Every serious criminal case in Papua New Guinea passes through a District Court before it reaches a judge. That stage is the committal, and it is the most misunderstood part of the criminal process. Its purpose is narrow, and so are the magistrate’s powers within it. The overview on this site is in committal proceedings and bail; this group of articles works through Part VI section by section.
What a committal is for
Because of the seriousness of presenting a person for trial before a judge, the law requires a preliminary examination by a magistrate to assess the strength of the accusation. It serves both the State and the citizen by preventing weak or misconceived prosecutions from proceeding to trial. A committal is an investigation into the strength of the prosecution case, not an act of adjudication; its function is not to determine guilt, and the proceedings are investigatory, tentative and non-conclusive.
Section 1 of the Act defines a “charge of an indictable offence” as a charge of an indictable offence as such and in order to a committal for trial, and defines “hearing” to include the examination of a person so charged and “decision” to include a committal for trial. The National Court described the same idea in Yarume v Euga (1996) N1476: the purpose is to gather evidence and assess it to see whether it is sufficient to commit the accused for trial, which requires a proper and reasonable assessment of whether all the elements of the offence are present.
Which cases go through committal
Every indictable offence that is not tried summarily. That includes all the homicide, sexual and robbery offences, misappropriation, and any Schedule 2 offence for which the Public Prosecutor has not elected summary trial. The Juvenile Justice Act 2014 section 20 provides that where a juvenile is charged with homicide, rape or an offence carrying life imprisonment, the Juvenile Court deals with the committal and the National Court the trial. See which criminal cases the District Court can hear.
The stages
| Stage | Provision | In this series |
|---|---|---|
| Information laid; summons, warrant or arrest | ss 28, 49, 93 | The information |
| Service of the information, witness statements, list of exhibits and documents, at least 14 days before the hearing | s 94 | Service of the brief |
| Committal without consideration of the evidence, if the defendant is represented and does not object | s 94B | Committal on the papers |
| Inquiry into whether each statement was read and understood by its maker | s 94C | The section 94C inquiry |
| Decision whether the prosecution evidence is sufficient to put the defendant on trial | s 95 | The test |
| The charge explained; the defendant asked whether he wishes to give evidence or say anything | ss 96–98 | The section 96 statement |
| Final decision: discharge, or committal for trial in custody or on bail | s 100 | Bail after committal |
| If the defendant admits the charge: committal for sentence | s 103 | Committal for sentence |
| Transmission of the depositions to the Public Prosecutor and notice to the Registrar | ss 118–121 | After committal |
A paper process
Since 1980 committals have run primarily on written statements, the hand-up brief, rather than on witnesses called to give oral evidence. Section 94(6) still lets the Court allow oral evidence where expedient, and section 65 still requires any depositions taken to be reduced to writing, read over and signed. But the ordinary committal is a magistrate reading a bundle of statements and deciding whether they add up to a case.
The defendant’s position
The defendant must be present (section 61(2)) and may be represented under section 59. There is no right to be heard on the section 95 question of sufficiency, but there is a right to be heard under section 96 before the final decision, and the National Court in Maladina v Poloh (2004) N2568 quashed a committal where counsel was not given a real opportunity to make oral submissions at that stage. Cross-examination of prosecution witnesses at the committal is contested territory; see cross-examination at committal. The committal magistrate cannot refuse to commit because the prosecution seems oppressive, and cannot stop the case for reasons unconnected with the evidence.
What a committal does and does not decide
A committal decides one thing: whether the defendant will stand trial. It does not bind the Public Prosecutor, who under section 525 of the Criminal Code considers the evidence and may indict for any offence it warrants or decline to lay a charge, and who under section 526 may indict even where the magistrate refused to commit. It does not decide bail permanently; bail can be applied for again in the National Court. And it does not decide admissibility for the trial, except that statements admitted at the committal can be used at trial under section 102 in the circumstances that section describes.
Challenging a committal
A committal is a “decision” and technically appealable under section 219, but the National Court has repeatedly said that an appeal is not the proper way to contest a finding of a prima facie case, and that judicial review lies only for jurisdictional error or a denial of natural justice, not for insufficiency of evidence. See challenging a committal.
The District Courts Act is not on PacLII; it is available on vLex.
Before relying on anything here, read the current text of the District Courts Act (Chapter 40) and check for later amendments. The Act is not on PacLII; the figures and time limits quoted in this series come from the consolidation to No 8 of 2000, and the District Courts (Amendment) Act 2009 changes some of them once it is brought into operation. If a decision matters to you, get advice — start with the Office of the Public Solicitor, or find a firm in the law firms directory.