§ Mr. SPOORasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what provision is made for the administration of justice in the British Solomon Isuands; whether there is a judicial commissioner for the Protectorate; and whether natives charged with murder or lesser offences are allowed the benefit of counsel for the defence?
§ Mr. CHURCHILLProvision for the administration of justice in the British Solomon Islands Protectorate is made by the Pacific Order in Council, 1893, which constituted His Britannic Majesty's High642W Commissioners Court for the Western Pacific. The Members of this Court are the High Commissioner, the Judicial Commissioners and the Deputy Commissioners. The officers normally exercising judicial functions in the Protectorate are the Resident Commissioner and the Chief Magistrate, both of whom are Judicial Commissioners for the Western Pacific, and six Deputy Commissioners. The Chief Justice of Fiji is also Chief Judicial Commissioner for the Western Pacific. Provision has been made for the admission of barristers and solicitors to practise in the High Commissioner s Court for the Western Pacific, but it is not usual for counsel to appear in cases tried in the Solomon Islands Protectorate.