Papua New Guinea has a total of 92 magistrates, which includes the Chief Magistrate and her two deputies.
Eliakim says most magistrates serving on the bench have had more than 10 years of service.
“For me that is frightening, it basically tells me that the court has a huge number of magistrates who are ageing,” says Eliakim.
Chief Magistrate Eliakim says they have tried to correct the ageing gap in its workforce by recruiting magistrates since she took office in 2014.