The proposed amendments to our Court structure being spearheaded by the Ministry of Justice (MJCA) should be of great concern to all Samoans as these amendments will relegate the Land and Titles Court (LTC) back to its second-class status.
It is also a waste of the precious taxpayer funds that was spent on the extensive public consultations of 2016 to 2020, which was the basis for the elevation and advancement of the LTC to its current status.
The Parliamentary Inquiry Committee 2016 was a response to the numerous public concerns with the LTC and people’s access to justice regarding their customary rights.
The Parliamentary Special Committee 2020 considered the LTC bills drafted in response to the recommendations of the Parliamentary Inquiry Committee 2016.
Most notably, the current LTC structure reflects its important status as a Court that deals with disputes pertaining to our Samoan customary lands and chiefly titles.
In the eyes of ordinary Samoans, the LTC reforms protect their indigenous rights and heritage.
This cultural significance is completely lost on the conformists who are desperately trying to uphold a foreign-designed court system that has neglected the customary rights of the Samoan people.
For the current MJCA consultations, it should be simple common sense to objectively consider the dialogue and outcomes from the 2016 to 2020 consultations before initiating a misinformed and misdirected process wasting our limited public funds.
It is professionally embarrassing for the MJCA to now push for the demotion of the LTC to its inferior status when just a few years ago, the same MJCA with the offices of the Attorney General and the Samoa Law Reform Commission were at the forefront of the reforms.
Such fickle approaches to governance are the hallmarks of banana republics whose laws are subject to the whims of short-sighted politicians and mindless bureaucrats.
The data shows that (1) the elevation of the LTC recognizes the importance of our customary rights and the need to address its related issues, and (2) the option of another appeal opportunity in the LTCAR was supported by 82% (201 villages) of the 246 villages that appeared and made submissions to the Parliament Special Committee 2020 (Suaga Vaatele: Final Report).
And for the 6 submissions from the Judiciary, 5 supported the reforms and only 1 opposed the reforms.
The HumanRights Protection Party’s mandate compels it to protect every Samoan’s right including their customary rights now enshrined in the Constitution by the 2020 reforms, therefore, HRPP will never support any proposed amendments that will return the LTC back to its second-class status.
Such a return is an insult to the proficiency of our people, and the investment in sending them on academic scholarship to fulfil our forefathers’ dreams that one day Samoans can, for themselves, constitutionally elevate our customs and usages.
This vision for Samoa is reflected in the records of our leaders debate during the Constitutional Convention of 1960.
One must not forget that the majority of our people live in villages under the direction of the village chiefs and orators who govern under our customary laws to keep the peace in the everyday life of the majority of our people.
It is this peace and stability that provided the backbone for sustainable rural development under 40 years of HRPP leadership.
The 2020 Constitutional amendments elevated our LTC with all due recognition in the Constitution equal to that of the Westminster Court system for civil and criminal matters.
The removal of the current LTC structure will deny Samoans equal ‘access to justice’ and their customary rights. Such rights are accessible to criminals in the District Court and Supreme Court.
The new structure pushed by the MJCA removes the second tier for appeal that is available through the Land and Titles Court of Appeal and Review (LTCAR).
This means that criminals will have more opportunities and access to justice than Samoans seeking to defend their customary rights!
In June 2024, in the Supreme Court’s decision regarding the Prime Minister’s removal of the former LTC President Fepuleai from office, the Honourable Justice Whitten found that “the treatment of Fepuleai has been extremely poor,” echoing the Court of Appeal decision of July 2023 that expressed “discomfort at the notion that a senior judge (Fepuleai) can be removed from office in the way contended for, both generally, and particularly without compensation.”
In withdrawing their expressed intention to appeal the Supreme Court’s decision, the Office of the Attorney General on behalf of the Prime Minister and the Government have accepted the decision.
I fully support the Prime Minister for honourably conceding, and saving public funds spent on these expensive and unnecessary court cases.
Nonetheless, the removal of the LTC President was a Faatuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) Party campaign promise that was promoted in their 2020 roadshow.
In addition to FAST’s unfounded 2020 campaign claims that HRPP and its leader were selling customary lands to the Chinese, the FAST Party also promised to abolish the LTC reforms and remove the LTC President.
The FAST Government have now acknowledged that our customary lands are safe but pursued their promise to remove the former LTC President.
Interestingly, they did have an opportunity in the LTC Amendment Act 2022 to save him but deliberately opted to save all the LTC Judges except for the LTC President.
Such discrimination against a senior Samoan judge has left a negative impression on the minds of our citizens.
The forced removal of experienced Samoan public servants has become a specialty of the FAST Administration.
These are trained experts in whom the country has invested to take Samoa forward.
Which brings me back to the proposed demotion of the LTC to its former ineffective status as opposed to the important work that it dealt with.
If this is being done to simply fulfil a campaign promise, then I sincerely urge the FAST government to reconsider.
It is rational to understand that not every campaign promise can be delivered, especially after careful reflection.
Our LTC should not be about HRPP or FAST, or any personal agenda whatsoever.
The LTC is inherently about our measina, identity, heritage and the Samoan way of life. It is our calling as leaders of Samoa to ensure that our measina is safeguarded for future generations.
Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi
Leader of HRPP