Courts need to recognise what’s happening in the Community

By Lagi Keresoma/

Apia, Samoa – 20 February 2024: The Pacific Chief Justices Leadership Forum is meeting in Apia this week and looking at how to strengthen connections between the Courts and the community.

Speaking to the media after the official opening yesterday, Samoa’s Chief Justice, His Honour Satiu Simativa Perese said the importance of the community’s involvement in Court is something that countries need to connect with.

“I know there is a development in Samoa through the Village Fono Act and the development most recently in terms of the Constitution so that the Supreme Court and Appeal Court are required to have regard to or may have regard to in terms of the Samoan culture and customs,” said Chief Justice Perese.

He said one of the issues on the agenda to see how other Chief Justices are getting on in their own jurisdictions in terms of the court recognizing what’s happening in the community and how the community reacts.

Samoa’s Court does recognise the community by taking into account part of its culture as a mitigating factor in a matter before the Court but the law has to be accepted by the community in terms of its legitimacy when dealing through customs and Tu ma Aga.

The Court is always facing challenges if not with the system, it’s with outdated laws.

Pacific Chief Justices Leadership Forum meeting this week at the Taumeasina Island Resort.

New Zealand’s Rt. Honourable Chief Justice, Helen Winkelman said one of the long standing challenges is never having as much resources.

“Some of the areas the Forum is looking at are Climate Change Law, Process of developing intel in our countries to enable the community to play a larger role in our formal court system,” said Helen.

She said the challenges they chose to take on is to use community knowledge to strengthen their Court system.

“The Court needs to have a connection to the community to support community understanding on what they do, but also to bring the knowledge to support community into the Court house so there is no concrete block between the two and there is an understanding and support that flows through one to the other,” she said.

It is hoped that at the end of the three day forum, each country would learn about each other’s jurisdiction and also have to develop plans and more collaboration between the region’s justices as they have so much in common.

Part of the forum is to observe the village of Amaile demonstrate a real life incident and how the village deals with it in the traditional way.

Lands and Titles Court President Lesatele Rapi Vaai with Chief Justices from the Pacific.

Independent budget for the Court
Chief Justice Perese reiterated Madame Helen’s point on not having enough resources such as funds to accommodate what the Court needs.

Samoa’s Judiciary previously raised the issue with the Government and negotiations are continuing, said Chief Justice Perese.

“It is not an easy subject. The Cabinet still controls our budget but we hope to have an independent budget so as to realise the Judiciary’s independence rather than being controlled by the other pillars of the Government,” he said.

No regards for politics
The Samoan judiciary has been under serious attack since dealing with political legal matters after the 2021 general election.

Satiu said everyone is entitled to their view and the Court carries out their functions accordingly with no regards to politics.

“The issue for us is to uphold our oaths and we are comfortable with the integrity of the decisions that we give out,” he said.