RESOLUTIONS MADE AT THE
INAUGURAL ALL CAMEROON COMMON LAW LAWYERS’ CONFERENCE HELD AT BAMENDA IN THE
NORTH WEST REGION OF CAMEROON
We,Lawyers of the Cameroon Bar Association, of Common Law Extraction, which comprise the North West and South West Regions of Cameroon,
· Mindful
of the Charter of the United Nations;
· Mindful
of the Universal Declaration of the Human Rights;
· Mindful
of the United Nations International Covenant on Social, Economicand Political
Rights;
· Mindful
of the United Nations Convention on the Protection of Minorities;
· Mindful
of the United Nations Declaration against all forms of Discrimination;
· Mindful
of the African Charter of Human and Peoples Rights;
· Mindful
of the non-implementation of the United Nations General Assembly resolution 1608
(XV) of 21st April 1961 on the future of the trust territory of the Cameroons
under the United Kingdom administration.
· Mindful
of all human rights treaties duly ratified by Cameroon.
· Mindful
of the United Nations Trusteeship Agreement on Trust Territories
· Considering
the need for the proper Administration of Justice in Cameroon
· Considering
the movement of judicial personnel in recent years without regard to the
Bi-Jural and Dual Educational System of the Country.
· Meeting
this ninth day of May, 2015 at Bamenda in the North West Regionof Cameroon,
after carefully and assiduously deliberating on a wide range of issues affecting
the nature and quality of the administration of justice andthe rule of law in
Cameroon, especially as they negatively impact the minority English-speaking
members of this Bi-Cultural, Bi-Jural, Bi-Lingual Nation, takethe following
resolutions;
1. We strongly
condemn and oppose the bias nature oflaw making in Cameroon and particularly
condemn the past discriminatory amendments of the Constitution; we demand
Government to immediately take measures to call for a constitutional conference
or a referendum for the amendment of the constitution.
2.
We note the deliberate and well planned program of whittling away and replacement
of the Common Law-inspired rules of Criminal Procedure, Civil Procedure, and of
Evidence, with a system andculture of French-inspired or copied
Civil Law and strongly and unequivocally reject this process and practice and
demand the restoration of the referred Common Law-inspired Rules of practice and
Procedure. The spirit of interpretation of harmonized laws within
the South West and North West Regions should be common law inspired;
inparticular, the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC), OHADA UNIFORM ACTS, Cima
Code,etc
3. We oppose and
reject the progressive replacement of Common law inspired rules and principles
of substantive law in such areas ascontract, tort, land law, family law, etc.
and call for their restoration within the Common Law jurisdiction in strict
respect of the bi-jural nature ofour country and in keeping with the Country’s
Constitution;
4.
We strongly condemn the absence of independence ofthe Country’s Judiciary and
the domination and control of the judiciary by theexecutive with the resulting
loss of a truly transparent, credible and independent system of administration
of justice and its attendant unpredictability and call for an immediate review
of the justice sector of the country with a view to rendering it more Just, Functional,
more credible, less corrupt, independent, dependable and reliable in the
service of justiceand a truly democratic society;
5.
We deplore the lack of independence of the CameroonBar Association.
PROPOSALSFOR A NEW DIRECTION IN THE JUSTICE SECTOR IN CAMEROON:
1.
We demand an Independent Bar Association free ofany Government Supervision and
Control.
2.
We hereby propose a new direction for the future ofthe Justice Sector in
Cameroon and recommend the creation, of a national, Independent Law
Reform/Review Commission comprising principally, Practicing Lawyers, Jurists and
Judges.
3.
We therefore recommend that:
i. The
government should halt any project on the harmonization of laws until the
national law commission is put into place and functional.
ii. All
Judicial Processes and proceedings in the Common Law Jurisdictions should be
conducted in the English language - in criminal matters; this should be from interrogations
through investigations to hearing and Judgment.
iii. The
Two Divisions of Common Law and Civil Law be clearly defined and operated side
by side in ENAM and the quota of intake in both divisions known in advance. Only
common law trained Magistrates to be posted in the South Westand North West
Regions and Civil Law Trained Magistrates to the Civil Law Jurisdictions.
iv. That
the Educational System in the South west and North West Regions shouldnot be
adulterated, English speaking citizens should have their studies in the English
language from cradle to professional life. That all Public Examinationsbe
organized in two Poles; English and French with none being translated fromthe
other and the quota in both poles known in advance.
4. We demand the
establishment of TWO chambers of the Supreme Court of Cameroon that represent
the Common Law and Civil Law System,with Judges appointed to the Chambers from
Common Law and Civil Law backgrounds to address legal issues from both legal
cultures respectively. In this regard, we propose the appointment of
Judges from the Private Bar into theVarious Courts of Justice of the Common Law
System.
5.
We recommend the amendment of law no. 90/059 of19th December 1990 to organize
practice at the bar and make provision for the creation of Law Schools.
6. We propose the creation
of a National Council of Legal Education to ensure the direction of legal
education in the Common Lawand Civil Law jurisdictions, develop curricula for
academic and professional
training of lawyers and to set up and supervise a system of continuing legal education for Lawyers, Prosecutors, Judges/Magistrates and other judicialactors.
training of lawyers and to set up and supervise a system of continuing legal education for Lawyers, Prosecutors, Judges/Magistrates and other judicialactors.
7. We also reiterate our
previous resolution unanimously endorsed at the Cameroon Bar Association’s
General Assembly in Bueaon the 28th day of June 2014; that no Notaries be
appointed in the North Westand South West Regions of Cameroon.
8. We have observed with
utter dismay that there has been and continues to be a lack of protection with
regard to the rights of the minority(Anglophone Cameroonians) as provided for in
the constitution of this bi-jural, bilingual and bi-cultural nation. It is
obvious that the rights of the Anglophones in Cameroon in the spheres of
education, socio-cultural values,administrative set ups etc, are continuously
and systematically being eroded with a view of imposing the socio-cultural and
administrative views of the French and or Civil heritage of the majority
Francophone Cameroon.
9. We demand that the State
should exercise its Constitutional duty to protect the Anglophone minority and
by so doing, protectour history, heritage, education and cultural values.
Consequently for the better protection of the minority Anglophone Cameroonians
and the Common Law heritage, we strongly demand a Federation.
10. We
hereby give Government a reasonable period from the date of deposit of these
resolutions through the Bar Council to react positively to our demands, failing
which this conference shall take the necessary disposition within the national
legal frame work and if dissatisfied, seek further redress from international
dispute resolution fora as shall be deemed appropriate.
DONEAT BAMENDA THIS NINTH DAY OF MAY 2015.
SIGNEDAND ENDORSED BY ALL PARTICIPANTS PRESENT AT THE CONFERENCE.
When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)
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