Papua New Guinea Minimum Penalties Legislation

• NCJ Number: 100616
• Journal: Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology Volume: 18 Issue: 3 Dated: (September 1985) Pages: 164-188
• Author(s): D Weisbrot
• Date Published: 1985
• Length: 25 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: English
• Country: Australia
• Note: Paper presented at the 39th AULSA Conference, at the University of Queensland, on 27 August 1984.

Annotation

Papua New Guinea's new scheme of mandatory minimum imprisonment periods for a wide range of offenses is ill-conceived and unlikely to have the intended effect of deterring criminal activity.

Abstract

The 1983 legislation mandates minimum penalties that often equal and sometimes greatly exceed the old maximum penalties for the same offenses. Some summary offenses, previously punishable by a fine at most, now carry substantial minimum prison terms. The judiciary's initial strong criticism of the legislation have prompted Parliament to increase the scope of the legislation and close its loopholes. Now that the Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of the minimum-penalties legislation, more offenses are likely to be added to the list of those having mandatory minimum prison terms The scheme creates a harsh and arbitrary justice system likely to increase the effect of prosecutorial discretion while minimizing judicial discretion. The experiences of a number of African countries indicate such schemes fail to reduce crime. This is particularly likely in Papua New Guinea, since the arrest rate is so low. 86 notes.