Division 3 of Part VIII of the Constitution establishes the Independent Commission Against Corruption. It is a comparatively recent addition to the constitutional architecture, and it sits alongside — not in place of — the Ombudsman Commission.
Section 220B — establishment and appointment
There shall be an Independent Commission Against Corruption consisting of a Commissioner and two Deputy Commissioners. There shall also be an ICAC Appointments Committee, and the members of the Commission are appointed by the Head of State acting on and in accordance with the advice of that Committee.
An Organic Law makes further provision for the composition, qualifications, selection, terms and operations of the Appointments Committee, and for the qualifications, terms, length, cessation and termination of appointment of the Commission’s members.
Section 220C — purpose
The purposes of the Commission are to contribute, in cooperation with other agencies, to preventing, reducing and combating corrupt conduct.
“Corrupt conduct” is defined by section 220A as any conduct, act or omission defined in an Organic Law as corrupt conduct. The content of the concept is therefore set by Organic Law, not by the Constitution itself — so the operative definition must be read there.
Section 220D — functions
Subject to any Organic Law made for the purposes of section 220E, the functions are:
- (a) to receive and consider complaints of alleged or suspected corrupt conduct, and investigate those it considers appropriate;
- (b) to investigate corrupt conduct on its own initiative or on complaint;
- (c) to exchange information and cooperate with other law enforcement, integrity and regulatory agencies, within Papua New Guinea and internationally;
- (d) to refer complaints to other agencies for investigation;
- (e) to accept referrals from other agencies;
- (f) where, after investigating, it is of the opinion that a person has committed an offence involving corrupt conduct, to refer the matter to the Public Prosecutor or the Police Force together with a statement of reasons;
- (g) to exercise such prosecution powers as may be prescribed by or under an Organic Law; and
- (h) to encourage, cooperate and coordinate with public and private sector agencies in research, in the development, implementation and review of anti-corruption strategies, and in training, education and awareness.
Section 220E — powers by Organic Law
An Organic Law shall make further provision for the functions, structure, powers, procedures, operations, protections and immunities of the Commission and its staff — and may in particular:
- give the Commission access to all available relevant information;
- impose reasonable restrictions on the availability of information it holds;
- ensure the secrecy or confidentiality of secret or confidential information made available to it, and specify the bodies with which it may share such information;
- provide for publicity for its proceedings, reports and recommendations; and
- provide for certain penalties to apply automatically to a person convicted of an offence involving corrupt conduct.
Section 220F — independence
- (1) In performing its functions and powers, the Commission is not subject to the direction and control of any person or authority.
- (2) Its proceedings and decisions are not subject to review in any way, except by the Supreme Court or the National Court on the ground that it has exceeded its jurisdiction.
- (3) The Commissioner’s salary and conditions shall be not less than or inferior to those of a Judge other than the Chief Justice or Deputy Chief Justice.
- (4) A Deputy Commissioner’s shall be not less than or inferior to those of the Public Prosecutor.
Subsections (1) to (4) deliberately mirror the protections given to the Ombudsman Commission in section 217.
Section 220G — the Oversight Committee
An Organic Law shall provide for an ICAC Oversight Committee, whose role is to monitor and review the Commission. A body with these powers requires a watcher of its own; the Constitution builds one in.
ICAC, the Ombudsman Commission, and the police
| Body | Core business |
|---|---|
| ICAC | Corrupt conduct as defined by Organic Law — investigation, referral to the Public Prosecutor or police, and such prosecution powers as an Organic Law confers. |
| Ombudsman Commission | Wrong conduct in administration — including conduct that is lawful but unreasonable, unjust or oppressive — and the Leadership Code. |
| Police Force | Criminal offences, with charging decisions free from outside direction under section 197. |
| Auditor-General and PAC | Public accounts — audit and parliamentary scrutiny. |
Section 28(5) confirms that leadership proceedings and other proceedings do not bar each other — so the same conduct may be pursued by more than one of these bodies at once.
Almost every operative detail of ICAC — the definition of corrupt conduct, its powers, its prosecution role and the Oversight Committee — is left to an Organic Law. Before relying on anything about how ICAC works in practice, read that Organic Law in its current form via the PacLII index.
Sources
- Constitution — ss 28, 197, 217–220G
- PNG Consolidated Legislation — PacLII index
- Organic Law on the Ombudsman Commission
The Organic Law establishing ICAC in operative detail is not carried in the PacLII consolidated legislation database at the time of writing, so no direct link is given here rather than an unverified one.
Constitutional sections are amended. Before relying on anything here, read the current text: the Constitution on PacLII. If a decision matters to you, get advice — start with the Office of the Public Solicitor.