SAMOA

HEAD OF STATE ACT 1965

Arrangement of Provisions

1.	Short title
2.	Commencement
3.	Style and title of the Head of State
4.	Honours and civil dignities
5.	Immunity from legal process
6.	Exemptions from taxation
7.	Salary and personal expense allowance of the Head of State
8.	Illness allowances 
9.	Allowance to widows of first joint Head of State
10.	Official residence
11.	Rights of widows of first joint Head of State in official residences

12.	Transport
13.	Transport rights of widows of first joint Head of State
14.	Office
15.	Official entertainments and other expenses 
16.	Remuneration of Council of Deputies
16A.	Transport for Council of Deputies
16B.	Official residence for Council of Deputies
17.	Repeal

		

HEAD OF STATE ACT 1965
1965	No. 13

AN ACT to make provision for the emoluments, privileges and immunities of the Head of State and other matters pertaining to that Office.	
[Assent date: 31 August 1965]
[Commencement date: 1 January 1962]

1.	Short title – This Act may be cited as the Head of State Act 1965.

2.	Commencement – This Act is deemed to have come into force on 1 January 1962.
3.	Style and title of the Head of State – (1) The style, title and mode of address of the Head of State during a term of office is:
“His Highness the Head of State of Samoa”.
(2) The style and mode of address of the wife of the Head of State during a term of office is:
“Her Highness the Masiofo”.

4.	Honours and civil dignities – The Head of State, acting on the advice of the Prime Minister, may create and bestow any titles of honour, order, or civil dignities in recognition of parliamentary or other public service at the Head of State’s pleasure.

5.	Immunity from legal process– (1) Subject to subsection (2), the Head of State is accorded immunity from suit and legal process of any kind whether civil or criminal, including freedom from the arrest of the Head of State’s person, during the Head of State’s term of Office.
(2) Nothing in subsection (1) affects the charging, prosecution and arrest of the Head of State where the Head of State is suspected of or is charged with a crime established under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

6.	Exemptions from taxation – The Head of State is exempted during the term of office from liability to pay any of the following taxes or charges:
(a) 	income tax in respect of income derived from the office;
(b) 	customs duty on all goods imported for household consumption, and on not more than one motor car imported during each 5 years of the term or terms of office, in every case whether for official or private use:
PROVIDED THAT on the goods or motor car purchased by the Head of State in Samoa, the Head of State is entitled to a drawback of any customs duty paid on the importation thereof into Samoa:
PROVIDED FURTHER THAT if and when the Head of State sells, gives away or otherwise disposes of any such motor car within 3 years of importing or purchasing the same, the Head of State shall thereupon become liable to pay customs duty, at the rate current at the date of sale, gift or other disposition, on the depreciated value of such motorcar at the last-mentioned date as determined by the Comptroller of Customs:
(c) 	registration and other charges in respect of motor vehicles which are the Head of State’s personal property or which are provided for official use;
(d) 	motor driving licence fees;
(e)	radio, gun and dog licence fees;
(f)	charges for electric power consumption and water rates in respect of the official residence;
(g)	telephone rental and charges;
(h)	rental for a post office mail box.

7.	Salary and personal expense allowance of the Head of State– There shall be charged on the Treasury Fund and paid to the Head of State as statutory expenditure:
(a) 	a salary at the rate of $60,000 per annum; and
(b) 	a personal expense allowance at the rate of $20,000 per annum.

8.	Illness allowances – If Cabinet is satisfied that the Head of State is ill and cannot obtain adequate treatment for the illness in Samoa, but could and intends to obtain such treatment in an overseas country, Cabinet may authorise payment of the cost of transporting the Head of State (and an attendant or attendants, including his Masiofo, thought by Cabinet to be necessary or advisable) from Samoa to that country and back, any medical and hospital costs incurred by the Head of State in that country, and any hotel expenses properly incurred by the Head of State and any such attendant or attendants in that country.

9.	Allowance to widows of first joint Head of State – The widow of each of them the first joint holders of the office of Head of State if she is living with her husband at the date of his death is entitled to be paid an amount equal to his salary and personal expenses allowance for 3 months from the date of his death.

10.	Official residence – (1) There shall be made available free of charge to the Head of State an official residence appropriate to the dignity of the position equipped with adequate household, domestic and ground staff.
(2) The official residence of the Head of State shall be supplied free of charge with such furniture, floor coverings, soft furnishings, and other household articles as the Head of State may require.

11.	Rights of widows of first joint Head of State in official residences – (1) On the death of each of them the first joint holders of the office of the Head of State, the bed last used by the Head of State shall become the property of his widow if she is living with him at the date of his death.
(2) On the death of His Highness Tupua Tamasese Mea’ole his widow is entitled to purchase from the State at cost the set of bamboo chairs ordered from overseas and the dining suite made by the Public Works Department, and on the death of His Highness Malietoa Tanumafili II his widow if she is living with him at the date of his death is entitled to purchase from the State at cost such of the furniture used by him as she chooses up to the cost of that set of bamboo chairs and that dining suite.
(3) Subject to subsections (1) and (2), there shall be made available free of charge to the widow and family of His Highness Tupua Tamasese Mea'ole, for a period of 86 days from the date of his death, the official residence and household articles occupied and used by him, at the date of his death, equipped with adequate household, domestic, and ground staff.
(4) Subject to subsections (1) and (2), there shall be made available free of charge to the widow and family of His Highness Malietoa Tanumafili II if she is living with him at the date of his death, for a period of 14 days from the date of his death, the official residence and household articles occupied and used by him at the date of his death, equipped with adequate household, domestic and ground staff.

