Law of Samoa

The law of Samoa draws on two sources, English common law as embodied in the Constitution of Samoa and Samoan customary law such as the fa'amatai chiefly system. In 1992 the Supreme Court of Samoa recognized that the country runs two systems side by side, statute law, English common law and equity on one hand and custom, usage and customary-law principles on the other, each with its own court. Most land in Samoa is held as customary land vested in matai titleholders, with disputes decided by the Land and Titles Court according to Samoan custom, and village governance is carried out by councils of matai known as fono, empowered to issue punishments subject to Supreme Court oversight on human-rights grounds. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/