CHIEF Justice Sir Gibbs Salika has made a submission to the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) that the Chief Magistrate be recognised as a judicial leader under the Leadership Code.
He said during the opening of the three-day magistrate’s biennial judicial conference in Port Moresby yesterday that magistrates were not just public servants but also leaders in their own right.
“That is the reason I made a submission to the SRC to recognise the Chief Magistrate as a judicial leader,” he said.
“The next part is to consider everybody as a magistrate to be part of that judicial leadership as well and not just mere public servants.”
Sir Gibbs advised Chief Magistrate Mark Pupaka and all the magistrates to make a submission to him to be taken up to the SRC.
“The SRC can make a decision for and on behalf of all of you as judicial officers in your roles as magistrates,” he said.
He urged the magistrates to discuss the theme of the conference seriously, which is delivering justice with integrity.
The magistrates launched four important documents: the Magisterial Service corporate plan 2026-2030, Magistrates Code of Conduct 2026, District courts magistrates Mediation Practice and procedures 2026, and the Magisterial service official website.
Chief Magistrate Pupaka said all the developments brought the boundaries of responsibility as magistrates in a particularised and structured way.
Sir Gibbs told the magistrates that people trusted them because they were leaders in their communities as legislators.
