By Lagi Keresoma/
Apia, Samoa – 10 July 2025– His Honor the Chief Justice Satiu Simativa Perese has warned the media to be aware of “spins and misinformation” in the upcoming general election.
His Honour was one of the guest speakers on the second day of the Media Election Reporting Workshop funded by PACMAS on the Constitution & Media Role in Reporting Election Petitions where he touched on the important role of the media in any democracy.
He said the Judiciary’s high regard of the role of the media is noted in the allocation of special seats for the media inside the court room.
He said the media does have an important job to do in trying to convey the latest messages and sometimes face challenges from high political people who want to persuade the journalists towards their own particular views.
“Your role pursuant to the Constitution, at least in Court is to be the eyes and ears of the community that cannot be there,” he said.
After the 2021 general election, the Court presided over a number of election petitions which spanned over a period of almost two years and with the upcoming election, the same scenario is expected.
His Honour said these are cases of public interest and he hopes to explore with the Registrar the possibility of broadcasting some of the cases if not all, but if not, then the media is there to ensure that information of what happens in Court is reported for the public to be informed.
He reminded the media of Article 9 of the Constitution on the right of the media to be in Court for the interest of justice unless otherwise instructed by the Court on cases that could not be reported due of its sensitivity.
He cited a case in New Zealand involving a media company where the presiding judge noted that “without sufficient measure of diverse views expressed by competing voices, the risks arises undemocratic or improper conduct by those in position of power will not adequately be brought to public attention.”
“There are a number of media outlets and so it is important that you remember you are all pieces in the jigsaw existing in our country’s democratic process,” he said.
The Chief Justice Satiu Simnativa Perese with the media representatives after his presentation.
Be fair & accountable
He explained that media being a piece of the jigsaw existence of a democratic country means the media needs to be “resolute in your service, maintain fairness and accountability and not allow themselves to be bullied or even dissuaded from reporting because they become conflicted in your work.”
“If you become conflicted, step aside, but you should not allow yourself to be bullied by those who are trying to persuade you of a different perspective,” he said.
He also emphasized accuracy and truth as a critical elements for the interest of justice and the media’s own credibility as eyes and ears of the community.
For accurate reporting of court proceedings, the court send out electronic copies of decisions of constitutional cases to the media so they can refer to when needed to or not sure.
The Chief Justice Satiu Simativa Perese gives a media interview.
He cited an example of a court case where the parties argued against the court decision and the court allowed the continuation of their argument which undermined the interest of justice.
He said in that scenario, the Court issued a supplementary decision to clearly clarify the decision and that was something the Court should not have done.
“Once a decision is issued, that’s it, but that is were we would rely on the media to say that is what the decision said, and if it does not say what has been suggested, then you need to say so to ensure that the two sides of the argument are clearly out there,” said His Honour.
“You need to be aware of the spin and misinformation from people who mistake the courts decision and in those situation, I invite you to go back and read the decisions,” he said.
He pointed out that the editorial process also depends importantly on providing sufficient coverage of competing news on national and local inference of the political social life of a country.
“I encourage you in this coming election to be aware of spin and misinformation,” he said.
Open door for more conversation with media
The Court has strict restrictions for the media and the workshop was utilized as a platform for the media to raise some of their concerns towards such restriction.
His Honour has suggested further conversation with members of the Journalists Association of Samoa (JAWS) to address such issues.
Although there is a Media & Court Guide Book which guide the parties role in Court, there are still issues that needs to be clarified especially when it comes to recording matters inside the court room.
The media relies on their electronic devices to record when given approval by the presiding judges, however, the court orderlies have placed the media under the same category as the public and banned devices inside the court room.
There is a process in the guide book but His Honour has open the door for JAWS to sit down with himself and further discuss issues of concern raised at the training.
