Papua New Guinea's chief justice has been charged with sedition and will appear in court this morning.
On Monday, the Supreme Court reiterated its December ruling that Sir Michael Somare was illegally removed from office as Prime Minister last year.
The rival Prime Minister Peter O'Neill has called the ruling illegal and insists his regime remains caretaker government ahead of the June election.
The Chief Justice Sir Salamo Injia was involved in a tense stand-off with police and the army after the Deputy Prime Minister Belden Namah and about 10 police officers stormed into his court yesterday afternoon.
Local media is reporting that following a two-hour negotiation with police, Sir Salamo was formally charged with sedition.
Mr Namah told reporters outside court he had had enough of Sir Salamo, saying he had divided the country.
The Peter O'Neill government has tried and failed to suspend Sir Salamo twice since November last year, accusing him of bias against it.
Australia's Foreign Minister Bob Carr has counselled all sides of politics in PNG to act with restraint.
He says it is important the event did not distract from upcoming elections proceeding in a peaceful way.
The Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma has reiterated his call for respect of the rule of law in PNG.
He is urging all parties to exercise restraint in their actions and to ensure a peaceful and constructive resolution to the present situation through democratic and lawful processes.
The Secretary-General says that the rule of law, the independence and impartiality of the judiciary, and constitutional, democratic governance are core Commonwealth values, which must be preserved in Papua New Guinea.
Mr Sharma says it is especially important that the people of Papua New Guinea be able to exercise their democratic rights freely and fully, in order to elect representatives who will govern the nation in future.
