Thegovernment of American Samoa is defined under theConstitution of American Samoa.
TheUnited States Congress, in theRatification Act of 1929, provided that until the Congress shall provide for the Government of the islands ofAmerican Samoa all civil, judicial, and military powers shall be vested in such person or persons and exercised in such manner as thePresident of the United States shall direct. InExecutive Order10264, the President of the United States directed that theSecretary of the Interior should take care for the administration of civil government in American Samoa. The Secretary promulgated theConstitution of American Samoa which was approved by a Constitutional Convention of the people of American Samoa and a majority of the voters of American Samoa voting at the 1966 election, and came into effect in 1967. The Secretary retains ultimate authority.[1][2]
The government operates under a framework of apresidentialrepresentative democraticdependency, whereby theGovernor of American Samoa is thehead of government.Legislative power is vested in theAmerican Samoa Fono. Thejudiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
The power of the executive is formally vested in thegovernor, elected bypopular vote for a four-year term along with thelieutenant governor in the sameticket. The governor's office is located inUtulei.[3]
The governor appoints chiefs of executive agencies, districts, counties and villages.[4][5][6][7]
The Legislature, orFono, hastwo chambers. TheHouse of Representatives has 21 members serving two-year terms, being 20 representatives popularly elected from various districts and one non-voting delegate fromSwains Island elected in a public meeting. TheSenate has 18 members, elected for four-year terms by and from thechiefs of the islands.[8] The Fono is located inFagatogo.[9]
TheJudiciary of American Samoa is defined under theConstitution of American Samoa and theAmerican Samoa Code. It consists of theHigh Court of American Samoa, a District Court, and village courts, all under the administration and supervision of the Chief Justice.[10][11] The High Court and District Court are both located inFagatogo.[12][13][9] The Chief Justice and the Associate Justice of the High Court are appointed by theUnited States Secretary of the Interior.[14] Associate judges of the High Court, who may also serve in the village courts, and judges of the District Court are appointed by the governor upon the recommendation of the Chief Justice and confirmed by the Senate.[15][16]
Because American Samoa does not have a federal court like theNorthern Mariana Islands,Guam, or theUnited States Virgin Islands, matters of federal law arising in American Samoa have generally been adjudicated in theUnited States District Court for the District of Hawaii or theDistrict Court for the District of Columbia.[17]
His legal position would not only permit him to investigate and overturn decisions of the judiciary in American Samoa, but the decisions of the Executive and Legislative branches as well. … The very fact that his office exists as an ombudsman, to put it kindly, or as a benevolent dictator — to put it less generously — depreciates all Samoan government institutions and makes the Samoan Constitution adopted in 1960 a giant deceit.
