Papua New Guinea's supreme court has temporarily halted a judicial inquiry into human rights at Australia’s immigration detention centre on Manus Island amid a row over whether the judge carrying out the investigation is biased. But in a dramatic riposte the judge involved, Justice David Cannings, immediately launched another inquiry into the treatment of detainees.



The supreme court issued the stay on Friday afternoon after lawyers for the Papua New Guinean government sought leave to appeal against Cannings' earlier decision not to disqualify himself from proceedings on the grounds of apprehended bias.



The application will be heard before the supreme court on Wednesday.



Cannings had just fixed a timetable for next week's hearings in Port Moresby when news of the stay reached Lorengau, the Manus capital.

After being informed of the stay the judge immediately launched a second inquiry and granted the Australian lawyer Jay Williams one week's access to the detention centre to interview 75 detainees Williams says are his clients.



While Williams cannot appear before the PNG courts as a lawyer, any person can mount a human rights challenge.



The PNG government is likely to appeal against the second inquiry but will probably have to wait until Cannings's paperwork reaches Port Moresby on Monday.



Williams has been granted access to the centre for six hours a day to interview and collect affidavits from the men, most of whom are understood to have declined to be represented by PNG's public solicitor, Frazer Pitpit.



On Friday, a few hours before the stay was issued on the first inquiry, a court-appointed party including media visited the detention centre under court order.



Throughout the week the court heard testimony from 11 asylum seekers about their treatment at the centre.



Pitpit had prepared 32 affidavits from asylum seekers.

