Patu Tiava'asu'e Falefatu Sapolu (22 July 1950 — 28 November 2021) was a

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

n lawyer and judge. He served as

Attorney-General of Samoa The attorney-general of Samoa is a constitutional and legal officer in Samoa, responsible for advising the government on legal matters and bringing criminal proceedings. The current attorney-general is Suʻa Hellene Wallwork. The attorney-genera ...

from 1988 to 1991, and as

Chief Justice of Samoa The chief justice of Samoa () is the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Samoa. The qualifications and powers of the office are governed by Part VI of the Constitution of Samoa and the Judicature Ordinance 1961. The position is currently held ...

from 1992 to 2019.

Early life and education

Sapolu is from Vaiala. He was educated at Marist Mulivai and at St. Joseph's College in Samoa. He attended the

University of Otago The University of Otago () is a public university, public research university, research collegiate university based in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Founded in 1869, Otago is New Zealand's oldest university and one of the oldest universities in ...

and

University of Auckland The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

on a government scholarship, graduating with a Bachelor of Laws in 1972. He subsequently worked at the Attorney-General's office, as a temporary magistrate, and as a Court Registrar. In 1988 he was appointed

Chief Justice

In 1991 Sapolu was appointed Acting Chief Justice of Samoa. The position was made permanent, and he was sworn in on 20 July 1992. As Chief Justice he oversaw the construction of a new court house, the raising of the judicial retirement age from 62 to 68, and the establishment of specialist courts such as the Family Court and Coroners Court. In 2010 Sapolu was the target of a failed assassination plot, along with Prime Minister Tuila'epa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi. He was the target of further threats in 2018. In 2017 he refused to participate in a parliamentary inquiry into the Land and Titles Court of Samoa on the basis that it interfered with the independence of the judiciary. In July 2018 his contract was extended for another nine months, despite having reached the mandatory retirement age of 68. He retired on 23 April 2019. He was replaced in March 2020 by

Satiu Simativa Perese 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. His family moved to New Zealand when he was a child. ...

. Following his retirement he was given time to clear a backlog of unresolved cases. In one of these, ''National Pacific Insurance Ltd v Vaivaimuli Corporation Ltd'', it emerged that he had reserved his decision in 1997 but never delivered it. A decision was finally released in August 2019, but overturned as unsafe by the Court of Appeal in August 2020. Patu's conduct in the case was described as "disgraceful" by one of the lawyers involved.

Post retirement

Following his retirement, Sapolu became a part-time lecturer in lands and titles law at the

National University of Samoa The National University of Samoa () is the only national university in Samoa. Established in 1984 by an act of parliament, it is coeducational and provides certificate, diploma, and undergraduate degree programs, as well as technical and vocationa ...

. In July 2020, Patu was nominated as a

Human Rights Protection Party The Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP, ) is a Samoan political party. It was founded in 1979 and dominated Samoan party politics for decades thereafter, leading every government until their defeat in 2021. Former Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele ...

candidate for the electorate of Vaimauga No. 2 in the

2021 Samoan general election General elections were held in Samoa on 9 April 2021 to determine the composition of the 17th Parliament. The Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP), which had been in government for most of the time since 1982, was led into the election by Tui ...

. On 29 September 2020, he was evacuated to New Zealand for medical treatment. He withdrew his candidacy in February 2021. During the

2021 Samoan constitutional crisis A constitutional crisis began in Samoa on 22 May 2021 when O le Ao o le Malo (Head of State) Tuimalealiʻifano Vaʻaletoʻa Sualauvi II issued a proclamation purporting to prevent the Legislative Assembly from meeting in the wake of the gen ...

, Patu supported caretaker Prime Minister Tuila'epa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi, endorsing his claims that Parliament could not meet until an extra HRPP MP had been appointed, then calling for a second election as a means of resolving the crisis. In July 2021, he publicly supported Head of State Tuimalealiifano Va'aletoa Sualauvi II's order to delay Parliament sitting until August, despite this being found to be unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. Following his death in November 2021 the government approved a state funeral.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sapolu, Patu Tiavaasue Falefatu 1950 births 2021 deaths Samoan lawyers Samoan judges Chief justices of Samoa Attorneys general of Samoa University of Auckland alumni Academic staff of the National University of Samoa People from Tuamasaga