The chief justice of Samoa (Samoan: Faamasino Sili o le Faamasinoga Sili o Samoa) is the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Samoa. The qualifications and powers of the office are governed by Part VI of the Constitution of Samoa and the Judicature Ordinance 1961.[1][2] The position is currently held by Satiu Simativa Perese.
History
Under the American–British–German condominium, the Supreme Court of Justice for Samoa was established by Article III of the Treaty of Berlin (1889), with the single judge of the court being called the Chief Justice per Section 1 of that Article.[3] The first Chief Justice was Swedish jurist Conrad Cedercrantz, who was appointed in 1890.[4] The position of Chief Justice was subsequently held by Americans Henry Clay Ide from 1893 to 1897 and William Lea Chambers from 1897 to 1899.[5] Chambers' ruling in the kingship dispute between Malietoa Tanumafili I and Mata'afa Iosefo in December 1898 angered the Germans and led to the Second Samoan Civil War.[6]
After the war ended in 1899, Samoa was partitioned into separate German and American colonies in accordance with the Tripartite Convention which superseded the Treaty of Berlin, abolishing the position of Chief Justice.[7][8] The existing German consular court at Apia was then converted into a court of second instance, headed by a chairman.[9][10] The chief judicial officer was the Imperial Chief Judge (German: Kaiserlicher Oberrichter), who was advised on matters of Samoan customary law by a Samoan Chief Judge (Samoan: Faʻamasino Sili).[11] The first colonial governorWilhelm Solf appointed Erich Schultz-Ewerth to the position of Imperial Chief Judge. Schultz succeeded Solf as governor in 1910 but continued to hold the position of Imperial Judge as well.[12]
After independence in 1962, New Zealand expatriates continued to hold the post of Chief Justice for some years, as in other Pacific Islands Commonwealth countries.[16] Public demand for a Samoan to be appointed to the position became stronger in the wake of CJ Bryan Nicholson's controversial decision to uphold an election petition to remove two members of the Legislative Assembly who had been returned in the 1979 general election.[17] The first Samoan to become Chief Justice was Vaovasamanaia Phillips, appointed in 1983.[18][19]
Appointment and removal
The O le Ao o le Malo (the head of state) appoints the Chief Justice, acting on the advice of the Prime Minister.[20] Judges of the Supreme Court, including the Chief Justice, must have eight years' total experience as barristers in Samoa or other approved countries, and must meet other qualifications prescribed by the Head of State, acting on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission.[21] A Samoan citizen appointed as Chief Justice has life tenure until reaching the age of 68, which may be extended by the Head of State acting on the advice of the Prime Minister, while a non-Samoan citizen is appointed for a term of years.[22] Judges of the Supreme Court may only be removed by the Head of State with the approval of a two-thirds supermajority of the Legislative Assembly, though the Head of State acting on the advice of the Prime Minister may suspend the Chief Justice when the Legislative Assembly is not in session.[23]
Historically, under the Treaty of Berlin the Chief Justice was appointed by agreement among the three state parties, or failing that by the King of Sweden and Norway, and could be removed either by the appointing authority, or at the request of at least two of the three state parties.[24]
Under New Zealand administration, the Chief Judge was appointed by, and held office at the pleasure of, New Zealand's Minister of External Affairs.[25]
Powers and responsibilities
The Chief Justice is ex officio the president of the Judicial Service Commission and the Court of Appeal of Samoa, and assumes the functions of the Council of Deputies if the Legislative Assembly has not elected the members of that council.[26] The Chief Justice determines when the absence or incapacity of the Head of State requires that the Council of Deputies exercise the functions of the office of the Head of State.[27] Remuneration of the post is governed by statute and was last increased in 2001.[28]
