How Do I Make a Complaint About a Leader?

The Leadership Code is not self-enforcing. Somebody has to raise the matter, and in most cases that somebody is a member of the public.

Where the complaint goes

To the Ombudsman Commission of Papua New Guinea. Section 28(1)(f) of the Constitution requires an Organic Law to provide for the investigation by the Commission — or another prescribed authority — of cases of alleged or suspected misconduct in office, and to confer the necessary powers. That Organic Law is the Organic Law on the Ombudsman Commission, working with the Organic Law on the Duties and Responsibilities of Leadership.

The Commission may also act on its own initiative. A complaint is a common trigger, not a precondition.

What makes a complaint useful

The Commission receives far more complaints than it can pursue. The ones that go somewhere share features:

1. Name the leader and the office. Establish that the person is within section 26 — and remember the list includes department heads, statutory authority board members, the Commissioner of Police and Ministers’ personal staff.
2. State the conduct, with dates. Not “he is corrupt”, but what was done, when, and by whom.
3. Identify the duty engaged. Conflict of interest, use of office for personal gain, failure to lodge or complete an annual return, failure to comply with a direction. See the duties in section 27.
4. Attach the documents. Contracts, minutes, cheque butts, Gazette notices, correspondence, tender records. Copies, never originals.
5. Name the witnesses and say what each can speak to.
6. Explain the public interest. Public funds, a public decision, a public office.
7. Keep a copy of everything you send.

What the Commission does

The Commission investigates confidentially. It has substantial powers under the Organic Law to obtain information and documents, to require attendance, and to inspect records. It may also give directions under section 27(4) to prevent a breach or limit its consequences.

An investigation may end without a referral. That is not a finding that the complainant was wrong; it may mean the evidence does not reach the required threshold, or that the conduct falls outside the Code.

Section 29 — the referral

Two features are worth noting. The referral is mandatory once the prima facie threshold is reached — the Commission has no discretion to sit on it. And section 29(2) is a genuine backstop: the Commission can take over the prosecution if the Public Prosecutor does not move within a reasonable period.

Then the tribunal

The Public Prosecutor requests the appointment of an independent tribunal, which investigates and determines the case. See what happens at a leadership tribunal, and on the request power Re Public Prosecutor’s Power to Request the Chief Justice to Appoint a Leadership Tribunal [2008] PGSC 48; SC1011.

Can a leader be suspended meanwhile?

Yes. Section 28(4) permits an Organic Law to provide for the suspension from office of a leader pending investigation of alleged or suspected misconduct.

Are complainants protected?

Investigations are conducted confidentially, and the Organic Law contains protections around the Commission’s processes. But no statute can guarantee that a complaint stays private, and complaints about powerful people can carry real personal risk in a small community. Consider making the complaint through an organisation — a church body, an NGO, a union — and take advice first if you are concerned. The Office of the Public Solicitor is the starting point if cost is a barrier.