Cabinet has recently approved the introduction of a proposed Village Courts amendment Bill in the next Parliament sitting this year.
Prime Minister Peter
O’Neill said Cabinet endorsed the introduction of the amendment bill for an Act
titled Village Courts (Amendments) Bill 2013, which seeks to modernise the
Village Courts Act 1989 so that it reflects other legislative and national
policy changes since 1989.
“The change is also
to assist in the implementation of the White Paper on law and justice 2007,
which calls for the revitalisation of the Village Courts,” O’Neill said.
He said the Village
Courts system was established by Section 172
of the National Constitution during Independence in 1975.
“The system has been
in operation in Papua New Guinea under the Village Courts Act up until 1989
when the first amendment to the original legislation was made.
“Since Independence,
the Village Courts are the most accessible and cost effective means of justice
administration. PNG is unique having this system of justice that brings
together formal and informal processes in addressing law and order issues at
the community level,” O’Neill said.
These are some of the
reasons for the amended bill:
·
seeks to modernise the Village Courts Act
1989 to accommodate the changing relationships, conflicts and issues in
villages and for the ever increasing settlement population migrating into urban
centres with their varied ethnic and cultural heritage;
·
strengthen the role of Village Courts in
protecting the rights of women and children and addressing violence in PNG
communities;
·
clarifies that Village Courts are bound to
comply with constitutional requirements to protect the rights of people
accessing the courts;
·
set limits to the number of Village Courts
officials appointed to each Village Court to make it manageable and cost
effective and ensure faster processing of appointments and revocation of
officials; and
·
Strengthen the role of District Courts in
supervising Village Courts through the appeals and review processes.
The Prime Minister
said Village Courts play an important role in containing local law and order issues
both in urban settlements where they are established and in the villages where
the bulk of the people live.
It is therefore
important that this court is modernised and strengthened, he said.
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