Cameroon, located along the North Atlantic coast of Central Africa has one of the highest literacy rates on the continent. Its diverse population includes 250 tribes and 285 different indigenous languages. The nation’s official languages are French and English, though most government business is in French. Descendants of the earliest inhabitants of the country, the Baka (Pygmies), still live in the forests of Cameroon’s southern and eastern provinces. Beginning in the early 16th century, the Mandara kingdom governed lands along the country’s northern volcanic mountain range bordering Nigeria. The kingdom was known for its sophisticated culture and became a center for trade. Its decline was precipitated by the arrival of Europeans, initially the Portuguese who named the region’s waterway Rio dos Camarões or 'river of shrimps', followed by the French, Germans, and British. Colonial powers extracted the region’s abundant natural resources and administered a lucrative transatlantic slave trade from the 15th through the mid-19th centuries.
After World War I, under the authority of the League of Nations, the French and British, divided Cameroon into two zones; the French administered 80% of the country and 20% was British. Decades of armed struggle led to the creation of an independent Cameroon in the 1960’s. After the formal union of Francophone and Anglophone regions in 1972, a new constitution was enacted and the country was renamed the Republic of Cameroon. Though rich in rare earth minerals and petroleum, persistent civic and regional unrest has stymied the nation’s economic development. In 2002, the International Court of Justice ruled in Cameroon’s favor against Nigeria’s claims to the oil rich Bakassi Peninsula; Nigeria did not fully withdraw its troops until 2006. More recently, the country has experienced incursions by the Islamic militant group Boko Haram in the far north, and a separatist movement in the English-speaking Northwest and Southwest regions.
Legal System
Reflecting its colonial legacy, Cameroon has two distinct legal systems: one based on French civil law and the other on English common law. The country also recognizes customary law and Shariah. In 1996, Cameroon acceded to a regional treaty, the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (OHADA), that unified the commercial legal regimes of the fourteen African nation signatories. OHADA instituted eight uniform acts based on French civil law that apply to all business and commercial transactions. The sources of law in Cameroon are the constitution, legislation, OHADA provisions, customary law, Shariah, and, in the Anglophone regions, judicial precedent.
Court System
Although the Cameroonian judiciary is bijural, it has a unified court system. Each region has lower courts and a regional appeals court. The Supreme Court sits in the capital Yaoundé.
First Instance (Magistrate) Courts
The first instance courts have jurisdiction over labor law, civil disputes with a value of up to 10 million CFA, and criminal cases subject to a penalty of ten years or less.
High Courts
Cameroon’s High Courts hear labor and civil disputes with potential judgements of more than 10 million CFA, cases involving financial matters, and more serious criminal cases.
Appeals Court
The Appeals Courts are the highest court in each region. They review civil and criminal cases from the customary, first instance, and high courts.
Administrative Courts
In 2006, legislation established new administrative courts to adjudicate cases involving the State, local authorities, public corporations, and complaints against the administration. These cases include claims for damages caused by the government, disputes over public contracts and state land, and government actions that impact liberty and property. The administrative courts are part of the executive branch but appeals are heard by the Supreme Court’s Administrative bench.
Supreme Court
The Supreme Court is a court of cassation, reviewing cases from the regional appeals courts across the country as well as the administrative and military courts. It also hears election-related disputes. The Court’s 13 members sit on three benches (chambers): the Judicial Bench reviews civil, criminal, and social justice-related appeals; the Administrative Bench hears cases involving the government including election cases; and the Audit Bench reviews financial claims related to governmental and semi-private entities. The Chief Justice assigns each justice to a bench; the bench president assigns justices to divisions within their bench. Under the terms of OHADA, appeals in commercial cases may be heard either by Cameroon’s Supreme Court or by the Common Court of Justice and Arbitration in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
Supreme Court justices are appointed by the president with the advice of the Higher Judicial Council to a single 9-year term. They must have a master's in law and at least 15 years’ experience as a magistrate.
Constitutional Council
The Constitutional Council was established in 1996 to review the constitutionality of laws, treaties, and international agreements. It also reviews disputes involving the internal regulations of the National Assembly and Senate as well as conflicts between state and regional bodies and challenges to presidential and parliamentary elections. The Council is part of the judicial branch but operates independently. It has 11 members who serve 6-year renewable terms. The President of Cameroon, Speaker of the National Assembly, and Chairperson of the Senate each nominate three members. The Higher Judicial Council nominates two.
