Episode 26 - On Trial

This week I was fortunate enough to attend a local court case held in a nearby village with my classmates. We walked just a short way down the path to the village and found ourselves in the small clearing in the trees marked by large bamboo shoots towering overhead. This clearing serves as a general meeting place for the local villages, and on this particular day, as a court room. A small crowd milled about on the edges by the two entrances to the clearing. At the back centre of this clearing stood four garden chairs. On these four chairs sat four men. These men were not set apart by their appearance, nor their dress. But by the respect and distance given to these men by the rest of the crowd, it was clear that they were special. These men were in fact the magistrates or Jus Men as they are known (yeah, I know – Four Just Men…). There are actually six Jus Men for this court – one representative from each area that the court serves, however two were unable to attend. Conspicuously, to the left of them was a large wooden desk. Behind it sat the clerk. Either side of him stood two men whom I told served as crowd control. I couldn’t decide if this was reassuring or unnerving.

The court room

I try to make as few assumptions as possible when I find myself in new situations such as this one as, here in Papua New Guinea more than anywhere else in the world, more of them seem to be wrong than right. I had however failed in this case and had subconsciously decided that this was an “unofficial” court with no legal backing, formed by the villages amongst themselves as a way of living peacefully in community. True to form however, my assumption was quickly seen to be in error, as the clerk produced governmental documents from his desk with the details of the case. The defendant and the accuser were called before the Jus Men. They took their places in front of the Jus Men, with the crowd control stationed between the two sides. The crowd then assembled around them. The Clerk then read the accusations from letter held in his hand. After he had finished, both sides then took it in turns to tell their side of the story. With this complete, the Jus men then one by one asked the defendant and the accuser any questions they had. The defendant had been accused of gossiping in the community about the secret parentage of a child, and hence bringing shame upon him. Shaming someone is taken very seriously here in PNG, creating a very respectful culture. After the Jus Men had satisfied their curiosity, the crowd and the two parties were dismissed to the far side of the clearing whilst the Jus Men discussed the case amongst themselves. Once they had reached a conclusion, the crowd reassembled once more as before. The defendant was found guilty and charged with a 300 Kina fine (about £75). It wasn’t all over yet though, the crowd disbanded one more time. The two parties went off to discuss with their piers whether or not they wanted to accept the verdict. The crowd reassembled one last time, to hear that both sides were happy, and that was that, and everyone went home.