NCJ Number
89858
Journal
Law and State Volume: 26 Dated: (1982) Pages: 47-74
Date Published
1982
Length
28 pages
Annotation
Following a summary of the main stages of development and reform of Cameroon's judicial system, attention is given to the Uniform Law of Judicial Organization (1972), efforts to produce a uniform code of criminal procedure, criminal procedure in West and East Cameroon, and the relationship between national penal jurisdiction and traditional local means for handling disputes.
Abstract
In Cameroon, the shortage of personnel and material resources for the administration of justice, a shortage which is characteristic of the country's level of development, means that the institutions of the accepted foreign law intended to protect persons coming into contact with the criminal justice system have been modified. The problems involved in receiving foreign laws are further intensified by the consequent adoption of the forms of legal training and concepts of the profession. The training of the judges and their orientation towards the lifestyle of the new national elite have contributed to the distancing of the general population from modern justice. Legislators could relieve these problems by encouraging a rejection of the repressiveness of current criminal justice policy. The law of the smaller territory of West Cameroon should focus on unification. This is particularly desirable for the future uniform code of criminal procedure. The judges' control of the police investigations has been important for building confidence in West Cameroon justice. One hundred notes are listed.