State to tap grade 12s for village court system

Morobe Patrol Officers at the induction workshop at Crossroad Hotel in Lae, Morobe *(Image: NBC News)*

Department of Justice and Attorney-General [DJAG] is rolling out a new strategy to revamp the village court system by recruiting Grade 12 school leavers to curb rising lawlessness at the community level.

DJAG Secretary Dr. Eric Kwa said strengthening the country’s lowest judicial tier was the most effective way forward to minimize law and order problems nationwide.

He said despite predating Independence, village courts had faced severe neglect over the years until the Marape Government approved the National Village Court Policy.

Under the new intervention strategy, interested grade 12 school leavers will be recruited into the system to kickstart careers in law.

Candidates will undergo basic training in justice and justice administration at the Somare Institute of Leadership and Governance [SILAG], with pathways to further their studies at Divine Word University [DWU].

"Strengthening the court system at the lowest level is the way forward to minimize law and order problems in the country," Dr. Kwa said.

"Lawlessness can be minimized if village courts have the support of these interventions to strengthen work at the lower level, ensuring most cases do not escalate to the higher courts. Law and justice is about partnership, and governments at all levels must be involved to improve the system."

A major pillar of the strategy includes addressing long-standing payroll shortfalls for judicial officials.

While the government formally recognized village court officials in 2016 by placing them on the payroll, funding gaps remain. Out of Papua New Guinea's 19,000 village court officials, a full rollout requires K80 million, but the government has only allocated K66 million so far.

The funding strain is evident in Morobe, where 700 officials are currently paid while 300 receive no remuneration.

Dr. Kwa said he was pushing for District Development Authorities [DDAs] to utilize their mandated 30% law and justice sector budget allocations to bridge the payment gap for the remaining 30% of unpaid workers.