Speech by Hon. Satiu Leatigagaeono Simativa M Perese at the swearing in ceremony as the new Chief Justice at the Head of State Residence Vailele; 12th June 2020

The Constitution by which Samoa obtained independence established three parts of government in Samoa. The Parliament being elected representatives of the people who are responsible for making the laws of Samoa; the Executive who have the power to exercise executive power to run the country; and the third branch of government is the Judiciary, who interpret and administer the law in accordance with its jurisdiction to possess and exercise all the jurisdiction, power and authority, which may be necessary to administer the laws of Samoa.
The three branches of government are independent of each other, and that is what we call the separation of powers. We do not act together as a committee, but rather three separate parts of a whole.
With great respect and humility, I address you as the new Chief Justice of Samoa. I consider the independence of, and respect for the impartiality of the Judicial arm of the government, as two important qualities that the Court must continue to maintain.
The mechanisms by which the Judiciary’s independence is preserved are well established; by the fact that Judges are appointed until they reach the age of retirement and can only be removed by the approval of two thirds of the members of Parliament upon the grounds of mis-behaviour or mental illness. Furthermore, Judges’ salaries are determined by a Tribunal which is responsible for also setting the salaries of the Head of State, Members of Parliament and Cabinet.
The method by which the Judiciary maintains the integrity of its impartiality is apply the rule of law and to speak through its judgments. The Judiciary should only very rarely engage in public discourse on issues that may ultimately require their interpretation and determination.
When parties come to Judges for determination, they should be confident that a Judge will act with impartial fairness.
I want to acknowledge former Chief Justice Patu Falefatu Sapolu. Sir, you have left a legacy of transformation for our country. Your time followed on from intermittent appointments of New Zealanders, and Vaovasamanaia Phillips who the first Samoan was appointed to the position of Chief Justice, in 1983. I acknowledge your hard work, courage and service to the administration of the rule of law in our country. I also acknowledge that this Bench will miss your superb intellect and wisdom, and I can only but pledge to try to follow in your footsteps to take our Judiciary to a new place.
I want to acknowledge the Hon. Prime Minister, Tuilaepa Aiono Dr Sailele Malielegaoi. It is a personal honour to be selected for this role by a person of faith, someone whom Samoa has chosen as its Political leader for almost thirty years. I thank you Sir, for your confidence. This is the most important role that I will ever come to have in my work as a lawyer. I regard it as a calling, and I pray that God will guide me in my work and give me the gifts that are necessary to carry out my duties in accordance with my oath.
We, the Parliament, the Executive and the Judiciary have the great privilege of serving our country’s interests. With privilege comes duty, and it is our duty to serve our country with distinction.
The red ceremonial robe I am today robed in a scarlet robe with what is known as a full bottomed wig, it is ceremonial dress worn at special occasions by Judges of the Supreme Court or High Court around the world. For over seven hundred years, Judges have worn robes, and in the past, they have been of different colours including the colour green. These robes reflect our common law heritage enshrined in our Constitution.
This particular robe and wig are a gift to the Judiciary of Samoa, made by the Chief Justice of New Zealand, the Right Honourable Dame Helen Winkelman, on behalf of Her Honour’s Judiciary to our Judiciary. Fa’afetai tele. As a nod to our traditions in Samoa, the white lace band or tie that I am wearing today has been worn by previous Chief Justices of Samoa at their swearings in.
I want to publicly acknowledge the warm support for my appointment, and the good wishes from the Judiciary in New Zealand, sitting and retired Justices of the High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court; Judges of the District Court – and their Heads of Bench – the Chief Justice of NZ, the Dame Helen Winkelman, the President of the NZ Court of Appeal Justice Stephen Koz, Chief High Court Judge of NZ Justice Geoffrey Venning, and the Chief District Court Judge of NZ, Judge Heemi Taumanu.
I also want to acknowledge the many hundreds of congratulatory messages from lawyers, in practice and in academia, in NZ and Samoa – in particular Tiana Epati, President of the New Zealand Law Society, and Kate Davenport QC President of the NZ Bar Association, Pacific Lawyers, Queens Counsel, my dear friends Afioga Tuiloma Neroni Slade and Professor Charles Rickett who have been my mentors for near on thirty years.
O alofaaga momoli mai o uo ma aumeamamae i Niusila mo le tatou malo o Samoa. Ia alofagia foi e le Atua i latou ma o latou faiva o feagai ai.
I beg your indulgence to speak to some personal acknowledgments, which should be made on days like today.
I thank my family. This is a big day for us and I feel humbled to see many of you here today. I want to especially thank my brothers and sisters and their families for their love, support and encouragement. I say a special thank you to my sister Faalele Asoleaga and her husband Rev Karima Faiai and their boys Anauli Karima, Asher, and Andrew Simativa. Thank you for all you have done for me and my daughters over the years, and particularly on this journey to the role of Chief Justice.
I turn also to thank some of the elders of our family who are not able to be with us today because of the covid restrictions, but who are watching through a livestream feed. I acknowledge Makerita Auta, QSM, who is the last of our parents generation; Arnold Charles Hawkins who with my aunty Eleni Hawkins brought me up as a son when I went to NZ at the age of 7; and Aiga Alofivae Samau who was married to my late uncle Senetenari Samau.
Thank you all for your love, support and counsel.
And so, the last part of my speech today is to acknowledge my late wife Lupke Angelina Perese-Kuil, Lucia who passed away from Leukemia in 2010. Her love and support helped me develop belief and confidence, to compete and engage with some of the most brilliant legal minds in NZ and across the world. We had always dreamt of retiring to Fagaloa Bay, in a nice little fale on family land.
Following her passing, I devoted my focus to raising God’s gifts to us, our daughters, Nierensche Ulufafo Salamasina and Ulufafo Jantina, who were 14 and 12 years old respectively, at the time of Lucia’s passing. To my girls I want to say you are my inspiration, I love you, and I pray that God will continue to love, bless and keep you both safe, always; in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
O se upu taumavae a le atunuu pe a tuuama le fua ma taape le filialii, ia lagimaina le mamalu ma le paia o lenei aofia i le alofa ma le faatasi mai o le Atua.
Ia manuia foi faiva tau amata o la outou auauna.