Injia: Court of appeal is part of reform plan

THE introduction of a Court of Appeal is part of the judiciary reform proposal, Chief Justice Sir Salamo Injia says.
It is part of a 21st century court structure report re-submitted to the government this year after nothing was done when it was first submitted in 2010.
Sir Salamo said in a statement that under the reform proposal, the Supreme Court was separated from the National Court and “an intermediate appellate court to be known as the Court of Appeal is to be introduced”.
The Supreme Court would be served by seven fulltime judges and the court of appeal by 11 or drawn from the pool of national court judges, he said.
“Under the facilities development programme, planning is well advanced for a new court complex for Waigani to serve as the headquarters for the three high courts.”
Other centres around the country are included in the reform.
“Planning is under way for new regional court complexes for Lae, Kokopo, Wewak and Madang.”
Complexes to house the district and national courts have been built for Buka, Manus and Tari.
A new court complex for Alotau was also nearing completion.
Extension and upgrading of court houses were underway in Waigani, Madang, Mt Hagen, Kimbe, Kavieng, Wewak and Mendi.
He said regular and routine maintenance of court buildings is underway to bring them to an acceptable standard around the country.
“Improvements have also been made to judges’ houses and a programme for staff housing will be undertaken starting in 2013,” he said.