12.	Transport– (1) The Head of State shall have 2 official motor vehicles and 1 chauffeur available at the Head of State’s disposal free of charge at all times during the term of office.
(2) The cost of repairs, maintenance, oil, fuel and running expenses of those motor vehicles are to be met by annual appropriation under section 15.

13.	Transport rights of widows of first joint Head of State –  On the death of each of them the first joint holders of the office of Head of State the motor vehicle last available at his disposal if only one, or such one as his widow chooses of the 2 motor vehicles last available at his disposal, shall become the property of his widow if she was living with him at the date of his death, and the State shall remove the Crown plate, register the motor vehicle in her name for the balance of the licensing period current at the date of his death, and, for 56 days from the date of his death, make a chauffeur available at her disposal free of charge and supply oil and fuel for that motor vehicle.

14.	Office – (1) The State shall provide for the Head of State an office for the discharge of the official duties, together with such staff, office and other equipment as the Head of State may need for the efficient administration thereof.
(2) The Secretary to the Head of State is responsible to the Head of State for the administration of the office.

15.	Official entertainments and other expenses – (1) There shall be set aside by the Legislative Assembly an annual sum which must be sufficient to cover the cost of the following expenses of and incidental to the upkeep of the household of the Head of State:
(a) 	any official entertaining undertaken by the Head of State;
(b)	the maintenance and upkeep of the official residence and grounds of the Head of State;
(c)	the administrative expenses of the office of the Head of State;
(d) 	the salaries of the office, household, domestic and ground staff of the Head of State;
(e) 	the cost of repairs, fuel and running expenses in respect of the official motor vehicles of the Head of State.
(2) The Secretary to the Head of State shall submit an annual estimate of the above expenditure to the Treasury for the purpose of ascertaining the amount to be appropriated each year by the Legislative Assembly under this section.
(3) As and when required, there shall be set aside by the Legislative Assembly a sum which is sufficient to cover the cost of the following expenses of and incidental to the upkeep of the household of the widow and family of each of the first joint holders of the office of Head of State if the widow was living with her husband at the date of his death:
(a) 	the maintenance and upkeep of the official residence and grounds occupied by them and the salaries of the household, domestic and ground staff employed in and out of that official residence for the period of 86 days specified in subsection (3) and the period of 14 days specified in section 11(4);
(b) 	the cost of oil and fuel for the motor vehicle which becomes the property of the widow on her husband’s death, and the salary of the chauffeur made available to her, for the period of 56 days specified in section 13; and 
(c) 	the cost of removing the Crown plate from that motor vehicle and registering it for the licensing period current at the date of such husband's death.

16.	Remuneration of Council of Deputies – (1) Subject to subsection (2), there shall be charged on the Treasury Fund and payable to a member of the Council of Deputies in accordance with Article 25 of the Constitution as statutory expenditure:
(a) 	a salary at the rate of $42,000 per annum; and 
(b) 	a non-taxable housing and entertainment allowance of $12,000;
(c) 	a taxable telephone expense allowance of $2,400;
(d) 	as from 1 January 1990, a special taxable allowance calculated at the rate of $3,000 per annum.
(1A) When and so often as there occurs a general wage and salary increase for Public Servants by which wages and salaries of Public Servants are increased by a fixed percentage the salary of the Council of Deputies shall by authority of this Act be increased by a like percentage.
(2) No salary allowance payable under subsection (1) is payable to a member of the Council of Deputies for a period during which the member is a full-time salaried employee of the Government.

16A.Transport for Council of Deputies – (1) The Government may provide each Member of the Council of Deputies with 1official motor vehicle and a chauffeur to be at the member’s disposal free of charge at all times during the member’s term of office.
(2) The cost of repairs, maintenance, oil, fuel and other running expenses in respect of such official motor vehicle must be met by annual appropriation by the Legislative Assembly.

16B.Official residence for Council of Deputies – The Government may provide each or a Member of the Council of Deputies with an official residence, appropriate to the dignity of the position, together with such furniture, floor coverings, soft furnishings and necessary household articles to be approved by the Head of State acting on the advice of Cabinet.

17.	Repeal – The Head of State Ordinance 1961 is repealed.

REVISION NOTES 2008 – 2015

This is the official version of this Act as at 31 December 2015.

This Act has been revised by the Legislative Drafting Division from 2008 to 2015 respectively under the authority of the Attorney General given under the Revision and Publication of Laws Act 2008.

The following general revisions have been made:
(a)	Amendments have been made to conform to modern drafting styles and to use modern language as applied in the laws of Samoa.
(b)	Amendments have been made to up-date references to offices, officers and statutes.
(c)	Insertion of the commencement date
(d)	Other minor editing has been done in accordance with the lawful powers of the Attorney General.
(i)	“Every” and “any” changed to “a” 
(ii)	“shall be” changed to “is” and “shall be deemed” changed to “is taken”
(iii)	“shall have” changed to “has”
(iv)	“shall be guilty” changed to “commits”
(v)	“notwithstanding” changed to “despite”
(vi)	“pursuant to” changed to “under”
(vii)	“it shall be lawful” changed to “may”
(viii)	“it shall be the duty” changed to “shall”
(ix)	Numbers in words changed to figures
(x)	“hereby” and “from time to time” (or “at any time” or “at all times” removed
(xi)	“under the hand of” changed to “signed by”

There were no amendments made to this Act since the Consolidated and Revised Statutes of Samoa 2007.

This Act is administered by
the Legislative Department.