Chief Justice Sir Mari Kapi (12 December 1950 – 25 March 2009) was a
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
n
judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...
who served as the fourth
[ Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Papua New Guinea from 16 August 2003 until his retirement in 2008 due to health reasons.] Kapi was the first Papua New Guinean citizen to be appointed as a judge and only the third PNG national to be appointed Chief Justice.
Kapi was born at Keapara village, Rigo District, Central Province.[ He was entirely educated in Papua New Guinea, graduating from the ]University of Papua New Guinea
The University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG) is a university located in Port Moresby, capital of Papua New Guinea. It was established by ordinance of the Australian administration in 1965. This followed the Currie Commission which had enquired ...
in 1972. He was employed as a lawyer
A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...
with the Office of the Public Solicitor and on 1 January 1978 became the first Papua New Guinean national to be appointed a puisne
Puisne (; from Old French ''puisné'', modern ''puîné'', "later born, younger" (and thence, "inferior") from late Latin ''post-'', "after", and ''natus'', "born") is a legal term of art obsolete in many jurisdictions and, when current, used main ...
justice of the Supreme and National Courts of Papua New Guinea (the Supreme Court not being a separately constituted court but a "full court" of the National Court). He was appointed Deputy Chief Justice in 1982.
In his jurisprudence
Jurisprudence, or legal theory, is the theoretical study of the propriety of law. Scholars of jurisprudence seek to explain the nature of law in its most general form and they also seek to achieve a deeper understanding of legal reasoning a ...
, Sir Mari is generally perceived as a strict legalist in the stamp of Sir Owen Dixon and his judgments are noted for their erudition, articulateness and highly literate awareness of common law principles. In evident recognition of Mr Justice Kapi's considerable rigour in the application of the principle of stare decisis he was appointed a member of the Fiji
Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...
Court of Appeal and, in addition to his judicial responsibilities in Papua New Guinea, he also rendered appellate
In law, an appeal is the process in which cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of clarifying and ...
judgments in that common law
In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...
jurisdiction.
Sir Mari was elevated to Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Papua New Guinea on 16 August 2003,[ for a ten-year term, the fourth person to occupy that position since Papua New Guinea's independence in 1975.
Already a ]Knight Bachelor
The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...
, he was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) in the 2008 Birthday Honours.
Mari retired from active duty on the Supreme Court in August 2008, citing deteriorating health.[ He last official "farewell ceremonial sitting" took place in ]Port Moresby
(; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New Z ...
on 21 November 2009.[ His successor as Chief Justice, Sir ]Salamo Injia
Sir Salamo Injia is a retired Judge and former Chief Justice of Papua New Guinea. Injia was knighted in 2006 and appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Papua New Guinea in 2008, succeeding Mari Kapi. In 2018, Sir Gibbs Salika replaced ...
, PNG Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general.
In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
Allan Marat and PNG Law Society president Kerenga Kua jointly described Kapi as a "perfect role model in the legal profession" and a "top national jurist
A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the Uni ...
."[
Mari credited the support from colleagues and friends in ]Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
, Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...
, New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
and Fiji
Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...
, as well as the National Judicial Staff Services, for his successful career at the November 2008 retirement ceremony.
Mari was the founding chairman of Prison Fellowship Papua New Guinea and member of the Board of Prison Fellowship International
Prison Fellowship International (PFI) is a Christian international non-governmental organization of national prison fellowship organizations from 112 countries. The organization is based in Washington D.C., United States, and its current presiden ...
. He has received the President's award for Ministry Statesmanship, recognizing his impact and influence in advancing the cause of doing justice with mercy.
Sir Mari Kapi died from kidney failure
Kidney failure, also known as end-stage kidney disease, is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney failure is classified as eit ...
on 25 March 2009, in Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
at the age of 58.[ He had been in Singapore's ]Raffles Hospital
Raffles Hospital (abbreviation: RH)( Chinese: 莱佛士医院 : Lái fú shì yīyuàn) is a tertiary care private hospital of the Raffles Medical Group, a private healthcare provider in Singapore.
History
On September 12, 1997, two companies, Ra ...
since February 2009 awaiting a kidney transplant
Kidney transplant or renal transplant is the organ transplant of a kidney into a patient with end-stage kidney disease (ESRD). Kidney transplant is typically classified as deceased-donor (formerly known as cadaveric) or living-donor transplantati ...
from his younger brother.[ However, the transplant operation had been delayed.][
Kapi's body was returned to Papua New Guinea for burial.][
]
See also
*Law of Papua New Guinea The law of Papua New Guinea consists of the Constitution, ordinary statutes enacted by Parliament or adopted at independence from overseas (together with their pendant regulations) and judge-made law.
Constitution
The Constitution is "autochtho ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kapi, Mari
1950 births
2009 deaths
Chief justices of Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinean judges
Grand Companions of the Order of Logohu
Knights Bachelor
Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
People from Central Province (Papua New Guinea)
Papua New Guinean judges on the courts of Fiji
University of Papua New Guinea alumni