Dear Editor,

I respond briefly to the Letter to the Editor by the Leader of the HRPP published in your newspaper on 14 September 2024.

Having read the response from the Leader of the HRPP, I reiterate the points made in my previous letter published in your paper on 8 September 2024, to which the Leader of the HRPP has responded. In my previous letter, I made reference to Article 104 of the Constitution and specifically clause (3) of that Article which makes provision for protection of custom rights which are the subject of the jurisdiction of the courts in Part IX of the Constitution, that is the Land and Titles Courts. That jurisdiction is specifically in relation to matai titles and customary land, and customs and usage relating to matai titles and customary land. There is no reference in Article 104 to “communal rights” but rather to “custom rights”.

Neither the Constitution Amendment Bill 2024 nor the Land and Titles Amendment Bill 2024, which are currently before Parliament seek to remove or abolish those rights. As previously stated, the Constitution Amendment Bill 2024 seeks to amend Article 104(3) to provide for clearer wording of that clause and to provide that persons, whether it be one person or a group of persons, seeking to enforce their rights derived from custom and usage, and which are in accordance with Part IX of the Constitution, may apply to the Land and Titles Court for the enforcement and protection of these rights. Samoan customs and usage continue to be recognized in our Constitution alongside fundamental rights under Part II of the Constitution. Thus, the claim that the proposed Bills will remove protection of custom rights and “be the first step in making Samoans foreigners in their own homeland” is unfounded, and again, inaccurate.

The Leader of the HRPP questions why I did not raise these issues in Parliament. The purpose of the Bills is quite clear. The Bills do not remove or diminish the importance of custom and usage or remove protection of rights arising from custom and usage, within the scope of Part IX of the Constitution. It was unnecessary for me to address these matters in detail when the Bills do not propose to remove custom rights.

The Select Parliamentary Committee has now commenced its public consultations and is inviting submissions on the Constitution Amendment Bill 2024 and the Land and Titles Amendment Bill 2024 before these are referred back to Parliament for their Third Reading. The work by the Select Committee is a further opportunity for our people to again provide their views on the proposed amendments to the Constitution and the Land and Titles Act 2020. I hope that our people make the most of this opportunity.

Matamua Seumanu Vasati Sili Pulufana

Acting Prime Minister/Minister of Justice and Courts Administration