Chief Justice of Samoa

The Chief Justice of 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.

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Samoa
Samoan: Faamasino Sili o le Faamasinoga Sili o Samoa
AppointerHead of State of Samoa
(the head of state)
Term lengthLife tenure until the age of 68 for Samoan citizens
Fixed-term appointment for non-Samoan citizens
Constituting instrumentConstitution of Samoa, Article 65
PrecursorChief Judge of the High Court of Western Samoa
SalaryWS$90,405/year

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, Swedish jurist Conrad Cedercrantz, was not appointed until 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]

Samoa was subsequently partitioned by the Tripartite Convention of 1899 into a German colony and an American colony, and the Treaty of Berlin and its provisions governing appointment to the position of Chief Justice were abolished.[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 governor Wilhelm 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]

German rule was ended by New Zealand's occupation of German Samoa in 1914.[13] New Zealand then ruled Samoa as a League of Nations mandate and subsequently a United Nations Trust Territory from 1920 to 1962, officially called the Western Samoa Trust Territory. During this period, Part III of the Samoa Constitution Order 1920 provided for a High Court of Western Samoa, headed by a Chief Judge.[14] John Luxford served as Chief Judge from 1929 to 1935, during which time he was involved in controversies including the inquest into Black Saturday and the deportation of Olaf Frederick Nelson.[15]

