Whether the District Court can decide a criminal charge, or only pass it on, depends on which of three boxes the offence falls into. Section 20 of the Act draws the lines.
The jurisdiction section
Where, by law, (a) an offence is punishable on summary conviction, or a person is made liable to a penalty or punishment or to pay a sum of money for an offence, act or omission, and the offence is not an indictable offence; or (b) subject to Subsection (1A), an indictable offence is punishable on summary conviction, being an offence specified in Schedule 2 to the Criminal Code, the matter may be heard and determined by a District Court in a summary manner under this Act.
Subsection (2) adds that wherever a law confers jurisdiction on “one or more Magistrates” to hear an offence, that jurisdiction may be exercised by a District Court. The Magistrates’ Manual counts four categories of offence in Papua New Guinea; the District Court deals with three of them.
The practical starting point for any defendant is therefore the section under which the charge is laid. The information must state the offence in the words of the Act creating it, or in similar words (section 30(2)), and from that section one can read off the maximum penalty and, with the Interpretation Act, whether the offence is indictable. That single fact decides whether the District Court will try the case or merely inquire into it.
| Category | Examples | What the District Court does |
|---|---|---|
| Simple offences | Offences under the Summary Offences Act, traffic and licensing offences, regulatory offences | Tries and sentences them under Part VII |
| Schedule 2 indictable offences | Common assault, assault occasioning bodily harm, stealing, unlawful use of a motor vehicle, break and enter, false pretences, receiving | Tries them summarily before a Principal Magistrate if the Public Prosecutor elects; otherwise commits |
| Other indictable offences | Wilful murder, murder, manslaughter, rape, robbery, misappropriation, grievous bodily harm | Conducts committal proceedings under Part VI and sends the case to the National Court |
| Village Court offences | Offences prescribed by the Village Courts Regulation | Supervises, endorses and hears appeals: Village Courts |
How to tell an indictable offence
Section 21 of the Interpretation Act (Chapter 2) provides that an offence declared to be a crime, misdemeanour or indictable offence, or punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding 12 months, is an indictable offence. Section 22 makes every other offence punishable on summary conviction. Section 1 of the District Courts Act defines a “simple offence” as an offence punishable on summary conviction before a court by fine, imprisonment or otherwise. Section 2A of the Summary Offences Act removes any doubt about that Act: each of its offences is a simple offence to be tried summarily. See what is a simple offence.
Schedule 2 offences
(1A) Proceedings for a Schedule 2 offence shall be heard and determined by a District Court constituted by one or more Principal Magistrates.
(1B) The National Court has concurrent jurisdiction to hear and determine such matters.
Section 420 of the Criminal Code is the source, and it is not self-executing: the Supreme Court held in Ex parte the Public Prosecutor [1983] PNGLR 43 that a scheduled offence proceeds as a committal until the Public Prosecutor elects summary trial. The detail is in indictable offences triable summarily.
Section 20(1C) deals with a defendant charged with two indictable offences, one in Schedule 2 and one not. Both proceed on indictment and are heard together by the National Court. Section 20(1D) requires the District Court in that situation to remand the person in custody or admit him to bail pending the National Court hearing.
When the Court should step back
Where a Court has concurrent jurisdiction with the National Court with respect to an offence, if the Court is of opinion that in all the circumstances the matter is a fit subject for determination by the National Court, the Court shall abstain from adjudication and, in the case of an indictable offence, direct the person charged to be tried and commit him to custody or admit him to bail for trial.
The Criminal Code contains a comparable power in section 425, noted in the Magistrates’ Manual: a magistrate dealing with certain summary property offences under the Code who considers that they should be replaced by indictable charges may abstain and commit the defendant for trial on those charges instead. So even where the Public Prosecutor has elected summary trial of a Schedule 2 offence, a Principal Magistrate who thinks the case too grave for the ten-year ceiling in section 420(2) can decline to deal with it. See sending a case to the National Court.
Jurisdiction under other Acts
Section 20(2) picks up every Act that gives jurisdiction to “a magistrate” or “a court of summary jurisdiction”. The Family Protection Act 2013 defines “court” as the District Court and creates the domestic violence offence. The Juvenile Justice Act 2014 lets a court of summary jurisdiction exercise Juvenile Court jurisdiction where no Juvenile Court is available. Section 25 of the Bail Act lets a person wrongfully refused police bail sue in the District Court. Each of those is a District Court criminal or quasi-criminal matter as much as a Summary Offences Act charge is.
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.