Incisive Journalism in Cameroon: The Best of ��Cameroon Report�� (1978 � 1986)

34. Cameroon Report 18/8/1985: Harmonising Our Two Legal Systems

119 34 Cameroon Report 18/8/1985: Harmonising Our Two Legal Systems The Minister of State for Justice and Keeper of the Seals is reported to have castigated magistrates in the North West and South West provinces for violation, contempt and ignorance of the law. The charge was made during stormy meetings with the magistrates more than a fortnight ago. Cameroon Tribune reports that in a fourteen-page strongly worded address carrying the tone of a warning, the Minister told the magistrates of the Anglophone provinces that some of them give the impression that they live in a closed circle, in contempt of the statutes which govern them and the laws of the Republic. Prior to the Minister’s visits to those provinces, we were told that he was going there to discuss the implementation of already harmonised legal texts, the content of which he failed to discuss with the professionals. What is obvious, however, is that the Minister had gone to bully the magistrates to accept the implementation of legislation whose merits are questionable and evidently detrimental to the well-being of the Anglophone provinces. This deduction is based on the Minister’s own observation that “even if this legislation with its innovations goes against some of our convictions, beliefs and customs, it should be rigorously applied by the magistrates.” The Minister does not hide the fact that this so-called harmonised legislation may go against the customs, beliefs and convictions of the Anglophone provinces. He suggests 120 that “the national integration we call for can only be achieved if all the citizens... show proof of good faith in the application of the laws... passed by the National Assembly.” The Minister ignores the recent pronouncement by the Honourable Speaker of the National Assembly that the process of integration should be voluntary. Somehow the Minister believes the process should be dictatorial and compulsory even if it goes against customs and convictions. This approach raises a number of political and philosophical questions related to the formulation and application of laws. The philosophical question is: should laws be made which are undoubtedly against the customs and welfare of any given community? And is it possible to apply laws without conviction? Furthermore, is it politically wise to apply alien laws in the name of integration? The application of such laws can only bring about alienation which the Minister himself recognises when he talks of some Anglophone magistrates giving the impression of living in a closed circle. The new criminal procedure code which is at the centre of this debate is supposed to be a harmonised version of the English and French-derived criminal procedures applicable in the Anglophone and francophone sectors of the country. What the public would want to know is why the authorities want to harmonise them in the first place. The Anglo-Saxon code is characterised by its accusatorial approach while the French Napoleonic code is base on the inquisitorial approach to criminal matters. In very simple terms, the one holds that no one is guilty of a crime until the law proves him to be guilty beyond reasonable doubts, while the other holds, prejudicially though, that one is guilty until he can prove the contrary. The one respects the principle of habeas corpus while the other 121 believes in rampant and indefinite powers of detention and the deprivation of individual rights. The question Cameroon Report would like to ask the Honourable Keeper of the Seals is what hybrid of a legal system does he expect to achieve when he blends the accusatorial and the inquisitorial principles of criminal procedure? It is true Cameroon is a unique country especially in its recent hectic efforts towards integration, but it should not lose sight of the fact that the country is only unique because of its cultural diversity and to deny that fact is to deny the identity of the country which is far from being a homogenous society. There are certainly other disturbing elements in the Minister’s pronouncements to the magistrates, particularly when he implies that some personalities in the country are above the law and that criminal proceedings against such persons must pass through the chancellery. In apparent reference to the alleged scandal at the SONARA oil refinery in Limbe, the Minister warned the magistrates against divulging information to the press, a warning which can only be seen as being contrary to the newly-regained press freedom...