The backlog of cases within the court system in the country is an on-going issue, and Parliament will again highlight this in the February session, as Parliament is set to resume at 2pm today. In a statement, Prime Minister James Marape indicates further restructuring of the court system, will allow for the National and Supreme Court to expedite the clearance of the backlog of cases. He said the restructure will include a Constitutional Amendment to make this possible. The amendment aims to introduce an Appeals Court between the National Court and the Supreme Court. "This will allow for the establishment of an Appeals Court between the National Court and the Supreme Court and will allow for the clearance of a backlog of court cases.” Last year, the Justice Minister and Attorney-General Pila Niningi made it known countrywide of the efforts his ministry, with major government backing, was boosting the effectiveness and high quality of the Court system by recruiting a huge number of judges and magistrates. Emphasizing on the government backing, Prime Minister Marape explained that the government has previously passed legislation enabling the recruitment of up to 200 judges, a move that complements this effort. “This is something we have been working on together with the Supreme Court and the Chief Justice.” “The Constitutional Amendment is now going before Parliament and this will be a major restructure for a country with a growing population and economy,” the Prime Minister said. Pm Marape’s statement has further highlighted plans for another Constitutional Amendment – this time to declare Papua New Guinea as a Christian country; as well as the introduction of legislation to increase the retirement age of Constitutional Office Holders to 75, among other initiatives.