Satiu Simativa Perese | |
---|---|
Chief Justice of Samoa | |
Assumed office 12 June 2020 | |
Nominated by | Tuila'epa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi |
Appointed by | Tuimalealiʻifano Vaʻaletoʻa Sualauvi II |
Preceded by | Patu Tiava'asu'e Falefatu Sapolu |
Personal details | |
Born | 1962 (age 59–60) Magiagi,Samoa |
Alma mater | Victoria University of Wellington, Columbia University |
Satiu Simativa Perese (born 1962) is a Samoan judge. He has served as the Chief Justice of Samoa since 12 June 2020.
Perese was born in Magiagi,Samoa and educated at Magiagi Primary School. [1] His family moved to New Zealand when he was a child. He studied business at Massey University and then became a newsreader for Radio New Zealand. [2] In 1986 he began studying law at Victoria University of Wellington,from which he graduated in 1989,and he was admitted to the bar in 1990. [2] He subsequently worked for the New Zealand Crown Law Office. [1] In 1995 he became the first Samoan to win a Harkness Fellowship, [3] and studied at Columbia University in New York. [1]
Perese was admitted to the bar in Samoa in 1999,and has also worked in the Cook Islands. [3] From 2000 to 2002 he was President of the Pacific Lawyers Society,and in 2002 he was appointed as inaugural chair of the National Pacific Radio Trust,which operates the Pacific Media Network. [4] From 2003 to 2009 he was a member of the New Zealand Human Rights Review Tribunal. He has also worked as a New Zealand Crown prosecutor. [1]
As a lawyer,he represented New Zealand MP Taito Phillip Field during his trial for corruption. [5] In 2016,he was hired by Samoa's Attorney-General to prosecute the then-Director of the National Prosecutions Office,Mauga Precious Chang. [6] [7]
In March 2020,Perese was appointed Chief Justice of Samoa,replacing Patu Tiava'asu'e Falefatu Sapolu. [3] He was sworn in on 12 June 2020. [8] In October 2020 he was evacuated to New Zealand for medical treatment. [9]
In May 2021 he delivered the judgement in the case of the FAST Party against the Electoral Commission,overturning the revocation of the 2021 election. [10] On 7 July,the HRPP lodged a complaint against him with the Judicial Services Commission,alleging he was incompetent. [11]
Tapunuu Niko Lee Hang is a Samoan politician and former Cabinet Minister. He is a member of the Human Rights Protection Party.
Patu Tiava'asu'e Falefatu Sapolu was a Samoan lawyer and judge. He served as Attorney-General of Samoa from 1988 to 1991,and as Chief Justice of Samoa from 1992 to 2019.
AfiogaTuimalealiʻifano Vaʻaletoʻa Eti Sualauvi II is a Samoan politician who is the current O le Ao o le Malo of Samoa,in office since 2017. He was appointed to the Tama-a-ʻaiga title of Tuimalealiʻifano in July 1977,one of four paramount titles of Samoa.
Loau Solamalemalo Keneti Sio is a Samoan politician,former Cabinet Minister,and rugby union player. He is a member of the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP).
Leatinuu Faumuina Asi Pauli Wayne Fong is a Samoan politician and Cabinet Minister who has served as the minister of Commerce,Labour and Industry since 2021.
Savalenoa Mareva Betham Annandale is a Samoan lawyer and jurist. From July 2020 to September 2021 she served as Attorney-General of Samoa. Previously she had served as the first female president of the Samoa Law Society.
General elections were held in Samoa on 9 April 2021 to determine the composition of the 17th Parliament. In March 2021,FiamēNaomi Mataʻafa,a former member of the ruling Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP) and a former Deputy Prime Minister,was elected to lead the main opposition party,Faʻatuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST). Prime minister Tuila'epa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi led the HRPP into the election.
Faʻatuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi is a political party in Samoa. It was founded by MP La'auli Leuatea Polataivao and is currently led by Prime Minister FiamēNaomi Mataʻafa.
Ili Setefano Taʻateo Tafili is a Samoan politician and matai. He is a member of the Tautua Samoa Party.
The Land and Titles Bill is one of three bills passed by the Legislative Assembly of Samoa to reform the legal framework around the Land and Titles Court of Samoa and Samoan customary law. The bills are viewed by some as undermining human rights and the rule of law,and are the subject of significant controversy in Samoa.
Olo Fiti Afoa Vaai is a Samoan politician and Cabinet Minister who has served as the minister of Works,Transport and Infrastructure since 2021.
Leaupepe Toleafoa Apulu Faafisi is a Samoan politician. He has served as a Cabinet Minister and as Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Samoa. He is a member of the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP).
Toeolesulusulu Cedric Schuster is a Samoan environmentalist,politician and Cabinet Minister. He is a member of the FAST Party.
Papali’i Li’o Oloipola Taeu Masipau is a Samoan politician and Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Samoa.
Aiono Afaese Toleafoa is a Samoan politician. He is a member of the Human Rights Protection Party.
A constitutional crisis began in Samoa on 22 May 2021 when O le Ao o le Malo Tuimalealiʻifano Vaʻaletoʻa Sualauvi II issued a proclamation purporting to prevent the Legislative Assembly from meeting in the wake of the general election in April 2021. Court rulings had upheld the election results,giving a parliamentary majority to the Faʻatuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) party,led by FiamēNaomi Mataʻafa. On 24 May 2021,a makeshift ceremony was held outside of Parliament to swear in Mata'afa as prime minister. On 23 July the Court of Appeal declared that the ceremony was binding and that FAST had been the government since that date.
Au'uapaau Mulipola Aloitafua is a Samoan politician and Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Samoa. He is a member of the FAST Party.
Vui Clarence Joseph Nelson is a Samoan judge. He sits on the Supreme Court of Samoa,and was the first Pacific Islands judge appointed to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child.
Tuisa Tulimasealii Tasi Patea is a Samoan politician. He is a member of the Human Rights Protection Party.
Fepulea'i Attila Ropati is President of the Land and Titles Court of Samoa.