The Solomon Islands judiciary is to operate its budget independently and the addition of extra positions is expected to greatly strengthen the leadership team.
The government has announced 16 new positions, including a chief magistrate, three principal magistrates, and various roles to assist at the High Court and Magistrate's courts.
The acting chief executive officer of the National Judiciary, Bruce Kelly, says the government has increased the funding for the judiciary from 2.8 million Solomon Islands dollars to 4 million dollars.
He says this should help reduce the backlog of cases created by the ethnic tension and provide the judiciary with financial independence.
"They've accepted recommendations from the chief justice that the budget now be separated out, that the judiciary get greater control so that they make decisions about where courts sit and when cases are listed, and they've backed that up by providing some executive positions to assist the judiciary directly."
Bruce Kelly
