The District Court is a court of record in the sense that matters: its decisions are written down, signed, and provable by certified copy. Knowing what is recorded, and by whom, tells a litigant what to ask for.
The registers
The Clerk shall keep such registers and books as are prescribed. The Regulation prescribes a Register of Decisions (Form 1), kept at the places the Judicial and Legal Services Commission directs by gazette notice, in which the Clerk enters every information and complaint to be heard at a sitting in the order the summonses reached him; a Suitors’ Cash Book (Form 2) of all money received from or paid to parties; a Security Book (Form 3) recording every recognizance and security, the persons bound, the sums, conditions and dates; and an Instalment Book (Form 4) recording every order for payment by instalments and each instalment paid.
The Register is the master list. Its numbering gives the case its reference; its entry for each matter records the result, the sentence or order, and costs. Regulation 11 also fixes the order of hearing: cases are called in Register order, subject to the Court’s discretion to take first those more conveniently disposed of.
The minute of decision
(1) Where a Court convicts or makes an order against a defendant, a minute or memorandum of the conviction or order shall be made and signed by the Magistrate. (2) The minute does not form part of the warrant of commitment or execution. (3) A document purporting to be a copy of the minute signed by the Clerk is prima facie evidence for all purposes of the making of the conviction or order.
This is the record that proves the decision. In Getsi v PNG Harbours Board [1993] PNGLR 408 the absence of any written application, record of an oral application or order joining a party was decisive: without a record, the party was never joined. Section 161 provides that a formal conviction or order need not be drawn up unless a party demands it for an appeal or the National Court requires it for a return to a writ; when demanded, it is drawn up in the proper form and filed by the Clerk. Section 162 entitles a defendant or complainant whose opponent’s case is dismissed to a certificate of the order of dismissal, which under section 162(2) bars a fresh information or complaint for the same matter.
The record of the evidence
| Proceeding | What is recorded | Provision |
|---|---|---|
| Committal | Depositions of each witness taken down, read over and signed; the defendant’s s 96 statement; served statements under s 94; exhibits; all transmitted to the Public Prosecutor | ss 65, 96, 100, 101 |
| Summary criminal | The plea, the evidence in note form, the decision and sentence, the reasons | ss 122, 138, 160 |
| Civil | The defence and points relied on; evidence taken down and signed by the magistrate; exhibits marked | s 145 |
| Judgment summons | Evidence taken down in writing; copy to the Registrar of the National Court | s 187 |
| Ex parte and absent-party hearings | Proof of service endorsed on the summons under s 47; the memorandum of service | ss 47, 61, 143 |
On a civil appeal it is deemed that no defence or points other than those written down were relied on, and no evidence or exhibits other than those recorded and marked were given. Anything not in the record did not happen. A party should watch that every document is marked and every point noted, and may ask the magistrate to note a submission. See fresh evidence on appeal.
Getting copies
Schedule 3 item 14 of the Regulation fixes K1.50 for a certified copy of an extract from the Register, and Schedule 6 fixes K1.00 for the first folio and K2.00 for each further folio of a copy of a complaint, information, summons, warrant or deposition obtained after the hearing, and K2.00 for a certified copy of an order or conviction. A party applies to the Clerk, pays the fee and receives the copy; the Clerk’s signed copy of the minute carries the evidentiary status section 160(3) gives it. Regulation 19 requires erasures and interlineations in Court documents to be initialled, and regulation 5 and 6 require recognizances and summonses to be transmitted to the Court where the matter is heard. A litigant who needs the decision proved elsewhere, for example to a bank or an employer, should obtain a certified copy of the minute or the formal order rather than a bare receipt.
On appeal
Section 224 requires the Clerk, on receipt of a notice of appeal, to forward to the Registrar of the National Court the depositions, exhibits and other documents, and section 225 requires the magistrate to forward a written report of the reasons if none were given at the time. Order 18 rule 6 of the National Court Rules requires the appeal book to contain the District Court record, the reasons, and the notice of appeal. A magistrate’s duty to give reasons is discussed in what the magistrate does when you appeal.
Who keeps them
The Clerk keeps the records under section 18 and 19, and section 259 extends the magistrate’s statutory protections to the Clerk’s acts under the Act. Court files are not public documents in the sense of being open to anyone; a non-party seeking a copy needs the Clerk’s or a magistrate’s leave, though hearings themselves are public under section 57. Records of committals go to the Public Prosecutor, whose copy becomes the basis of the indictment; the District Court retains the Register entry and its file. See whether the District Court is a court of record.
The District Courts Act and Regulation are not on PacLII; both are on vLex (Act, Regulation).
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.