SI lawyers on attachment with PNG Public Solicitors paid courtesy call HC Soaki

Solomon Islands High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea, His Excellency William Soaki received four Solomon Islands lawyers employed by the Public Solicitors Office of Solomon Islands who are currently on attachment with the PNG Public Solicitors Office yesterday morning.

The four lawyers are the pioneer participants of the “Wantok Legal Network program” facilitated under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed on 8th March 2024 between the Public Solicitors Office of Solomon Islands (PSOSI) and the Office of the Public Solicitors of Papua New Guinea (OPSPNG).

It is a twinning program intended for capacity building. The lawyers concerned are now in the 5th week of their 6 weeks attachments and are looking forward to going back home and putting to practice the many lessons learnt on the program.

As shared during the meeting, the diversity of cases to deal with is really challenging but refreshing to them.

One of them commented that the amount of knowledge learnt over a span of few weeks through their exposure to the nature as well as the workload here was so valuable and rewarding.

The twinning program is diverse as it covers areas from: Administration of the Public Solicitor Legal Aid services, case and practice management; Civil advocacy and practice which may include but not limited to, Family Law, related matters, humans rights enforcement, judicial review proceedings; Criminal advocacy and practice which may include but not limited to cases relating to cybercrime, transnational  crime, money laundering, human trafficking, fraud and corruption cases, homicide or other serious crimes; Civil and Criminal Appeals as well as Determination of Constitutional Questions, Constitutional References, etc.

1. E. Soaki welcomed them to the High Commission and stressed his appreciation to the Public Solicitor George Gray and his PNG Counterparts for ensuring that the MoU is operationalized straight after its signing.

He went on to say that it is great to see continuous collaboration with our closest neighbour to strengthen legal capacities and promote justice.

He further acknowledged the feedback received from the participants and assured them that there is so much to learn from PNG.

He encouraged the participants to fully utilize the knowledge they have attained in their line of duties.

–MFAET PRESS RELEASE