Election Petition Rules 2017 (National Court)
PAPUA NEW GUINEA
NATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE
ELECTION PETITION RULES 2017
PURSUANT to Section 184 of the Constitution and Section 212(2) of the Organic Law on National and Local-level Government Elections and Section 8 (rules of Court of the National Court) of the National Court Act (Chapter No 38) and all other powers enabling, the following Rules, made by the Judges, described as “Election Petition Rules 2017”, prescribing the practice and procedure of the National Court of Justice relating to the conduct of election petition proceedings and related matters, shall come into force on a date to be determined by the Chief Justice, and on that date the Election Petition Rules 2002 are repealed [Editorial note: the date determined by the Chief Justice is 1 July 2017].
Dated this 28th day of April 2017
Chief Justice Sir Salamo Injia Kt, GCL
Deputy Chief Justice Sir Gibbs Salika KBE, CSM, OBE
Justice Sir Bernard Sakora KBE, CSM, CBE
Justice Nicholas Kirriwom CMG
Justice Les Gavara-Nanu OBE
Justice Ambeng Kandakasi CBE
Justice Ellenas Batari MBE
Justice Salatiel Lenalia CSM
Justice Panuel Mogish CSM
Justice David Cannings CBE
Justice George Manuhu
Justice Allen David
Justice Derek Hartshorn ML
Justice Joseph Yagi
Justice Colin Makail
Justice Ere Kariko MBE
Justice Stephen Kassman
Justice Jacinta Murray
Justice Berna Collier
Justice John Logan RFD
Justice Iova Geita
Justice Peter Toliken
Justice Martin Ipang
Justice Lawrence Kangwia
Justice Sir Kina Bona
Justice Terence Higgins QC AO
Justice Hitelai Polume-Kiele
Justice Frazer Pitpit
Justice Kenneth Frank
Justice Leka Nablu
Justice William Neill
Justice Robert Lindsay
Justice Terrance Foulds
Justice Jeffrey Shepherd
Acting Justice Thomas Anis
Acting Justice Daniel Liosi
Acting Justice Danajo Koeget
Acting Justice Ravunama Auka
Acting Justice Nicholas Miviri
ELECTION PETITION RULES 2017
1
Definitions
In these Rules, unless the contrary intention appears:
“Court” means the National Court of Justice;
“filed” means lodged in a registry of the National Court at Waigani or at a registry or sub-registry of the National Court in a province, as set out in Schedule 1, and sealed with the seal of the Court and endorsed with an election petition number;
“Organic Law” means the Organic Law on Provincial and Local-level Government Elections;
“petition” means an election petition as referred to in the Organic Law;
“Registrar” means the Registrar of the National Court;
“respondent” means a person named as such in the petition;
“security deposit” means the sum referred to in Rule 8.
2
Administration
(1) There shall be an Election Petitions List maintained by the Registrar, which shall contain the reference numbers, names and status of election petitions and related proceedings.
(2) The Chief Justice may appoint a Judge to be Judge Administrator of the Election Petition Track and may from time to time appoint any Judge to deal with matters on the Election Petitions List.
(3) The Registrar shall appoint an officer to be the senior officer in charge of registry matters concerning the Election Petitions List and shall appoint such other staff as are necessary to ensure the efficient and orderly running of the election petitions list.
3
Respondents
A petition filed pursuant to Section 206 of the Organic Law, shall:
(a) state the name of the successful candidate as the first respondent;
(b) specify the Electoral Commission as the second respondent; and
(c) name no other respondent except with leave of the Court.
4
Form of petition
The petition shall be in accordance with Form 1.
5
Filing
A petition shall be filed together with the official receipt or stamped bank deposit slip evidence of payment of the filing fee and of the security deposit.
6
Filing fees
(1) The filing fee for an election petition shall be K1,000.00.
(2) The fee shall be paid at a provincial finance office and the official receipt of the payment shall be filed in the Registry with the petition in accordance with Rule 5.
(3) Where circumstances do not permit a petitioner to pay the filing fee at a provincial finance office, the fee may be paid by bank cheque at a registry of the National Court or paid into the National Court Registrar’s Trust Account at the appropriate bank.
7
Security for costs
The security deposit required by Section 209 of the Organic Law shall be paid in cash or by bank cheque into the National Court Registrar’s Trust Account at the appropriate bank and evidence of the deposit shall be filed with the petition.
8
Service of petition on respondents
(1) The petition shall be served on the respondents within 14 days after the date of filing the petition or within such further period as the Court determines upon application made within those 14 days.
(2) Service on the first respondent shall be deemed to have been effected when any of the following events occurs:
(a) personal service on the first respondent is effected; or
(b) publication by the petitioner of the Notice of Petition in Form 2, endorsed with the approval of the Registrar, at the petitioner's expense, at least once in a daily newspaper circulating in the country; or
(c) compliance with any other mode of service authorised by the Court.
(3) Service on the Electoral Commission shall be deemed to have been effected by:
(a) leaving the document at the office of the person apparently occupying the position of personal secretary to the Electoral Commissioner between the hours of 7.45 am and 12 noon, or 1.00 pm and 4.06 pm, or such other hours as may from time to time be declared by or under the Public Services (Management) Act 1995 to be the normal public service hours of duty, on any day which is not a Saturday, Sunday or a public holiday declared by or under the Public Holidays Act (Chapter 321); or
(b) publication by the petitioner of the Notice of Petition in Form 2, endorsed with the approval of the Registrar, at the petitioner's expense, at least once in a daily newspaper circulating in the country; or
(c) compliance with any other mode of service authorised by the Court.
(4) Publication of a Notice of Petition in Form 2 shall be in the size of a standard quarter-page tabloid page newspaper notice and shall be without embellishment.
9
Affidavit of service
The petitioner shall, within ten days after the date of service of the petition, file an affidavit of service giving full particulars of the manner in which service has been effected and, if by advertisement, by annexing copies of the Notice of Petition as it appeared in the newspaper.
10
Obligation of respondents to obtain copy of petition
It is the obligation of the respondents to the petition named in the advertisement of the Notice of Petition, to obtain a copy of the petition from the Registrar.
11
Notice to appear
(1) Within 14 days after service of the petition in accordance with Rule 9, a respondent shall file a notice to appear in accordance with Form 3 at the place where the petition was filed and serve a copy on the petitioner and on every named respondent.
(2) Where a respondent fails to file a notice to appear, the Court may proceed to deal with the petition in his or her absence.
12
Objection to competency
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