Australian Aid to PNG - AusAID

BOX 5.3 STRENGTHENING LAW AND JUSTICE IN PAPUA NEW GUINEAIn addition to assisting the Constabulary, Australian project assistance has had arange of important positive impacts across the law and justice sector:• Provided access – for the first time since independence – to updated andconsolidated legislation and case law in electronic and paper form, as well as araft of new legal texts.• Enhanced court operations at all levels through professional developmenttraining for all judges and magistrates, as well as for court officers and villagecourt officials.• Strengthened corporate and human resource management in the AttorneyGeneral’s Department, resulting in a more strategic, client-focused approach.• Revitalised the Legal Training Institute, the only agency providing ongoing legaleducation to university graduates.• Raised the profile and strengthened the strategic planning capacity of theCorrectional Services system.• Upgraded Correctional Services staff housing and facilities, constructed twominimum-security prisons, a juvenile detention centre, a new training college anda new sewerage system for the main prison in Port Moresby, and upgraded andrenovated the other provincial prisons to make them more humane and secure.• Introduced an effective prison classification system that helps PNG manage itsprisons better and greatly assists with the rehabilitation of prisoners.• Facilitated the separation of juvenile prisoners from adults, a significant humanrights achievement.• Reinvigorated prison industries, providing a means to feed prisoners andproducing income for the institution.• Improved literacy and numeracy of prison staff and detainees, as well as HIV/AIDSawareness.• Introduced Minimum Security Units in prisons, allowing for increased security,improved management of detainees, and a change in the attitude to escaping.Despite the improvements to date, much remains to be done before principlessuch as discipline and accountability will truly be entrenched in Papua NewGuinea. These are still major problems within the various law and justiceagencies and more broadly. In spite of the institutional improvements that haveoccurred to date, the sector’s performance overall has, if anything, weakened 18 .The latest phase of the RPNGC Development Project is seeking to address thesedeep constraints. Crime prevention strategies based on principles of community18 A Review of the Law and Justice Sector Agencies in Papua New Guinea. Opportunities to Improve Efficiency,Effectiveness, Coordination and Accountability, Confidential Draft Report, Government of Papua New Guinea, 2002.38 The Contribution of Australian Aid to Papua New Guinea’s Development 1975–2000