More judges needed

By HEZRON KISING
CHIEF Justice Sir Salamo Injia says the judiciary needs up to 80 judges to fill positions in its new three-arm structure.
He said a proposal would be submitted to the Government to amend the National Judges Act “to increase the number of judges from its current ceiling of 42”.
“It will take 60 to 80 judges to keep the new three-arm structure functioning in the country,” he said.
The country has the National Court and the Supreme Court, and will soon have an Appeals Court. Two new judges – Justice Royale Thompson and Justice Teresa Berrigan – were sworn in yesterday at Government House.
Sir Salamo said work was progressing to develop the judiciary’s infrastructures to cater for the increase in the number of judges who will fill the three structures of the high courts.
“The current number of judges we have in the country is well below the international accepted average,” he said.
“For example, New Zealand’s population is one half the size of PNG’s population. (But) they have over 150 judges – a ratio of one judge to around 50,000 people.
“PNG’s ratio would be one judge to almost 200,000 people.
“The main agenda was to increase the number of judges to serve the big population.”
Sir Injia said the judiciary was progressing in terms of increasing the number of judges at a phase which was affordable economically. During the opening of the 2018 legal year, he said the judiciary needed up to100 judges to deal with the increase in cases coming before the courts.
Sir Salamo said the country needed more judges given the growth in the economy.
He said 50 years ago, the total case load in the Supreme and National courts was 30 per cent civil cases and 70 per cent criminal cases. “Now it has been reversed – 30 per cent criminal and 70 per cent civil,” Sir Salamo said. “However the number of judges is half the required number.”
He hoped that the Supreme Court would be separated from the National Court, and a Court of Appeal established.