Village Court Rules – 2026
Fifteen rules for the Village Courts, the lowest tier of American Samoa's judiciary and a genuinely distinctive institution: proceedings are initiated when a pulenu'u acts, and retrials go to the District Court. The High Court Rules apply here too (HCR 3). Together with the Land and Titles Division's certificate requirement, the Village Courts are where fa'a Samoa is built into procedure rather than layered on top of it.
Browse all 15 rules of the 2026 edition below. Each rule includes the full text, a plain-English summary, committee notes, amendment history, and cross-references to related rules. Use the search box to find rules by keyword or number.
Rule 1
Title
Rule 2
Jurisdiction
Rule 3
Initiation of Proceedings
Rule 4
Form of Complaint
Rule 5
Informing Defendant
Rule 6
Pleas
Rule 7
Guilty Pleas
Rule 8
Voluntariness of Guilty Plea
Rule 9
Factual Basis for Guilty Plea
Rule 10
Sentence for Plea of Guilty
Rule 11
Plea of Not Guilty – Trial
Rule 12
Subpoena
Rule 13
Service of Subpoena
Rule 14
Sentence
Rule 15
Practice When Procedure Not Specified