Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Australasia and Pacific Ombudsman Institutions pp 235–247Cite as

Papua New Guinea: Ombudsman Commission

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

Abstract

Papua New Guinea (PNG) consists of the eastern half of the island New Guinea and of numerous offshore islands and island groups. It gained independence from the UN trusteeship administered by Australia in 1975. It is a parliamentary democracy and Commonwealth realm. Head of State is the Queen Elizabeth II who is represented by the Governor-General. The single-chamber Parliament consists of 109 Deputies who are elected for a term of 5 years. The Prime Minister, appointed by the Governor-General manages the day-to-day affairs of the country together with the National Executive Council (the Cabinet).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Cf BBC country profile Papua New Guinea (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-15436981) and CIA World Factbook (Papua New Guinea).

  2. 2.

    UN estimate 2009, respectively CIA World Factbook 2010 estimate.

  3. 3.

    Cf www.amnesty.org/en/death-penalty/countries-abolitionist-in-practice.

  4. 4.

    An Organic Law is a law or a system of laws that define and establish a Government, also called Fundamental Law, cf Black’s Law Dictionary (2011).

  5. 5.

    As an exception, a person who is between 55 and 60 years of age may be appointed for “special reasons” (s10(2) OLOC).

  6. 6.

    Except on leave granted by the Head of State, due to illness.

  7. 7.

    Now, the Public Finance (Management) Act 1995.

  8. 8.

    Cf Sect. 1.1.3, p. 6 for details.

  9. 9.

    Information provided by the Institution.

  10. 10.

    This includes the Federal Government as well as regional and local governments.

  11. 11.

    These are the Constitution’s “National Goals and Directive Principles”, the “Basic Rights” or the “Basic Social Obligations”.

  12. 12.

    This is irrespective of whether or not it is in accordance with law or practice.

  13. 13.

    Own motion investigations are often started in areas where trend analyses of complaints show particular areas of concern. They usually focus on systemic problems, e.g. on agencies’ procedures or on defects in legislation.

  14. 14.

    Depending on whether the legislation concerned is federal, provincial or local legislation.

  15. 15.

    These include the Prime Minister, Parliamentarians and other relevant bodies listed under s23 OLOC.

  16. 16.

    The Prime Minister may, after consultation with the Chief Ombudsman, exclude premises in order not to jeopardise national security, defence, or international relations of Papua New Guinea (s36(1) OLOC).

  17. 17.

    According to information provided by the Institution, this allows the informing of the prisoners in advance so “they can put their name on the interview list”. Also, it helps the facility’s staff to “ensure that the prisoners are available for the interview”. The Commission staff visiting the facility usually meets the head of the facility “for a briefing and a debriefing”. The Institution added that, “[w]here possible, every attempt will be made to resolve the issues raised by prisoners and […] staff during the visit while the Commission officer is present”.

  18. 18.

    Cf art. 219 Const. and s13 OLOC.

  19. 19.

    The Universal Periodic Review presentation at the United Nations Human Rights Council took place in Geneva on 11 May 2011.

  20. 20.

    Cf also footnote 1.

  21. 21.

    These directions may be of a general nature or aimed at a particular case.

  22. 22.

    This advice is given jointly with the Cabinet.

  23. 23.

    In 2009, there were 1,096 complaints, mainly concerning entitlements (148 cases), unlawful exercise of office authority (73) and delays in general (68).

  24. 24.

    The last Annual Report that was tabled before Parliament was the 2006 Report. Since 2007 no Annual Reports have been tabled.

Further Reading

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Human Rights, Vienna, Austria

    Michael Frahm

Authors
  1. Michael Frahm
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michael Frahm .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

    Rights and permissions

    Reprints and permissions

    Copyright information

    © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

    About this chapter

    Cite this chapter

    Frahm, M. (2013). Papua New Guinea: Ombudsman Commission. In: Australasia and Pacific Ombudsman Institutions. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-33896-0_18

    Download citation

    Publish with us

    Policies and ethics

    Search

    Navigation