Melanesian respect for judiciary

By KEVIN PAMBA
IT is often acknowledged that respect for authority is a traditionally inherent attribute of indigenous Melanesians.
Respect for authority (and also the elderly) was a part of life for the hundreds of Melanesian tribal communities spread across what is now modern Papua New Guinea, the biggest Melanesian nation.
The modern Melanesians of PNG still pose the attributes of respect for authority in varying degrees and circumstances despite the onslaught of modern ways where individual rights and choices increasingly take precedence over collective interests and responsibilities.
On Sunday 29th January, 2017 a judge of the PNG Supreme and National courts acknowledged and paid tribute to Papua New Guineans for the respect they have accorded to the judiciary of the country and its authority over the years.
Madang resident judge Justice David Cannings spoke highly of Papua New Guineans respect for the judiciary and its authority irrespective of their station in life.
Justice Cannings applauded Papua New Guineans in his address to open the legal year for Madang at the Holy Spirit Catholic Cathedral.
He said the people of PNG have respected the judiciary and its work and this was an attribute the country can be proud.
Justice Cannings said in some jurisdictions overseas, court sittings were rowdy events where the judges and magistrates and the authority of the courts were least respected.
He said in certain countries lawyers were among the culprits who disrespected the authority of the courts.
Justice Cannings shared the story of one of his brother judges (named) moving to Solomons Islands after serving in a Commonwealth country in the Caribbean and who spoke of the difference between the respect for judiciary within the Caribbean people and Melanesians.
Justice Cannings said the Solomon Islands-based judge told him that the Melanesians respected the judiciary profoundly compared to the people of that Caribbean country where the public led by the lawyers were rowdy and disrespectful to the judges in court sittings.
He said the situation in PNG and Melanesia was different as the people give the highest possible respect to the authority and work of the judiciary through the courts.
Justice Cannings spoke of his experience in presiding over some very high profile court cases where the atmosphere in and around the court houses were tense but the people respected the authority of the court.
He gave the example of the highly publicised case involving the dual bank robbery suspect William Kapris in which the sessions were tense.
Justice Cannings said he presided over some of the cases involving Kapris and there was not a single time where the accused bank robber demonstrated disrespect for the chair of the judge.
This is among other cases the judge has presided over and witnessed Papua New Guineans of all persuasions respect the authority of the courts.
Like the judiciary (or the third arm of government), Papua New Guineans have also respected the authority of the other two arms of government – legislature and executive – since the dawn of the modern PNG nation-state.
One main way the ordinary people have respected the authority of the legislature has been through the election of leaders to the National Parliament and assemblies of the provincial and local level governments (or second and their tiers of government).
How the “duly elected leaders” (as the Constitution describes them) have reciprocated the Melanesian respect that the ordinary citizens have given to them has been the subject of many a public debate and critique. But that is a separate story for another day.
The people have also done their part to recognize the work of the public servants or the executive arm of government and respected them.
There are many ways the people recognize and respect the roles of the executive arm of government. One of the prominent ways in which they have respected the responsibilities of the executive arm of government is by paying taxes and the many dues such as the various fees imposed for services.
Two examples are the set of fees vehicle owners pay for the right to use the public roads or to carry out a registered business.
All in all, the ordinary people have duly accorded the Melanesian respect for authority to the entire system of government and the introduced modern ways since the traditional Melanesian tribal communities came together as the modern PNG nation-state under the guidance of the colonial powers.