It has been over a month since the Court of Appeal ruled that the Fa’atuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (F.A.S.T.) represented the legitimate Government of Samoa following April’s general election.

The landmark judgement had an immediate effect: it triggered the exit of the Human Rights Protection Party (H.R.P.P.) and an end to the 23-year reign of Prime Minister, Tuilaepa Dr. Sa'ilele Malielegaoi 

But the months-long constitutional crisis in the lead-up to the Court’s decision has not left the Judiciary unscathed, with the former ruling party and its leadership attacking the Judges and attempting to remove the Chief Justice, His Honour Satiu Sativa Perese through the Judicial Service Commission.

It was the most blatant and unwarranted attack on the Judiciary and the rule of law in Samoa since the country gained independence, perpetrated by the country’s longest serving Prime Minister and his party executive.

However, upon the Court’s installation of the new Government last month, calm and a sense of normalcy has returned to compliment the new administration’s transition period with a new Cabinet headed by Samoa’s first female Prime Minister, Fiame Naomi Mata’afa now occupying the seat of Government.

There appears to be a new sense of purpose in Apia: ava ceremonies to usher in new Cabinet Ministers and farewells with Ministry chief executives bringing down the curtain on years of service in the public sector.

The Judiciary – which has been admiringly steadfast in upholding the rule of law in the country in the face of adversity – would have had the chance to look back at events over the three-month period preceding the arrival of the new Government, and its long-term impact on their mandate to dispense justice.

The Chief Justice used a media-focused event last Friday evening to launch new court-reporting guidelines to call for the Judiciary to have its own separate budget, if it is to become truly independent of the executive arm of the Government.

“We now have 16 judges (six of whom have temporary warrants) in the civil and criminal jurisdiction running the full gamut of courts from the specialist District Courts like the youth and family courts to the Court of Appeal,” Justice Satiu said, reports the Sunday 29 August 2021 edition of the Sunday Samoan (C.J. calls for judiciary’s own budget). 

“Initiatives like the [court] reporting guidelines demonstrate the need for uniformity of practice and approach across the range of Courts that now operate with greater frequency in Samoa.

“It may be that there should be two line items: a budget line for the civil and criminal jurisdiction and a budget line for the Lands and Titles Court.

“The appropriateness of the funding of the two legal systems is vital to the independence of each from the other and from the other branches of Government.”

The appeal by Justice Satiu makes sense when you juxtapose his concerns to the events at the height of the recent constitutional crisis, when the H.R.P.P. caretaker Government and its leaders made multiple unsuccessful attempts to use various State actors and resources, to usurp the powers of the Court.

And the appeal by the head of Samoa’s Judiciary isn’t a strange one either as in other jurisdictions around the world, the Judiciary’s funding from Government would come courtesy of a department or ministry of justice such as in Samoa currently; or through a separate branch of government with autonomous budgetary control, such as America’s Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. 

This newspaper has previously published stories on the former Justice Minister and the former Prime Minister in the previous Government disregarding the notion of the separation of powers – by removing court files from the Land and Titles Court, and asking for an explanation from the Ministry of Justice C.E.O. on how bail was processed for two defendants in a criminal case he is also a party to.

So the precedent had already been set by the former Government, which didn’t augur well for the independence of the Judiciary, and the events that followed during the constitutional crisis appeared to be the manifestation of that lack of respect for the judicial arm of the government. 

But with the coming in of the new F.A.S.T. Government following close to four decades of H.R.P.P. rule, the environment is conducive for reforms to strengthen our democratic institutions such as the Judiciary.

Therefore, the appeal by the Chief Justice isn’t surprising at this juncture, and should be taken seriously by the new administration as Samoa begins the journey to rebuild its institutions and put in place mechanisms to further protect our brand of democracy.