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
Conrad Cedercrantz  Sweden 1890 ? Oscar II of Sweden [4]
Henry Clay Ide  United States 1893 1897 [5]
William Lea Chambers  United States 1897 1899 [5]
Chief Judge of Samoa
German: Oberrichter von Samoa
Erich Schultz-Ewerth
(Concurrently Governor of German Samoa from 1910 to 1914)		  Germany 1904 1914 Wilhelm Solf [12]
Chief Judge of the High Court of Western Samoa (incomplete list)
JE Wilson  New Zealand ? 1921 [35][36]
CR Orr-Walker  New Zealand 1921 1923 [35]
John Luxford  New Zealand 1929 1936 Joseph Ward [15]
Robert Mackenzie Watson  New Zealand April 1936 September 1936 Michael Joseph Savage [37][38]
Joseph S. Morling  New Zealand April 1937 ? Michael Joseph Savage [39][40][41]
William Carrol Harley  New Zealand September 1938 May 1942 Michael Joseph Savage [42][43]
John R. Herd  New Zealand Late 1942 or
early 1943		 November 1947 ? [44][45][46]
Charles Croft Marsack  New Zealand January 1948 December 1961 Peter Fraser [46][47]
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Samoa[48]
Paul Loxton Molineaux  New Zealand 1962 1966 [49]
Barrie Charles Spring  New Zealand 1966 1972 [50]
Eric Francis Rothwell  New Zealand ? ? ? [51]
Gaven John Donne  New Zealand 1972 1974 [52]
Michael Bernard (Ben) Scully  New Zealand 1974 1976 [53]
Bryan Osborne Nicholson  New Zealand ? 1980 [17]
Robert St John  Australia 1980 1982 [54]
David Hull ? ? ? ?
John Douglas Dillon ? ? ? ?
Russell Callander  New Zealand 1982 1983 Tanumafili II, on the advice of Tupuola Efi [55][56]
Vaovasamanaia Filipo  Samoa 1983 ? Tanumafili II, on the advice of Tofilau Eti Alesana [57]
Trevor Maxwell  New Zealand ? 1989 [58]
Anthony John Ryan ? ? ? ?
Patu Tiava'asu'e Falefatu Sapolu  Samoa 1992 2019 [59]
Satiu Simativa Perese  Samoa 2020 Present
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References
  1. "Judicature Ordinance 1961". Consolidated Acts of Samoa 2016. Pacific Legal Information Institute. 2016. Retrieved 2017-12-16.
  2. "Constitution of the Independent State of Samoa 1960". Consolidated Acts of Samoa 2008. Pacific Islands Legal Information Institute. 2008. Retrieved 2017-12-17.
  3. "General Act by and between the United States of America, the Empire of Germany, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Providing for the Neutrality and Autonomous Government of the Samoan Islands". Treaties, Conventions, and State Papers Relating to the Acquisition of the Samoan Islands, for the Use of the Committee on Pacific Islands and Porto Rico, United States Senate. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office. 1903. Retrieved 2017-12-16.
  4. Kennedy, Paul (2013). The Samoan Tangle: A Study in Anglo-German-American Relations 1878–1900. University of Queensland Press. p. .CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  5. Kennedy 2013, pp. ,
  6. Kennedy 2013, p. 
  7. Kennedy 2013, p. 
  8. "Convention between the United States, Germany, and Great Britain to Amicably Adjust the Questions between the Three Governments in respect to the Samoan Group of Islands". Treaties, Conventions, and State Papers Relating to the Acquisition of the Samoan Islands, for the Use of the Committee on Pacific Islands and Porto Rico, United States Senate. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office. 1903. Retrieved 2017-12-16.
  9. "Verordnung, betreffend die Rechtsverhältnisse in Samoa". Deutsches Reichsgesetzblatt (12): 136–138. 1900-03-29.
  10. Von Hoffmann, Hermann (1908). Verwaltungs- und Gerichtsverfassung der deutschen Schutzgebiete. G.J. Göschen. pp. 104–108.
  11. Meleisea, Malama (1987). The Making of Modern Samoa: Traditional Authority and Colonial Administration in the History of Western Samoa. Suva, Fiji: University of the South Pacific Press. pp. 54–55. ISBN 9789820200319CS1 maint: ref=harv (link). The term Faʻamasino Sili, often spelled without the koma liliu, is now used officially in Samoan versions of legislation to refer to the Chief Justice; see for example "Fuafuaga ma Pulega o Nofoaga i Taulaga 2004" [Planning and Urban Management Act 2004] (PDF). Legislative Assembly of Samoa. Retrieved 2017-12-18.
  12. Meleisea 1987, p. 84
  13. Kennedy 2013, p. 
  14. "Samoa Constitution Order, 1920" (PDF). New Zealand Gazette: 1623. 1920-05-20. Retrieved 2017-12-16.
  15. Bassett, Judith. "Luxford, John Hector". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
  16. Powles, Guy (1988). "Law, Courts and Legal Services in Pacific Societies". In Powles, Guy; Pulea, Mere (eds.). Pacific Courts and Legal Systems. Suva, Fiji: University of the South Pacific Press. p. 363. ISBN 9789820200432.
  17. Keesing's Contemporary Archives. 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]