Judicial Administration and the Higher Judicial Council
The Ministry of Justice has supervisory authority over the judiciary. It exercises formal oversight of the budget, court administrative needs, the judicial selection process, and judicial discipline. Pursuant to Cameroon’s constitution, the Higher Judicial Council is tasked with preserving the independence and integrity of the judiciary. The Council reviews all judicial nominations, promotions, and transfers. It also is involved with the judicial conduct and discipline process, issuing sanctions at the direction of the Ministry of Justice. The president of Cameroon chairs the Council and the Minister of Justice is the vice chair. Other members include three parliamentarians, three experienced judges, and one non-legal professional. The president appoints Council members.
Judicial Selection
Cameroon has a career judiciary, called the magistracy, that includes judges and prosecutors. University graduates with a master’s degree in law (a five-year course of study) are eligible to take a competitive entrance exam for the National School of Administration and Magistracy (ENAM). After completing a two-year course of study at ENAM, magistrates enter the Legal Department (prosecution service). They are eligible for appointment to the judiciary after successfully serving, usually at least four years, in the procuracy. Practicing lawyers under the age of 32 may apply to enter the judiciary; they also must successfully complete the qualifying exam and ENAM studies.
The Higher Judicial Council reviews all candidates for the judiciary and sends recommendations to the President who exercises the formal power of judicial appointment. As the Vice Chair of the Council, the Minister of Justice is also involved with the judicial selection process.
Judges in Cameroon serve a fixed term, until the mandatory retirement age of 58 years for grade I and II judges, 60 years for grade III judges, and 65 years for grade IV judges. The “grade” of a judge reflects their years in service and performance.
Judiciary Response to Separatist Anglophone Crisis
The judiciary has made efforts to accommodate the needs of the country’s two Anglophone regions. For example, in 2018, the National School of Administration and Magistracy created an ad hoc common law section, taught in English, to prepare judges assigned to Anglophone courts. Judges not proficient in English but sitting in courts in the northwest and southwest regions were reassigned to Francophone regions and replaced with English-speaking judges. There is also a new magistracy entrance exam administered in English. Cameroon’s Supreme Court created a Common Law Section within its Judicial Bench.
Judicial Education
The National School of Administration and Magistracy (ENAM) prepares magistrates for careers in the prosecution service, judiciary, and justice sector administration. It also has a program of continuing professional education. Those seeking to enter the magistracy must complete ENAM’s two and a half-year induction program. The first-year curriculum includes courses in judicial and prosecutorial practice, court administration, communication skills, and substantive law. There are separate study tracks for candidates who will enter the audit (financial) and administrative courts.
At the end of the first year, successful candidates spend eighteen months rotating through assignments in the general jurisdiction courts, military courts, and prosecutors’ office. After graduation, magistrates are assigned to a prosecutor’s office and may be considered for judicial appointment after four years.
Customary Law Courts
The Francophone and Anglophone regions have their own traditional justice regimes. The northwest Anglophone provinces have Alkali Courts and Customary Courts. Alkali Courts apply Shariah law to disputes involving personal status, such as marriage and inheritance. Traditional customary courts hear disputes between non-Muslims. Cases are presided over by customary law judges and elders appointed by the Minister of Justice based upon recommendations of local judges and officials. The Ministry of Justice oversees both the Alkali and customary courts. However, in the Anglophone regions, the application of customary law can be limited; customs deemed “repugnant” to or inconsistent with formal justice norms are not enforced.
In the Francophone regions, there are two types of customary courts, neither of which apply Shariah law. The Tribunal de Première Degré has a magistrate who hears disputes alongside village elders with expertise in the region’s customs. In the Tribunal Coutumier (customary courts), a regional Divisional Officer sits with two community elders to resolve disputes involving property and commercial transactions. The regional attorney general must review tribunal judgments before they are enforced.
Traditional Councils
The authority of Traditional Councils was codified in 1974. They resolve most minor disputes in rural regions of the country, including those involving land or small sums of money. Although supervised by the state, the councils have considerable autonomy to dispense justice in accordance with local traditions and customary law. Appeals may be taken to the formal justice sector. Although their primary role is to hear disputes, many Traditional Councils also have a role in administering village security, dispersing funds to the community, and overseeing small development projects.
Law Reports
As is the case in many countries with limited resources, Cameroon does not have a centralized system for gathering and accessing court judgments. With very a limited digital infrastructure, handwritten and typed judgements are collected by the court’s registrar. In recent years there have been private sector initiatives to collect and publish selected court decisions with commentary as well as articles on topics related to legal issues and new legislation. These resources enable more consistency in court judgments. In the Anglophone regions, Cameroon Common Law Reports (CCLR) began compiling judgments in 1997; however, reporting has been irregular. In the Francophone regions, Juridis Périodique: Revue de droit et Science Politique, another private initiative, has published some judgments but does not systematically update its collection. The Ministry of Justice has made efforts to develop a webpage with all court judgements.