A case filed by (now) disbanded 2016 UPNG SRC President and other SRC members has been dismissed by the National Court after students failed to actively pursue the matter.
Filed in the Human Rights track of the Waigani National Court, the case sought a declaration of the court to nullify the purported students reaffirmation form, which the UPNG administration issued to them to sign when the suspension of semester one was lifted.
Justice David Cannings dismissed the case last Friday for want of prosecution after the SRC showed no interest in the case. Neither their lawyer, Laken Lepatu, nor the former president Kenneth Rapa had been appearing in court for the matter since June.
This case was filed before the academic year was terminated and the SRC disbanded.
They have since filed other proceedings in the National Court's Judicial Review tracks and are expected back on Jan 31. They are to argue the UPNG Administration's decision against allowing the student leaders’ boarding and lodging privilege on campus.
(Loop PNG file picture of the student leaders and their lawyer in June this year)