HORIZON UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE OF BAFOUSSAM

LECTURE NOTES ON:

INTRODUCTION TO LAW

INSTRUCTOR
MR NGWAH ISMAILA M.

2022/2023 ACADEMIC YEAR

COURSE OBJECTIVES
- Toequip the HND student with the basic legal principles and concepts essential for an
understanding of the legal environment in which he functions.
- To create an awareness of basic human rights and how they can be enforced or
protected within the professional context.
- To acquaint the students with the basic texts pertinent to environmental protection and
substantial development
PART ONE:
INTRODUCTION TO LAW
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES
To make the students be able to know the definition of law and its surrounding
problematic posed by the search for an accurate definition of law. At the end of this section,
the students should be able to define law, know it sources and classification, been able to
identify the various legal acts, know the concept of legal personality, civil and criminal
responsibility. Also at the end of this part of the course, the students should be able to identify
the various courts in Cameroon and their respective jurisdiction.
CHAPTER ONE
THE DEFINITION OF LAW
 The nature and function of law
It is beyond dispute, law is the cement of society and also an essential medium of
change. Law is vital to society’s survival in terms of ensuring peace, progress and social
cohesion. Knowledge of the law increases ones understanding of public affairs. Its study
promotes accuracy of expression, facility in argument and skill in interpreting the written
words, as well as some understanding of social values.
 The meaning of law
Before attempting a definition of law, it is imperative to ask ourselves these questions:
- What is the aim of teaching law?
- What is the relevance of English law (Common law) and the French law (civil law) in
Cameroon?
- Why does law pose special jargons?
- Finally what is law?

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 The first thing we have to take note of is that, there is no clear cut or generally
accepted definition of law. We are all living in a society in which every day life is influenced
by legal rules and regulations; in other words by laws.
As the legal writer Gordon Post puts it in his book titled ‘An Introduction to Law’ “The
law surrounds, guides, respects and if necessary punishes all of us, without exception; from
birth to death, and sometimes has its effect upon us before birth and after death”.
Another difficulty in finding a comprehensible definition of law lies in the fact that,
the term ‘law’ can be used and understood in different contexts; for instance, law may denote
a particular legal rule or legal order, or a proposition describing the behavioral patterns of
nature, e.g. the law of gravity. We may proceed to ask the question further, what is law
generally? And what is law in particular?
Law from a general perspective is a collection of rules; which regulates our daily
activities, in areas such as: Personal contracts, torts, crimes, succession, insurance etc. Even if
we fail to obey the law, the law still remains the law.
Law must have an obligatory character, sanctions and a body entrusted with powers to
apply the law and when necessary carry out sanctions. By virtue of the Preamble of the
Constitution of Cameroon, ‘no person may be judged and punished, except by virtue of a law
enacted and published before the offence was committed”. This means that the law is
expected to warn before striking.
Law in particular refers to single individual rules; e.g rules on divorce, marriage, or
law on murder and treason. Law is different from morality. Whereas the law says you should
not injure or hurt your neighbour, morality says you should love your neighbour.
Law is generally understood by the ordinary man to mean at least three things:
- It may be taken to refer a set of particular laws recognised by judges. This idea though
attractive is inadequate.
- The law is sometimes equated with government and a legal system. In this sense law
in our society will include the National Assembly, the courts, the judiciary, the legal
profession, the police and bureaucrats who operate the system.
- Also some equate law with the legal process and this refers primarily to the legislative
and judicial process that is the making of laws by the National Assembly and other
delegated legislation and adjudication by judges.
Nothing stops us from adopting as a working guide what the Oxford English
dictionary provides that law is: ‘The body of rules, whether proceeding from formal

