The Village Fono Act 1990 was developed especially to recognize and protect the integrity and honor of the Council of Chiefs (Village Fono).  Although they have existed long before colonial times, their roles and responsibilities, meditative decisions and pensive perceptions, were overlooked when Samoa passed its Constitution on the path to Independence in 1960.  From the 1990s, more innate challenges emerged, pertaining to the decisions by Fono in issuing penalties and fines, leading to a number of court cases in which the Council has suffered in the hands of individuals. 

After decades of such cataclysm, Government decided in 2010 to review the Village Fono Act 1990.  This review included the compiling of Village Bylaws from 2012, in which a total of 19 villages Bylaws have been completed – with CLGF funding and assistance.  Through collaboration with the Samoa Law Reform Commission, the Office of the Attorney General and the Ministry of Justice and Courts Administration, a final report on the appropriate changes to reduce and minimize the effects of calamities village councils experienced over the years, was submitted to Cabinet in June 2015.  Cabinet has approved the amendments and has referred the Bill to Parliament for discussion.

As of today, the Amendment Act has gone through its first reading at Parliament and is expected to be passed into the Village Fono Amendment Act 2015 in Parliament’s next sitting in August 2015. 

The amendment will permit registration of the Village Bylaws with the Ministry of Women, Community and Social Development, instead of the current practice, where they are only recognized by the Ministry of Justice and Courts Administration.