The Judiciary through its Court User Forum aims to build a courthouse and Correctional Service rural lockup at the Ialibu Pangia District, Southern Highlands Province.
Court User Forum facilitator Justice Panuel Mogish said this during the forum at the Western Pacific University campus on Tuesday, 12th April.
The Court User Forum (CUF) was established 15 years ago to address problems within the Criminal Justice System and find solutions concerning the court administration.
Judge Mogish said if there is no courthouse in Ialibu, the system comes to a standstill.
“The criminal justice is like a railway track. The accused in the community commits a crime and is reported to the police. He is taken to the District Court and then to the National Court. He is found guilty, and he goes to the CIS. After the CIS, he goes back into the community. It is a cycle. If there is a break, then the system comes to a halt.”
He said the Ialibu courthouse will be modern and practical which will cater for the needs of everyone in the Justice system considering their Constitutional independence.
“The new Ialibu courthouse will house the District Court and the National Court.
“The CS is guaranteed a lock up for the accused. Local prisoners can serve their time in the lock up and then go back to their communities instead of going to Buyabi Correctional Institute,” he said.
Judge Mogish added that the courthouse will have a courtroom, a registry, chamber for the judge and magistrate, Court Reporting Services, IT, Library and offices for the other law and justice sectors
The recent forum was attended by Deputy Chief Justice Ambeng Kandakasi, Hagen Judge Administrator Justice Peter Toliken, Judge Administrator Hela Justice John Richie Benaud Kaumi, Chief Magistrate Mark Pupaka, Public Prosecutor Pondros Kaluwin, Public Solicitor Leslie Mamu, Solicitor General Tauvasa Tanuvasa, Law and Justice officers, Police, CIS, Ialibu and Pangia District Administration, and community representatives from Western Pacific University, business, church and school.