An appeal is decided on the District Court’s record. What the magistrate and the Clerk do in the weeks after the notice is lodged determines whether that record is complete, and the Magistrates’ Manual devotes a chapter to it.
The duties in order
| Duty | Who | Provision |
|---|---|---|
| Fix the sum of the recognizance and surety, or direct a deposit in writing | Magistrate | s 222 |
| Decide whether to release an appellant in custody, on the Clerk’s certificate | Magistrate | s 223 |
| Forward certified copies of the decision, the reasons if given, the complaint, the depositions and all other proceedings, with the exhibits, to the Registrar | Clerk, immediately | s 224 |
| Where no reasons were given at the time, notify the magistrate, who forwards a written report of reasons to the Registrar | Clerk, then magistrate | s 225 |
| Certify a typed transcript of a handwritten record | Clerk | NCR O 18 r 6(3) |
| Enter the National Court’s decision in the register when the memorandum arrives | Clerk | s 233 |
Transmitting the record
(1) The Clerk of the Court the decision of which is appealed against, immediately after notice of appeal is lodged with him, shall forward to the Registrar of the National Court a copy, certified by him to be a true copy, (a) of the conviction, order or adjudication; (b) of the reasons given by the Court, if any were given at the time the decision was pronounced; (c) of the complaint; (d) of the depositions; and (e) of all other proceedings relating to the decision, together with the original exhibits.
(2) Where it is impracticable to forward the exhibits, the Clerk may forward a list and description of them instead.
This is why section 145 requires civil evidence to be taken down and signed, section 65 requires committal depositions to be written and signed, and section 160 requires a minute of every decision: those documents are the “depositions” and “proceedings” the Clerk sends up. Section 145(4) provides that on appeal it is deemed that no defence other than the recorded statement of defence was relied on, and no evidence other than that taken down and signed was given. What is not in the record did not, for appeal purposes, happen.
The magistrate’s report
(1) Where no reasons were given by the Court for the decision, the Clerk, immediately after the notice of appeal is lodged, shall notify the Magistrate who constituted the Court.
(2) Immediately after being notified, the Magistrate shall forward to the Registrar of the National Court a written report setting out the reasons for the making of the conviction, order or adjudication.
The Manual is candid. A report may be called for a month or more after the decision, when the magistrate’s memory of the facts and of the findings on credibility has faded; a report that is incomplete or inaccurate makes it harder for the National Court to reach a proper decision and creates stress for the magistrate. Its advice is to give reasons when the decision is pronounced and to keep detailed notes. Order 18 rule 6(5)(c) of the National Court Rules requires the section 225 report to be included in the appeal book where no reasons were recorded; a magistrate’s afterthoughts, however, cannot add to the evidence.
Transcripts
Most District Court records are handwritten. Order 18 rule 6(3) puts the burden on the appellant’s lawyer to have the transcript typed and returned to the Clerk, who certifies that it matches the original. The typed and certified transcript goes into the appeal book. An unrepresented appellant may, under rule 6(5)(f), get the Registrar’s assistance at the appellant’s cost.
What the magistrate does not do
The magistrate is not a party to the appeal and does not appear or argue it; the respondent defends the decision. The magistrate may not alter the decision once pronounced, being functus officio under Ex parte the Acting Public Prosecutor [1976] PNGLR 344, though section 160 allows a minute to be corrected for a slip. And the magistrate does not decide whether the appeal is competent; that is for the National Court at the directions hearing. What the magistrate can lawfully do while the appeal is pending is enforce the decision if it is not entered within 40 days (section 227), and enforce it after the appeal is decided (sections 11 and 236).
Habeas corpus and certiorari
Where the challenge is not an appeal but a habeas corpus application or a writ of certiorari, section 239 requires the magistrate and the prosecutor to be given reasonable notice before a person is discharged for a defect in a warrant of commitment, and requires the magistrate to transmit the conviction or order, the depositions and the information. Section 242 lets the National Court dispense with the notice where copies are produced or, for a committal, the documents have already gone to the Public Prosecutor under section 118. See habeas corpus and review.
After the appeal
Section 233 requires the Registrar to send the Clerk a memorandum of the National Court’s decision for entry in the register, and Order 18 rule 10(5) requires a copy of the order and judgment to be sent to the Clerk. Costs of the appeal are paid to the Registrar under section 234 and enforced by a magistrate on the Registrar’s certificate under section 235. Section 236 then gives the District Court authority to enforce the decision as affirmed, amended or made by the National Court.
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.