The Chief Justice was previously also ex officio the president of the Land and Titles Court, the court which has jurisdiction on disputes over land tenure and chiefly titles. Under German administration, Imperial Chief Judge Schultz-Ewerth was concurrently the head of the Land and Titles Court's predecessor, the Land and Titles Commission. This practice continued under New Zealand rule: the Samoa Native Land and Titles Commission Order 1924 and the Native Land and Titles Protection Ordinance 1934 provided that the Chief Judge of the High Court would ex officio hold office as the head of the Native Land and Titles Commission (later the Native Land and Titles Court).[29][30] This situation continued for some years after independence, though as the number of cases at the court increased drastically beginning in the late 1960s, the President rarely presided over hearings of first instance, instead only hearing appeals from decisions of judges of the court.[31][32] The Land and Titles Act 1981 ended this practice by providing that the head of the Land and Titles Court could be the Chief Justice, any other judge of the Supreme Court, or any person qualified to be a judge of the Supreme Court.[33] However, at times since then, the Chief Justice has also served as Acting President of the Land and Titles Court.[34]
List of chief justices
Portrait
Name
Nationality
From
To
Appointed by
Sources
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Justice for Samoa
^ abKeesing's Contemporary Archives. Vol. 29. 1983. p. 643. Demand for the appointment of a Samoan Chief Justice had intensified since 1980, when Mr Bryan Nicholson had left office in the wake of a major political controversy over his upholding of electoral petitions to unseat members elected to the Fono in 1979 who had cited traditional Samoan customs as a justification for making gifts to voters [see page 30295]
^Masinalupe, Masinalupe Tusipa (1999). Combined Annual Report, 1984–1999(PDF). Ministry of Justice and Courts Administration. p. 8. Retrieved 2017-12-16.
^Sapolu, Falefatu M. (1988). "Adjudicators in Western Samoa". In Powles, Guy; Pulea, Mere (eds.). Pacific Courts and Legal Systems. Suva, Fiji: University of the South Pacific Press. p. 62. ISBN9789820200432.
^Judicature Ordinance 1961, s 23 and Constitution 1960, article 65(3). The initial list of approved countries was gazetted as "Order Designating Countries from which Appointment of Judges should be made". Western Samoa Gazette: 35. 1969. Canada was later added as an approved country in "Order Designating Canada as an approved country for Appointment of Judges of the Supreme Court". Samoa Regulations. 5. 1982.
^ ab"Samoa Bill". Parliamentary Debates. Vol. 191. New Zealand Parliament. 1921. p. 405. The Hon Mr. LEE.—Yes, I am sorry to say he is. He is returning for family reasons, and Mr. C. R. Orr-Walker, S.M. has been appointed to take his place.
^"People". Pacific Islands Monthly. Vol. 37, no. 12. 1967. p. 140 – via National Library of Australia. Mr. P. L. Molineaux, Chief Justice of Western Samoa since 1962, has been appointed a Stipendiary Magistrate in Christchurch, New Zealand.
^Australian Foreign Affairs Record. Vol. 51. Australian Government Pub. Service. 1980. ... Chief Justice of Western Samoa. The Ministers said the appointment was for two years. During the time he was Chief Justice, Mr Justice St John would retain his status as a Federal Court Judge and other appointments to Federal Superior Courts. Mr Peacock and Senator Durack said that the Australian Government was pleased that Mr Justice St John had accepted the appointment in Western Samoa. It signified the close relations Australia had with Western Samoa and the special bond existing with very similar legal systems.
^"People". Pacific Islands Monthly. Vol. 54, no. 3. 1983. p. 49 – via National Library of Australia. Western Samoa's Chief Justice J. R. Callander has resigned, citing 'personal reasons'. His resignation, effective from April 30, comes eight months short of his full term which was due to end on December 31. Mr Callander was originally appointed for a period of three months, but this was later twice extended, first under the Va'ai Kolone government and then under that of Tupuola Efi.
^"Resigned". Islands Business. Vol. 15, no. 1–11. 1989. p. 127. Western Samoa's chief justice, Trevor Maxwell, who will return to Auckland at the end of December ...