More than 30 judges from the PNG National and Supreme Courts along with their spouses attended a two-day Judicial Wellness for Judges program at Loloata Island Resort to help them mentally and physically within their line of work.

The program was funded and facilitated by the PNG Centre for Judicial Excellence with the purpose to promote and maintain a healthy lifestyle among judges and their spouses, ensuring that their physical and mental well-being was prioritized.

The program included Judges and their spouses taking part in both outdoor and indoor activities.

The indoor activities saw medical professionals providing helpful tips and advice on topics such as judicial wellness, stress management, lifestyle diseases, cancer awareness and prevention. There were also health checks done, along with guidance on nutrition and dietary requirements in order to avoid developing lifestyle diseases.

The outdoor activities included light physical exercises such as early morning walks, sports and a sunset boat cruise along the nearby shoreline of Port Moresby.

Speaking during the opening of the program was Chief Justice, Chief Sir Gibuma Gibbs Salika who said the program was initially planned to be hosted in April 2020, however due to disruptions caused by the global impact of Covid-19 it was postponed to this year.

“This program is good for all the judges in the country because many judges globally are facing both mental and physical health problems due to the nature of their profession.

“As we all know, Judges are tasked with the challenging duty of upholding the constitution of a country and promoting the rule of law.

“Judges maintain very restricted lives much different from ordinary citizens. They must accept social isolation, and public scrutiny and adhere to personal restrictions that ordinary people will find unbearable.

“PNG Judges are no exception to this kind of lifestyle and the wide range of problems and stresses that accompany their profession,” he said.

Chief Sir Gibuma Gibbs Salika stated that over the course of nine years, from 2014 to 2022, 10 PNG National and Supreme Courts Judges had passed away due to underlying health problems.

“Some of these problems are caused by stress and Judges not properly taking care of their health and well-being.

“This two-day Judicial Wellness program for Judges, will surely generate meaningful conversations about how we can take care of our health and well-being by providing resources and information on effective management of judicial stress,” Chief Sir Gibuma Gibbs Salika stated.