» Mogish J - Opening of the Kimbe office of the Public Prosecutor
SUPREME AND NATIONAL COURTS OF PAPUA NEW GUINEA
JUSTICE PANUEL MOGISH'S CHAMBERS
SPEECH BY
HIS HONOUR JUSTICE PANUEL MOGISH
AT THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE PUBLIC PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE IN KIMBE- WEST NEW BRITAIN PROVINCE
31ST OCTOBER 2008
The Acting Public Prosecutor, Mr. Jack Pambel, Distinguished Invited Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen.
I am indeed honoured to have been invited by the Acting Public Prosecutor to be part of the Public Prosecutor's Senior Manager's Workshop and to formally open their Branch Office. It is on very rare occasions that one is given such privilege.
This kind of occasion gives us the opportunity to reflect on the constitutional roles, functions and responsibilities the Public Prosecutor's Office plays in the administration of law and justice in Papua New Guinea.
The theme of the workshop which concluded today was "Towards Anatomy". It was an appropriate title to take stock on how the Office has progressed since independence and what future had for it. The Office is still dependent on the Department of Justice and Attorney General in terms of it finance and manpower requirements. The idea to sever this relationship is inevitable. In the early years, former Public Prosecutors have called on the Government in their Annual Reports or in other submissions to make the office autonomous. Threats to invoke s.225 of the Constitution accompanied those statements. This sections creates a public duty for the National Government " and of all other governmental bodies, and of all public office-holders and institutions, to ensure, as far as is within their respective legal powers, that all arrangements are made, staff and facilities provided and steps taken to enable and facilitate, as far as may reasonably be, the proper and convenient performance of the functions of all constitutional institutions and of the offices of all constitutional office-holders."
It is heartening to note that none of the threats, even how serious they were made, ever made their way into the courts. The Public Solicitor's recent achievement of being autonomous demonstrates that the National Government has finally realized that it must honour the dictates of the constitution. I believe that equal treatment will be given to the Public Prosecutor's Office. To that extent the Government must be congratulated.
But there are still other areas that require immediate attention from appropriate authorities. The Constitution empowers the Judicial and Legal Service Commission to appoint the Public Prosecutor. Sad but true, that has not happened over the last 20 months. The Office of the Public Prosecutor has not had a permanent head for quite sometime now and simultaneously, the Department of Justice and Attorney General which provides administrative support to the Public Prosecutor's Office has for several years been without a permanent departmental head. The country still awaits the appointment of a new Chief Justice.
Notwithstanding the above, the office has continues to progress into new area. The initiative by the Acting Public Prosecutor to bring the prosecutorial service to the people is commendable. The recent launching the"Going to Court" booklet is one example. The two day workshop for Senior Manager's is another example. I learnt a lot listening to speakers talk on the amount of work that they have gone through to get the office become autonomous. The disclosure policy is commendable.
Today's achievement builds on the commitment made by our predecessors. Many had the dream to have an office in Kimbe and other centres but for various reasons, it remained a dream. I'd like to remember their contributions.
When I was Public Prosecutor (1995-2000), Mr. Jackson Gah was transferred to Kimbe establish our office. At that time Justice Woods was the resident Judge and it was costing the State a lot of money to fly lawyers from Rabaul or Waigani into Kimbe to attend to the National Court Circuits. For those reasons we decided to establish an office here. But things didn't go well for us. We had to start from scratch. There was no political will and commitment from the Department. We could not convince the authorities to secure funds to rent an office. This went on for a long time. Lawyers had to work out of their homes, the court rooms and the police station.
Further problem emerged when Justice Woods, then resident judge in Kimbe was recalled to Waigani. We considered closing the office because there was no judge. No judge meant that we could not perform our constitutional duties. We pondered the idea of closing down the office. In the end we decided to hold on for a while least the Judiciary changed their minds. By then Mr Gah had secured a house, something we could not guarantee to any lawyer had we recalled him back to Waigani. We fought hard to get a house and giving it away because there was no judge was not something we couldn't afford to loose.
Looking back, I'd like to think that we made the right choice. Justice Cannings was appointed the residence judge making all the more reasons to have a permanent office on ground. Mr. Popeau was on ground. Accommodation for him was no problem. He moved into the house when Mr. Gah left the office.
The experience we had gone through demonstrates the need for all stakeholders to be aware of each others plans. I believe cooperation and coordination between the various law agencies is very important in improving the efficiency and effectiveness of our outputs. That spirit of working in partnership was reflected during the NCM meeting in Alotau recently. The Acting Chief Justice told participants that the Judiciary was considering appointing resident Judges for Wewak and Alotau.
Working in partnership with the community is equally important and working with other agencies within the Law and Justice Sector. Law and order is a community problem. It is quite irresponsible in my view to suggest that the responsibility to guarantee a safe and secure society lies with the Police, the CS, the Court, the Public Prosecutor and Public Solicitors Office. Community involvement is required at this in time when offender relatives are finding comfort in the homes of their loved ones. One of the areas that the community can assist is the surrendering of persons out on bench warrants or encouraging them to come to court.
During a recent Court User Forum in Kimbe, it was decided that bench warrant was a problem that needed to be attended to as a matter of urgency. There were about 250 accused persons on bench warrant. We conducted a bench warrant blitz. Names of accused and their LLG locations were printed in the newspaper. Our efforts paid off. About 83 of those persons, voluntarily turned up in court. They were granted bail with very strict reporting conditions. A review of the bench warrant list will be made in December, 2008.
Police did not use their strained resources to bring these people to court. They came at their own will. For many of them, the system had failed them. Lack of regular court sittings meant that they could not be guaranteed hearing. Many of those on remand escaped and many on bail absconded. The bench warrant exercise is still continuing. And I would extend this opportunity once again to leaders in the community to assist the Police bring their relatives to justice. We want to roll these experiences out to other Provinces Next year.
The initiative by the Acting Public Prosecutor to decentralize the prosecutorial service to the people is commendable. That should be an ongoing commitment with support from the Department. The Office belongs to the people and it is only fitting to have an office to promote its visions as enshrined in the Constitution. I have no doubt in my mind that this office will serve the interest of the State and it citizens for many years to come.
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, it is my honour now to officially open the Public Prosecutors Kimbe Branch Office.
Thank you all and God bless.
Hon. Justice Panuel Mogish
31st October, 2008
Kimbe, West New Britain Province.
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