The District Court’s sentencing toolkit is wider than most defendants expect, and the Act obliges the magistrate to look at parts of it in every case. This article maps the options; the following articles take each in turn.
The starting point
The Magistrates’ Manual states the rule: the only penalties a magistrate can impose are those prescribed by statute, and only after a finding of guilt. Section 14 of the Interpretation Act makes every prescribed penalty a maximum, and section 19 of the Criminal Code allows a lesser sentence. The sentencing limits are explained in the heaviest sentence the District Court can give.
The options
| Order | Source | Key features |
|---|---|---|
| Imprisonment | The offence provision; Criminal Code s 420(2) for Schedule 2 offences | Runs from the day imposed; time in custody may be deducted under the Criminal Justice (Sentences) Act |
| Fine | The offence provision; Criminal Code s 19; District Courts Act s 200(2) | Must carry a default term under s 168; time to pay or instalments under s 165 |
| Dismissal or conditional discharge without conviction | s 132 | Good behaviour recognizance for up to three years; no conviction recorded |
| Probation | Probation Act (Chapter 381) s 16 | Sentence suspended or deferred; six months to five years; needs a probation officer |
| Community work | s 199A | Up to eight hours a day, six days a week, over not more than three months |
| Restriction of movement | s 205B | Exclusion from an area or return home, for up to five years; must be considered in every case |
| Compensation | Criminal Law (Compensation) Act 1991; s 421(2) Criminal Code; Summary Offences Act s 47 | Must be considered in every case under the 1991 Act |
| Restitution or delivery of property | Criminal Code s 421(2); s 132(2); s 276 | Return of the property or payment of its value |
| Costs | s 260(1)(a) | To the informant; enforced under s 168 |
| Forfeiture | s 206 and the offence provision | Goods forfeited may be sold as the Court directs |
Two things the Court must consider
The Criminal Law (Compensation) Act 1991 requires the Court to consider compensation whenever it sentences, on the factors in section 3, and the Manual advises magistrates to record that they did so. Section 205B(2) of the District Courts Act provides that when a Court is considering punishment it shall also consider whether restriction of movement is an appropriate punishment. Neither need be ordered; both must be thought about, and a sentence that ignores them is open to challenge.
Combining orders
The Manual also records two general rules that shape every sentence. Constitution section 37(7) forbids a penalty more severe than the maximum that applied when the offence was committed, so an increase enacted afterwards does not apply. And the Criminal Justice (Sentences) Act requires a magistrate imposing imprisonment to do the arithmetic: state the sentence, the period already spent in custody, and the balance to be served, because time on remand is ordinarily deducted.
Most of the orders can be stacked. Section 199A allows community work “as well as imposing a fine, or instead of imposing a fine or imprisonment”; section 205B allows restriction of movement “in addition to or instead of any other punishment”; the Compensation Act treats compensation as a punishment that may be added to others; section 260 adds costs. What cannot be combined is a conviction with a section 132 discharge, because the discharge is made without proceeding to conviction, although section 132(2) gives the discharge the effect of a conviction for the purposes of restitution and appeal.
The sentencing process
| Step | Note |
|---|---|
| Facts established by plea or finding | Disputed facts relevant to sentence are resolved on evidence or in the defendant’s favour |
| Prior convictions, if any, put by the prosecutor | The defendant may dispute them |
| Mitigation heard from the defendant | Personal circumstances, remorse, compensation already paid, plea |
| Pre-sentence report where probation or community work is contemplated | Adjournment under s 89; bail under Bail Act s 10 |
| Compensation considered under the 1991 Act | The prosecutor should have the information ready |
| Restriction of movement considered under s 205B | Recorded in the file |
| Sentence pronounced in open court, with default term for any fine | Minute under s 160; functus officio thereafter |
No second thoughts
Ex parte the Acting Public Prosecutor [1976] PNGLR 344 holds that a magistrate’s sentencing power is exhausted once sentence is pronounced; a later suspension on a bond was quashed. Anything a defendant wants the Court to consider must be raised before sentence. Afterwards the routes are an appeal under section 219, on which the National Court may mitigate or increase the penalty under section 230(1)(b), or, once the 2009 amendment commences, a review of a term of imprisonment under section 171A. See appeals.
Juveniles
A person under 18 is sentenced under Part IX of the Juvenile Justice Act 2014, not under these provisions; a District Court exercising juvenile jurisdiction may not impose custody. See children in the District Court.
The District Courts Act is not on PacLII; it is available on vLex. The Probation Act (Chapter 381) is cited from the Magistrates’ Manual; the consolidated Act was not located on PacLII at the time of writing.
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.