  18. Masinalupe, Masinalupe Tusipa (1999). Combined Annual Report, 1984–1999 (PDF). Ministry of Justice and Courts Administration. p. 8. Retrieved 2017-12-16.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  19. 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. ISBN 9789820200432.
  20. Judicature Ordinance 1961, s 22 and Constitution 1960, article 65(2)
  21. 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.
  22. Judicature Ordinance 1961, s 24
  23. Constitution 1960, article 68
  24. Treaty of Berlin 1889, ss 2, 3
  25. Samoa Constitution Order 1920, s 65
  26. Judicature Ordinance 1961, s 41(3) and Constitution 1960, articles 25, 72, 75(3)
  27. Constitution 1960, article 23
  28. Judicature Ordinance 1961, s 29, as amended by "General Wage Increase (Public Officeholders and Public Servants) Act 2001". Samoa Sessional Legislation. Pacific Legal Information Institute. Retrieved 2017-12-18.
  29. Meleisea 1987, pp. 183–186
  30. "Native Land and Titles Protection Ordinance 1934". Western Samoa Gazette (108). 1934-12-06. Retrieved 2017-12-17.
  31. Anesi, Taulapapa; Enari, Auelea (1988). "The Land and Chiefly Titles Court of Western Samoa". In Powles, Guy; Pulea, Mere (eds.). Pacific Courts and Legal Systems. Suva, Fiji: University of the South Pacific Press. p. 108. ISBN 9789820200432.
  32. Tiffany, Sharon W. (1974). "The Land and Titles Court and the regulation of customary title successions and removals in Western Samoa". Journal of the Polynesian Society. 83 (1): 35–57. Retrieved 2017-12-17.
  33. "Land and Titles Act 1981". Consolidated Acts of Samoa 2016. Pacific Legal Information Institute. 2016. Retrieved 2017-12-17.
  34. "Samoa Government Considers Separating Land And Titles Court From Civil And Criminal Courts". Pacific Islands Report. 2017-01-19. Retrieved 2017-12-17.
  35. "Samoa Bill". Parliamentary Debates. 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.
  36. Rowe, Newton A. (1930). "Chapter XV — Beautification". Samoa Under the Sailing Gods. Putnam & Co. p. 162. OCLC 503854869.
  37. "Chief Judge of Samoa". Pacific Islands Monthly. 6 (10). May 1936. p. 72 – via National Library of Australia.
  38. "Mr. R. M. Watson". Pacific Islands Monthly. 7 (2). September 1936. p. 74 – via National Library of Australia.
  39. "New Judge for Samoa". Pacific Islands Monthly. 7 (6). January 1937. p. 58 – via National Library of Australia.
  40. "Mr. J. Morling". Pacific Islands Monthly. 7 (10). May 1937. p. 44 – via National Library of Australia.
  41. "Law and Victoria College". The Spike. May 1949. Retrieved 2017-12-21.
  42. "New Chief Judge of Samoa". Pacific Islands Monthly. 9 (2). September 1938. p. 73 – via National Library of Australia.
  43. "Chief Judge W. C. Harley". Pacific Islands Monthly. 12 (10). May 1942. p. 23 – via National Library of Australia.
  44. "Measles without fun". Pacific Islands Monthly. 13 (3). October 1942. p. 15 – via National Library of Australia.
  45. "Unusual crime in Samoa". Pacific Islands Monthly. 13 (8). March 1943 – via National Library of Australia.
  46. "Chief Judge C. C. Marsack". Pacific Islands Monthly. 18 (6). January 1948. p. 25 – via National Library of Australia.
  47. "Samoa loses services of Judge Marsack". Pacific Islands Monthly. 32 (5). December 1961. p. 33 – via National Library of Australia.
  48. Masinalupe 1999, p. 6
  49. "People". Pacific Islands Monthly. 37 (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.
  50. Beckett, Robin (2016). "Keeping it in the families" (PDF). Kings-Courier (Autumn). Retrieved 2017-12-19.
  51. Va'a, Felice (July 1972). "On being just to the justices". Pacific Islands Monthly. 43 (7). p. 17 – via National Library of Australia.
  52. "Judge who toppled a government dies, aged 95". Newshub. 2010-03-29. Retrieved 2017-12-19.
  53. "Hon Michael Bernard (Ben) Scully, 1906–1985". Wellington District Law Society Newsletter. May 1985. Retrieved 2017-12-19.
  54. Australian Foreign Affairs Record. 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.
  55. "People". Pacific Islands Monthly. 54 (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.
  56. "A Career on the Bench". Auckland District Law Society. 2013-05-17. Retrieved 2017-12-20.
  57. "A Samoan chief justice at last". Pacific Islands Monthly. 54 (7). July 1983. p. 68 – via National Library of Australia.
  58. "Resigned". Islands Business. 15 (1–11). 1989. p. 127. Western Samoa's chief justice, Trevor Maxwell, who will return to Auckland at the end of December ...
  59. Tuimaleali'ifano, A. Morgan (1994). "Western Samoa" (PDF). The Contemporary Pacific. 6 (1): 198. Retrieved 2017-12-19.
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