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Showing posts with the label Supreme Court

THERE WAS NO SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCE FOR SHP GOVERNOR SEAT - SEPERATION OF POWERS BREACHED

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by RODERICK KANAMA Those of you who condemned the actions of the people of Southern Highlands in Mendi should have been more scared about the judiciary being compromised The demarcation in authority and separation of powers between the three (3) arms of Government – the Judiciary, Legislature and the Executive is there to protect against apprehension of bias which may emanate from just the Government acting alone. Unfortunately, this separation of powers has been breached. Breached in that for the first time in the history of democracy as we know it, ordinary citizens can deduce quite correctly that there is an apprehension of bias in the ruling by the Court. This is quite evident with the recent burning of the Air Niugini aircraft and the Court House in Mendi, Southern Highlands Province. In any democracy, a vibrant, exceptionally strong and independent judiciary and legal system, free of any influences, corruptible or otherwise, sworn to uphold the rule of

IF HE IS CORRUPT WHY IS HE STILL THERE? CJ'S IMPARTIALITY QUESTIONED

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by MARK TOKUNAI One of the top brains of this country, Sir Mekere Morauta once described the scale of corruption in this country as “Systemic and Systematic”. Many others have labelled it as having permeated throughout the fabrics of the society. Corruption is said to have widespread in Government and is prevalent in how businesses are conducted both in private and public sectors.  We are experiencing unprecedented number of prosecutions of leaders both by police and the Ombudsman Commission. These are leaders mandated by our people but the law is keeping a check on their exercise of powers. Eventually, their fate will be ultimately determined by the judiciary. Thanks to the Deputy Chief Justice Sir Gibbs Salika, who is an unapologetic member of the bench and sending a strong message with the number of people he is sending to jail. Sir Salika seems to be motivated to send wrong doers to jail and has no time hunting escape routes for criminals.  The judiciary, though

Will Chief Justice Sir Salamo Injia settle the law on Powers?

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by YAKAN LEKAPALI Will Chief Justice Sir Salamo Injia settle the law on re Powers, functions, duties, and responsibilities of the Commissioner of Police? The grant of interim stay orders by the Supreme Court instituted by Chief Justice Sir Salamo has not settled well with many frustrated citizens. This is understandable given the grave negativity with the recent incidents involving senior judges. But hold on and be patient for now. Was the grant on the stay orders legal? In short, YES. Like other citizens, Peter O'Neill has the right to appeal as allowed by the law. Hence, among other factors, the execution of the warrant of arrest stay in the interim is in order. Without the temporary stay order, the whole purpose of the appeal could stand defeated.  Note that the time gap between execution of the warrant by police lapsed when Police Commissioner Gari Baki delayed executing warrant of arrest on PM. Prime Minister Peter O'Neill must, therefore, thank Gari Baki for the de

Twisted tale into corruption [Excessive Legal billings and corrupt state officials]

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by MELL LAKA The Attorney General is empowered to brief private lawyers/counsel to act for the State. This occurs when there is need for particular expertise or the Attorney General is unable to undertake the work itself. From Finance Department records a Commission of enquiry found that over the period 2000 to 2006 the State incurred liability in payouts of approximately K100 million in legal fees. The Inquiry saw that there has been no compliance with the Public Finances (Management) Act procedures of expenditure for approval prior to engaging in those brief outs. A  Commission of enquiry after making extensive examination of these payments with ready assistance from all the law firms concerned except Paul Paraka Lawyers which has been the recipient of at least the K41 million in brief out fees for January 2003 to August 2006 noted in NEC records.  Let me illustrate what I mean by excessive legal fee with our so called Chief Secretary of the National Government, Mr. Isaac Lupari

PNG’s democracy gazes creepy: Laws are bend, broken and institutions are scapegoated with adverse force.

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by PETER S. KINJAP Since independence from 1975, Papua New Guinea has enjoyed a vibrant democracy and the rule of law was at its helm with due respect and law breakers were dealt with accordingly. Six years ago things begin to change, taking a toll to all new level with corruption wide spreading in every government offices. When the country was about to embrace the benefits of the largest LNG project in the Pacific, a forcefully taken government was formed with Peter O’Neill at the rudder. Literally, Peter O’Neill was forced into the office of the Prime Minister – an issue which the courts find no jurisdiction to intervene. It was a number game and so be it – O’Neill with the numbers took by storm. This ‘invasion’ mounted a psychological effect in the minds of Peter O’Neill which was witnessed through his unpreceded and unbecoming behavior of a person to occupy the higher in the country with integrity, moral ethics and sensitivity to the rule of law. The country was shocked with

THE ROTTEN ADR JUSTICE

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by BRANDON CLAY I am not revealing my real name because of security reasons but the issues I raise here are true to the best of my knowledge. I was initially engaged to provide some consultancy services to a LNG landowner company. Occasionally, I would attend Court for my client but most of my work is non-court. I am compelled to expose this rot because I feel that Papua New Guineans have to know the frightening level of corruption gripping the judiciary and I believe the information I am providing is among the many salient examples. My clients had a case before the Court, and the presiding judge, Ambeng Kandakasi, considered this case to be part of a number of legal disputes concerning the PNG LNG so he proceeded to direct all these cases for mediation at the National Court’s Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Track. Justice Kandakasi appointed himself as the Chief Mediator over all these cases. At the ADR track, the issues changed form, from a dispute concerning Infrast

Peter O’Neill’s arguments do not stand scrutiny

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by DILU GOMA Peter O’Neill’s argument against stepping down or resigning as Prime Minister in order to allow law enforcement authorities to do their job of investigating allegations of crimes or misconduct in office is that there is no ‘evidence’ of any wrongdoing on his part. Based on this, he has fought tooth and nail, both in court and out of court, to stay on in the office of Prime Minister of PNG. The out of court tactics he has used (killing the Task Force Sweep, changing justice minister, removing police commissioner, trying to remove the chief magistrate, etc) are clear signs of a power-hungry individual. The in-court battles he has fought will not come out in his favor in the end, because lawful processes of the Police, Prosecution, Leadership Tribunal, etc are all guaranteed under the Constitution, and the Supreme Court is likely to uphold this clear principle of good governance. Two fallacies of O’Neill’s argument concerning ‘lack of evidence’ are as follows. One,

“NOT ALL OF US ARE AS BLIND AS BAKI”

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by JOHN STEWARD In a remarkable turn of events, and right under the watchful eyes of all thinking Papua New Guineans, the Police Commissioner eliminates almost all potential risks at the National Fraud and Anti-Corruption Directorate, by suspending the Director Matthew Damaru, his Deputy Timothy Gitua, another senior office Joel Simitab and other officers who may have been seen solidly supporting their bosses to pursue the arrest of Prime Minister O’Neill in relation to Paul Paraka Lawyers fraudulent payments. Commissioner Baki, in a lengthy media statement attempts to justify his “weekend” actions but not many will be convinced in light of the chain of events leading up to Baki’s decisions. I have gone through the various events leading up to the actions of Baki and here is what I have compiled. (All these events are publicly reported in various media forums if you have been following), On the 5th of April 2016, the Supreme Court unanimously dismissed James Marape’s appeal to the S