25 - Foreign Judges

Summary

Papua New Guinea’s Constitution, made for its independence in 1975, provided the judiciary with broad, liberal powers to rectify the wrongs of colonialism, assist the country’s development, and meet the needs of a diverse people. This presents a challenge for judges, and particularly foreign judges, who are often unfamiliar with the constitutional history of Papua New Guinea or are reluctant to take an approach to judging that departs from the more conservative judicial roles preferred in their own jurisdictions. This chapter argues that foreign judges must adapt to their role as judges of Papua New Guinea, which requires relinquishing some of the biases and professional sensibilities ingrained from their training and experiences in other jurisdictions. It suggests that greater attention to the judicial ideology of foreign candidates, and prioritising recruits from jurisdictions with similar constitutional frameworks and colonial histories to Papua New Guinea, would help the judiciary to fulfil the transformative role envisaged for it by the Constitution.