National and Supreme Court Judge Sir Benard Sakora’s tribunal was held today to examine the legality of his sacking.
The tribunal was adjourned and will reconvene, 21 days from today.
The deferral came after Sir Sakora’s counsel, Loani Henao, of Henao Lawyers sought an adjournment to sort out important court documents.
The members of the tribunal comprised of Justice Bruce Robertson, a former judge of the court of appeal and the high court of New Zealand, Justice William Neill a judge of the National and Supreme Court based in Goroka and Lawrence Kangwia, a judge of the National and Supreme Court based in Kavieng.
A full tribunal commenced this morning at the Waigani National Court in Port Moresby to determine the legality of the removal of senior National and Supreme Court Judge, Sir Benard Sakora, from office by the Judicial and Legal Services Commission.
Sir Bernard Sakora was not present in court, however, his lawyer sought an adjournment, denying a written record of the reference was presented to his client as such he was not aware of the date of the hearing.
Mr Henao had written a letter to the Chairman of the Judicial and Legal Services Commission seeking an adjournment of 21 days (3 weeks), as he had only received the letter yesterday.
Public Prosecutor Pondros Kaluwin who represents the state said the reference was made known to him prior to the hearing and there was no reason for an adjournment.
After a recess, the tribunal told the court that it was not the right time to assess the validity of the matter because Sir Benard is a member of the Bench and deserves a fair hearing.
The matter returns, Tuesday, September 19th.
