The legal fraternity in Mt Hagen, including Police and Correctional Service, were told to maximise the Courts time to fast track cases at the National and Supreme Court.
Mt Hagen Senior Resident Judge, Justice Kenneth Frank, said this today at the opening of the 2017 Legal Year in Mt Hagen.
The dedication ceremony coincides with the welcoming of another resident Judge, Justice Harold Terrence Foulds, adding to three resident Judges.
The dedication ceremony started this morning with a walk from Hagen Drive to the Apostolic Church for the ceremony to take place.
After the ceremony, Justice Frank told the legal fraternity and the disciplinary forces, that this year will be a challenging year for the Courts because of the National election.
He urged Lawyers to dedicate their work and actively push their cases in Court to fast track matters as well as disposing them quick.
Mt Hagen currently has three resident Judges, they are Senior Judge, Justice Kenneth Frank, Justice Robert Lindsay, and Justice Harold Foulds, who just replaced Justice Godwin Poole.
Justice Frank said there were more than 4,000 civil cases pending at the National and Supreme Courts in Mt Hagen before 2013.
That was because there was only one resident Judge.
He said the progress of civil cases have begun slowly after he was sent to support the former resident Judge of Mt Hagen in 2015.
Justice Frank said Mt Hagen has also a backlog of criminal cases dating back to 1996, which needs pro-active action to move the cases forward.
With the National Elections nearing, he urged Lawyers to make use of the Court’s time, so that the Court can step in to assist and fast track all matters.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Rk2P5XgvSM
