Judge inspects rundown court facilities, wants upgrade

By TREVOR WAHUNE
A CRIMINAL court judge last Friday inspected a rundown National Court building at Bereina Station in Kairuku, Central and wanted it refurbished to help people in the area access judicial services.
Justice Panuel Mogish, when visiting the court house on Friday, said the national judicial staff services (NJSS) should now take charge to renovate the court house because: “I am afraid we cannot wait any longer for the Central government to assist us because we might wait for another 10 years.”
Justice Mogish was accompanied by lawyers from the public solicitors office, the public prosecutor’s office, members of the police force, Correctional Services (CS) officers and members of the NJSS building and facilities division.
Justice Mogish said the Bereina court had been neglected for more than 40 years.
He said having the court premises renovated would make it easier for court users in Kairuku district because many crime cases within Central came from the area.
The basic requirements identified were bar tables, witness and accused boxes, a car park and air-conditioning units.
Justice Mogish explained that when building a court house, it was important to build facilities for the public solicitor, the public prosecutor, CS and police because all four departments worked together in bringing judicial services to the people.
“When it comes to building court houses, these constitutional requirements must be factored in,” Mogish said.