Pacific / Papua New Guinea

PNG court to rule on Manus refugee case

09:20 am on 23 July 2016

The Papua New Guinea Supreme Court on Monday will rule on five test cases involving refugees at the Australian run detention camp on Manus Island.

Residents of the Manus Island processing centre queue for food. Photo: Behrouz Boochani

It is expected to issue guidelines for the release of the detainees, and the resettlement of refugees as the detention camps are finally shut down.

The court has been considering whether Australia or PNG is actually responsible for the asylum seekers and where will refugees who do not wish to settle in PNG, can be sent.

All five cases before the court state they were forcibly taken from Australia to PNG and wish to be returned to Australia.

The Supreme Court ruled in April that the agreement between PNG and the Australian government, to establish the Manus Island detention centre, was unconstitutional and unlawful.

It ordered that the Australian and PNG government must take immediate steps to close the detention centre.