Kramer granted review

THE dismissed Madang MP Bryan Kramer has been granted leave to file an urgent review in the National Court on the leadership tribunal’s decision made last year.
The Supreme Court bench, comprising Justice Jacinta Murray, Justice Kenneth Frank and Justice Paulus Dowa further quashed the National Court’s decision that refused Kramer leave to review saying the judge erred.
Justice Murray in reading the judgment on behalf of Frank and Dowa at Waigani said they agreed with Kramer that the National Court’s judge erred in failing to consider other grounds of appeal made.
“The court’s failure to consider each of the grounds pleaded before making a finding that there is no arguable case based on one single ground of leave is an identifiable error,” she said.
She added that in place of the National Court decision, they granted Kramer leave on the basis that he had an arguable case.
It was before the court that the National Court on Aug 18, 2023 refused Kramer leave for judicial review saying that the grounds of apprehension of bias in the tribunal’s decision does not make an arguable case.
Justice Murray said this was an error as it did not consider nine other grounds.
“Therefore, Kramer’s appeal against the National Court’s decision for refusal of leave is upheld,” she added.
Kramer filed the application before the three-man bench saying that if the National Court had considered his other grounds, he should have been granted leave.
Kramer’s grounds for review were that the decision of the tribunal comprising of Justice Lawrence Kangwia, Late Magistrate Edward Komia and Magistrate Josephine Nidue on May 1, 2023 was in breach of natural justice, unreasonable and apprehension of bias.
“We agreed with Kramer that he does have an arguable case,” Murray said.
They further ordered for Kramer to file the notice of motion and serve it to the parties within the next 14 days and for the matter to be listed before a National Court judge on a later date for hearing.