Professor Ross Cranston travelled to Papua New Guinea in late March to participate in a two day workshop on court craft.
Almost all of the Supreme Court and National Court judges attended the event. The workshop was the initiative of the Chief Justice, Sir Salamo Injia. To facilitate the discussion, along with Professor Cranston was Justice John Logan, of the Federal Court of Australia, who sits part time on the PNG court; Roger Gyles AO, a leading Australian QC and former Federal Court judge; and Sir Bruce Robertson, previously head of the New Zealand Law Commission and a member of their Court of Appeal. The workshop covered a wide range of topics including case management of complex commercial cases, giving ex tempore cases, when to recuse oneself for apparent bias, and exercise of the contempt power. Emerging from the workshop discussions were a number of recommendations for the Chief Justice and the judiciary to consider for the future.