New Judges

It was the first time that one sitting was held which saw six new judges welcomed.

A total of 38 judges of the National and Supreme Court, which includes eight expatriate judges, convened at Waigani for the ceremony to welcome the judges who were sworn in since their appointments last year.

President of the PNG Law Society on behalf of its 2000 plus members, Dr Vergil Narokobi welcomed the six on behalf of the practicing lawyers.

The appointment of the five acting judges will bring the total number of judges to 43.

The five  new judges will be officially sworn into office at a later date.

The appointment of the five acting judges was announced by the Chairman of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission and Minister for Justice and Attorney General Ano Pala following a meeting last month.

This will help strengthen the judiciary’s capacity in dealing with the backlog of cases pending before the courts, especially those criminal cases.