| Patu Tiava'asu'e Falefatu Sapolu | |
| Office: | Chief Justice of Samoa |
| Nominator: | Tofilau Eti Alesana |
| Appointer: | Malietoa Tanumafili II |
| Term Start: | 20 July 1992 |
| Term End: | 23 April 2019 |
| Predecessor: | Anthony John Ryan |
| Successor: | Satiu Simativa Perese |
| Office2: | Attorney-General of Samoa |
| Primeminister2: | Tofilau Eti Alesana |
| Term Start2: | 1988 |
| Term End2: | 1991 |
| Birth Date: | 22 July 1950 |
| Birth Place: | Vaiala, Western Samoa |
| Spouse: | Tuitama Savaiinaea Iliganoa Sapolu |
| Children: | Three |
| Alma Mater: | University of Otago, University of Auckland |
Patu Tiava'asu'e Falefatu Sapolu (22 July 1950 — 28 November 2021)[1] [2] was a Samoan lawyer and judge. He served as Attorney-General of Samoa from 1988 to 1991, and as Chief Justice of Samoa from 1992 to 2019.
Sapolu is from Vaiala.[3] He was educated at Marist Mulivai and at St. Joseph's College in Samoa.[4] He attended the University of Otago and University of Auckland in New Zealand on a government scholarship, graduating with a Bachelor of Laws in 1972.[4] He subsequently worked at the Attorney-General's office, as a temporary magistrate, and as a Court Registrar.[4] In 1988 he was appointed Attorney-General of Samoa.
In 1991 Sapolu was appointed Acting Chief Justice of Samoa. The position was made permanent, and he was sworn in on 20 July 1992.[4] As Chief Justice he oversaw the construction of a new court house,[5] the raising of the judicial retirement age from 62 to 68, and the establishment of specialist courts such as the Family Court and Coroners Court.[4]
In 2010 Sapolu was the target of a failed assassination plot, along with Prime Minister Tuila'epa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi.[6] He was the target of further threats in 2018.[7]
In 2017 he refused to participate in a parliamentary inquiry into the Land and Titles Court of Samoa on the basis that it interfered with the independence of the judiciary.[8]
In July 2018 his contract was extended for another nine months, despite having reached the mandatory retirement age of 68.[9] [10] He retired on 23 April 2019.[11] He was replaced in March 2020 by Satiu Simativa Perese.[12] Following his retirement he was given time to clear a backlog of unresolved cases. In one of these, National Pacific Insurance Ltd v Vaivaimuli Corporation Ltd, it emerged that he had reserved his decision in 1997 but never delivered it. A decision was finally released in August 2019, but overturned as unsafe by the Court of Appeal in August 2020.[13] Patu's conduct in the case was described as "disgraceful" by one of the lawyers involved.[14]
Following his retirement, Sapolu became a part-time lecturer in lands and titles law at the National University of Samoa.[15]
In July 2020, Patu was nominated as a Human Rights Protection Party candidate for the electorate of Vaimauga No. 2 in the 2021 Samoan general election.[16] On 29 September 2020, he was evacuated to New Zealand for medical treatment.[17] He withdrew his candidacy in February 2021.[18] During the 2021 Samoan constitutional crisis, Patu supported caretaker Prime Minister Tuila'epa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi, endorsing his claims that Parliament could not meet until an extra HRPP MP had been appointed,[19] then calling for a second election as a means of resolving the crisis.[20] In July 2021, he publicly supported Head of State Tuimalealiifano Va'aletoa Sualauvi II's order to delay Parliament sitting until August,[21] despite this being found to be unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.[22]
Following his death in November 2021 the government approved a state funeral.[23]