The word “magistrate” covers several different offices. Which one is sitting can change what the Court is allowed to do, so it is worth knowing who is who.
The definition in the Act
“Magistrate” means a magistrate appointed under the Magisterial Service Act (Chapter 43) and includes a Deputy Chief Magistrate, a Principal Magistrate, a District Court Magistrate and a Reserve Magistrate.
That definition was rewritten by the District Courts (Amendment) Act 2000, which abolished the old grades of “Magistrate Grade III, IV and V”. Older cases and the Criminal Code still use the phrase “Magistrate Grade V”; the Code itself notes that this now means a Principal Magistrate.
The Magisterial Service
(1) A service to be known as the Magisterial Service is hereby established.
(2) It consists of the Chief Magistrate, all other members of courts established under section 172, and such other persons employed in connection with the National Judicial System as are prescribed.
The Magisterial Service Act (Chapter 43) fills in the structure. Section 5 provides for two Deputy Chief Magistrates and such numbers of Principal Magistrates and District Court Magistrates as the Judicial and Legal Services Commission determines. Section 6 gives the Commission the power of appointment. Section 8 requires a Senior Magistrate to be appointed for each province, with administrative responsibilities for that province.
Constitution section 175 establishes the office of Chief Magistrate, appointed by the Commission. Unless an Act says otherwise, the Chief Magistrate is ex officio a member of every court established under section 172 other than Village Courts, and has the powers of the highest grade where a court has grades. Section 9(3) of the Magisterial Service Act gives the Deputy Chief Magistrates the same jurisdiction as the highest grade, and section 9(2) provides that a power given to a lower grade is deemed also to be given to every higher grade.
Section 2 of that Act makes the Chief Magistrate responsible to the Commission for the efficient functioning of the Service, including the posting of magistrates and the allocation of duties between magistrates posted to the same place.
Principal Magistrates
Sections 1A to 1C of the District Courts Act deal with Principal Magistrates specifically, because the grade unlocks the Court’s wider jurisdiction. A citizen qualifies under section 1B if he or she is a law graduate of a recognised university and has either practised as a lawyer for at least four years or has at least five years’ experience as a magistrate in the country. A non-citizen qualifies under section 1C after five years’ practice as a lawyer in Papua New Guinea or in a country with a substantially similar legal system. What the grade means in practice is explained in what is a Principal Magistrate.
Reserve Magistrates
(1) Where in its opinion it is necessary in the interests of the effective and speedy administration of justice, the Judicial and Legal Services Commission may, by notice in the National Gazette, appoint an officer to be a Reserve Magistrate of a District Court.
(2) A Reserve Magistrate may exercise, in and for the area specified in his instrument of appointment, all the powers and functions of a Magistrate.
(3) A Reserve Magistrate is not, merely by virtue of the appointment, a member of the Magisterial Service, and is subject to direction by the Chief Magistrate in regard to practice and procedure.
Reserve Magistrates are the mechanism for keeping a court open where no career magistrate is available. Their powers are geographically limited, and under section 6 a Reserve Magistrate may not exercise any function of the office until he or she has made the Judicial Declaration.
Appointment and removal
Full-time members of courts established under section 172 shall be appointed by the Judicial and Legal Services Commission, and may be removed from office in accordance with an Act of the Parliament, but only for incapacity or misbehaviour (including, if applicable, misconduct in office).
This is the constitutional guarantee of a magistrate’s independence. It sits alongside section 4 of the District Courts Act, which provides that, subject to the powers of the National Court, a magistrate is not subject to any direction in relation to the hearing and determination of a case. See can anyone tell a magistrate how to decide a case.
Section 7 of the Magisterial Service Act leaves the qualifications for Deputy Chief, Principal and District Court Magistrates to be determined by the Commission, not less than any prescribed by an Act, and requires evidence of health, qualifications, age and good character, and the making of the Judicial Declaration. Conditions of service, including discipline, are set by Commission determinations under section 10. A complaint about a magistrate’s conduct, as opposed to a decision, therefore goes to the Chief Magistrate or the Commission; a complaint about a decision goes on appeal to the National Court.
A name change waiting to commence
The District Courts (Amendment) Act 2009 would rename Principal Magistrates “District Court Judges” throughout the Act. It was certified in 2012 but comes into operation only on a notice by the Head of State in the National Gazette, and the consolidation used here records that it had not commenced. If you see the title “District Court Judge” in use, that is the source.
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.