The number of civil and commercial cases heard in the National and Supreme Court of Papua New Guinea has increased over the years with the economic growth.
During the re-appointment of two judges of the Federal Court of Australia to the Supreme Court of PNG, Chief Justice Sir Salamo Injia explained that with more foreign and local companies increasing investment comes the rise in number of civil and commercial cases registered with the Courts as well.
And as the years go by, some of these cases have become very complex, needing specialised judges to hear them.
The re-appointment of Justice Berna Collier and Justice John Alexander Logan is vital in addressing some of these cases as both judges specialise in civil and commercial litigation.
“The case law in the Supreme Court nowadays is predominantly civil. Fifteen years ago, the case law in high courts was 70 percent criminal and 30 percent civil,” says Sir Salamo.
“As I speak, that has been reversed. We now have 70 percent civil in the National Court and 30 percent criminal.
“That is the result of the growth in the economy that resulted in a lot of civil litigation coming to the courts.”
Sir Salamo said Justices Collier and Logan are specialist judges in commercial and civil litigation as the Federal Court of Australia has a special jurisdiction on civil litigation, of which both judges aim to contribute specialist knowledge and skill in serving the courts of PNG.
(Chief Justice Sir Salamo Injia)
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