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Samoan Status Act 1963

CONSOLIDATED ACTS OF SAMOA 2008

SAMOAN STATUS ACT 1963

Arrangement of Provisions

TITLE
1. Short title
2. Samoan custom and usage
3. Interpretation
4. Court may declare person a Samoan
5. Register of Declared Samoans
6. Eligibility to hold a matai title
7. Status of matai titles already held by Europeans
8. Offences
9. Saving existing rights in hand
10. Repeals and other savings
Schedules

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THE SAMOAN STATUS ACT 1963

1963 No. 14

AN ACT to amend the laws as to Samoan status and as to eligibility to hold a matai title.

(19 December 1963)
(Commencement Date: 19 December 1963)

1. Short title - This Act may be cited as the Samoan Status Act 1963.

2. Samoan custom and usage - The provisions of this Act are hereby declared to be in accord with Samoan custom and usage.

3. Interpretation - (1) In this and every other Act and Ordinance, unless inconsistent with the context:

"Samoan" means a person who is a citizen of Samoa; and has any Samoan blood.

(2) In this Act, unless inconsistent with the context:

"Court" means the Samoan Land and Titles Court.

"Land" means customary land.

"Registrar" means the Registrar of the Court.

4. Court may declare person a Samoan - The Court may, at any time and on the petition of any person, enquire and declare whether or not the petitioner, and his or her children under the age of 18 years, are Samoans, and effect shall be given to each such declaration for all purposes and in all Courts.

5. Register of Declared Samoans - (1) There shall be kept in the Court by the Registrar a "Register of Declared Samoans" in which shall be entered by the Registrar the full names and addresses of all persons declared by the Court to be Samoans, and the dates of such declarations.

(2) The Register may be inspected by any person at any time during office hours on payment of a fee of 20 sene.

6. Eligibility to hold a matai title - Subject to section 7 hereof, no person other than a Samoan shall be eligible:

(a) To hold a matai title; or

(b) To hold the pule over any land; or

(c) To use any land as of right other than under any lease, licence or mortgage which may be permitted by any Act; or

(d) To participate in the rents or profits of any land other than under any lease, licence or mortgage which may be permitted by any Act; or

(e) To acquire any estate or interest in any land by virtue of any gift, devise or bequest, or otherwise than by virtue of any lease, licence or mortgage which may be permitted by any Act.

7. Status of matai titles already held by Europeans - Where at any time prior to the coming into force of this Act a matai title was validly conferred on a person who was a European at the date of conferment, and that title was made a complimentary honour by the operation of section 8 of the Samoan Status Ordinance 1934, and that person is still holding that title on the coming into force of this Act, he or she shall hold that title thereafter, notwithstanding the repeal of that Ordinance, as a complimentary honour only.

8. Offences - Except as provided in section 7, every person other than a Samoan who permits a matai title to be conferred upon him or her, or uses a matai title in address, or permits himself or herself to be addressed by a matai title, or otherwise acts as the holder of a matai title, in breach of the provisions of section 6, commits an offence and is liable to a penalty not exceeding 1 penalty unit.

9. Saving existing rights in land - Nothing in this Act shall affect any right in or over any land which may have been lawfully acquired before the commencement of this Act, whether or not in accordance with Samoan custom and usage.

10. Repeals and other savings - (1) The enactments set out in the First Schedule to this Act are hereby repealed.

(2) The enactments set out in the Second Schedule to this Act shall cease to form part of the law of Samoa.

(3) Sections 19 and 20 of the Acts Interpretation Act 1974 shall apply to the enactments set out in the said Second Schedule as if they had been repealed by this Act.

SCHEDULES

The Samoan Status Ordinance 1934
The Samoan Status Amendment Ordinance 1941

The Samoan Registration of Europeans Regulations 1920 (NZ)
The Samoan Registration of Europeans Regulations Amendment 1935 (NZ)
The Samoa Act 1921: Section 3: The definitions of the terms "European", "Polynesian" and "Samoan", the last as substituted by the Statutes Amendment Act 1944, section 57 (NZ)
The Statutes Amendment Act 1944, section 57 (NZ)

REVISION NOTES 2008

This law has been generally edited as provided for by section 5 of the Revision and Publication of Laws Act 2008. The following general revisions have been made –

(a) References to Western Samoa have been amended to Samoa in accordance with an amendment to the Constitution of Samoa in 1997.

(b) The fines have been amended and are stated as penalty units as provided for by the Fines (Review and Amendment) Act 1998.

(c) All references to the male gender have been made gender neutral.

(d) Amendments have been made to conform to modern drafting styles and to use modern language as applied in the laws of Samoa.

(e) Other minor editing has been done in accordance with the lawful powers of the Attorney General.

There were no amendments made to this law since the publication of the Western Samoa Statutes Reprint 1978-1996.

Revised and consolidated by Noumea Loretta Afamasaga.
Under the supervision of Teleiai Lalotoa Sinaalamaimaleula Mulitalo
(Parliamentary Counsel)

REVISION NOTES 2008 No.2

This law has been reviewed in accordance with the powers provided for in section 5 of the Revision and Publication of Laws Act 2008. Some general revisions have been made including the insertion of the commencement date after the assent date.

There were no amendments made to this law since the publication of the Consolidated and Revised Statutes of Samoa 2007.
Under the supervision of Teleiai Lalotoa Sinaalamaimaleula Mulitalo (Parliamentary Counsel)

The Samoan Status Act 1963 is
administered in the Ministry of the Prime Minister.