Notice of objection dismissed

The National National

THE Supreme Court in Waigani has dismissed a notice of objection filed by the Morobe government and Governor Ginson Saonu, saying it was incompetent.
“We agree with the statement that non-compliance with the requirements of rules and forms renders a proceeding incompetent and liable to dismissal,” the court said.
Justice Berna Collier made the ruling yesterday on behalf of a three-man Supreme Court bench which included Justice Frazer Pitpit and Justice Theresa Berrigan.
On Oct 5, the State, former Environment and Climate minister Wera Mori, Conservation and Environment Protection Authority (Cepa) managing director Gunther Joku and Mining and Geohazards Minister Johnson Tuke appealed a National Court’s decision in which the primary judge granted a stay of decisions of Saonu and the Morobe government relating to the Wafi-Golpu project. On Oct 20, Saonu and Morobe government filed a notice of objection to the competency appeal.
The appellants challenged the competency of that objection to competency.
State’s appeal was against the decision by Deputy Chief Justice Ambeng Kandakasi made last year, granting a stay over the environment permit issued by Cepa.
The State submitted that the objection to competency did not comply with order 7, rule 15 (a) and (b) of the Supreme Court rule because it did not include form 17 of the Supreme Court rule and there was no evidence of service of the notice of objection to competency within time. The objection to competency was not in the prescribed form 9 of the Supreme Court rule.
“In the present case, it was conceded by counsel for the respondents that there was no evidence of service of the objection to competency on the appellants in accordance with the Supreme Court rule,” the court said.
“While there appears to be some uncertainty as to whether the objection to competency was actually signed by the appointed lawyer for the respondents, the fact that the service was not conducted in accordance with the Supreme Court rule was, in and itself fatal to the objection to competency.”