Davani became the first Papua New Guinean woman judge in the country and was  appointed to National and Supreme Courts by the Judicial and Legal Services on March 2001.
She was serving her second term as a judge when she passed away while undergoing medical treatment for cancer in Brisbane.
Justice Sir Salamo said the government made no mistake when appointing her as the first woman judge in the country on March 2001.
“Her appointment was made purely on merit,” Justice Sir Salamo said.
“She established a good reputation and earned respect and admiration from the lawyers and other court users who appeared before her.
“She was an elite sportswoman before she joined the bench.
“In 1994 and 1998, she represented Papua New Guinea as captain for the PNG women’s soccer team in its campaign to qualify for the Oceania segment of the World Cup.
“In 2007, she served as a member of the Papua New Guinea Sports Tribunal, which is a body created by rules and as a branch of the Papua New Guinea Sports Federation and the National Olympics Committee.
“She was also called to represent PNG as a member of the Chamber of the International Arbitration for Football which later merged with the Court of Arbitration for Sport.”
Justice Sir Salamo said above all her off the bench activities, what mattered to Justice Davani most was the discharging her judicial function to decide cases competently, fairly and with the interest of justice at heart.