Justice Dowa happy to be of service

The National People
“ As a Christian, I feel that I should give back to the Government and the people because they have helped me in my journey.”
Chief Justice Sir Gibbs Salika, Justice Paulus Dowa, Governor-General Sir Bob Dadae and Karen Dowa at Government House early this month.

By BOURA GORUKILA
VETERAN lawyer Paulus Dowa decided to become a judge “to give something back to the people”.
“As a Christian, I feel that I should give back to the Government and the people because they have helped me in my journey. It’s time I give my service to them in my capacity as a public servant. I will willingly serve the country in the judiciary.”
Justice Dowa, 59, is from Gihamu village in the Tambul-Nebilyer district of Western Highlands.
His parents who were farmers passed away a long time ago. He has two brothers and one sister.
He is now married to Karen. They have five children – two boys and three girls.
He completed Grade 10 in 1979 at the Mt Hagen High School. He did a preliminary year in 1980 before pursuing a law degree at the University of PNG from 1981 to 1984 which he completed successfully.
Justice Dowa graduated from the Legal Training Institute in 1985.
He has been running his law firm in his home province since then.
But last year, he joined the judiciary and served as an acting judge at the National Court in Lae.
Early this month, his appointment as a substantive judge was confirmed. His appointment is for 10 years.
In the presence of his family and Chief Justice Sir Gibbs Salika, Justice Dowa was sworn in before Governor-General Grand Chief Sir Bob Dadae at Government House.
Chief Justice Sir Gibbs spoke highly of Justice Dowa during the swearing-in ceremony.
“Judges (in acting capacity) are made substantive judges based on their performance. Justice Dowa has been a very senior lawyer practicing in Mt Hagen.
“His performance in (the National Court) in Lae has been exceptional. He has been very good and met the requirements for appointment as a substantive judge.”
Justice Dowa thanked his family for their support and thanked God for guiding him all throughout the years.
He also thanked the judiciary and the Legal Services Commission for appointing him to become a substantive judge.
He looks forward to meeting the minimum requirement of dealing and completing 15 cases a month and is committed to reducing the backlog of cases as stressed by Sir Gibbs during the opening of the 2021 Legal Year.
Justice Dowa knows well the workload in the National Court in Lae and plans to reduce the backlog of cases there.
He is glad that he has been given 10 years as a judge to serve the judiciary and the people.
“I am just happy to serve. I had been doing civil cases last year and I want to now contribute to reducing the backlog of cases in Lae.”
The Gihamu villager is determined to serve and give something back to the nation.