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enactment or from custom, which a particular State or community recognises as binding upon
its members or subjects’.
CHAPTER TWO: HISTORY OF CAMEROON LEGAL SYSTEM
Introduction
Cameroon, with a total land area of 475,440 square kilometers, is located in Western
Africa, bordering the Atlantic Ocean, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and the Republic of Congo to
the South, Central African Republic and Chad to the east, Lake Chad to the north and Nigeria
to the west. The population of 17,340,702 million (2006), is made up of an extraordinary
diversity of about 250 tribes speaking at least 280 different indigenous languages. To this
complex mix is superimposed a bi-cultural division between a minority Anglophone
community from the former British trust territory of Southern Cameroons, who make up
about 20% of the population and occupy two of the ten administrative provinces in the
country, and a dominant Francophone community from the former French Cameroun who
make up 80% of the population and occupy the rest of the eight administrative provinces. The
English and French languages are constitutionally recognized as the official languages,
though most official communications are usually in the dominant French language. However,
Pidgin English, a common lingua franca in English-speaking West Africa, is widely spoken in
the Anglophone provinces and in some of the major towns in the Francophone provinces
which have a substantial Anglophone community.
2.1. The Cameroonian Legal System
The legal system, like most in Africa, is a relic of the colonial era. However, it is
unique in that it consists of two distinct and often conflicting legal systems, the English
common law and the French civil law operating in some sort of tenuous coexistence. This
makes Cameroon one of the few examples of such a dual legal system in the world.
Three major periods can best explain the nature and evolution of the legal system
namely, the pre-colonial, the colonial and the post-independences periods.
In the pre-colonial Cameroonian society, there existed diverse unwritten indigenous
laws and usages which applied in varying degrees to the different ethnic groups. The only
exception was in the north where the Foulbe tribes, who originally invaded the territory from
North Africa in the early nineteenth century, had introduced Islamic laws. Despite the
differences in the structures, content and institutions which applied these indigenous and
Islamic laws or traditional laws as they are referred to today, there were many similarities. A
German attempt to ascertain and codify the different traditional laws was frustrated by the
outbreak of the First World War, but the results from the six tribes that were studied showed

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that there were substantial similarities in basic concepts and practices. The traditional system
of justice was administered by a series of ad hoc bodies ranging from the family head, quarter
head, chief and the chief’s council. Perhaps the most remarkable and controversial aspect of
this system of justice was the extensive use of trial by ordeal. The commonest examples of
this involved drinking poisonous concoctions, putting the hands in boiling palm oil or water,
or holding a red-hot iron bar. If the accused came to no harm, then his innocence was
considered as proven.
During the German colonial period, a rudimentary system of administration was
established. Two parallel systems of Courts, one exclusively for Europeans where German
law was applied, and the other exclusively for Cameroonians, where traditional law under the
control and supervision of the Germans was applied.
The League of Nations’ agreement with the French and British conferred on these two
powers, in Article 9, “full powers of administration and legislation.” The two powers were
authorized to administer Cameroon in accordance with their laws and as an integral part of
their territory, subject to such modifications as may be required by the local conditions. This
was the basis for the almost wholesale exportation of the English common law and the French
civil law to Cameroon. There were significant differences in the policies they pursued in
introducing their respective systems of justice. The British, like the Germans and French, also
operated two parallel systems of courts, but unlike them, this was not separated on racial
lines. One structure was for the traditional sector of the population, mainly Cameroonians,
and the other was for the modern sector, mainly Europeans or those Cameroonians who opted
for it. The applicable law was based on Section 11 of the Southern Cameroons High Court
Law (SCHCL), 1958, which provided for the application of English common law, the
doctrines of equity and statutes of general application which were in force in England on
January 1, 1900. On the basis of this, a number of English statutes as well as Nigerian laws
and Ordinances were made applicable to Southern Cameroons. Through the system of
“indirect rule,” traditional institutions and laws were retained provided they were not
repugnant to natural justice, equity and good conscience or incompatible with any existing
laws. In French Cameroun, the French in line with their policy of assimilation made a strict
distinction between citizens, who were defined as either French nationals or Cameroonians
who had evolved and were honored with that status (and there was hardly any), and the
ordinary Cameroonians who were derogatorily referred to as “sujet”(indigenous people).
Based on this, two systems of justice were administered; one for the Cameroonian
population in accordance with traditional laws, and another, for French nationals in

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accordance with French law. French administrators presided over the traditional courts and
used the local chiefs and notables merely as assistants or assessors.
The federal system that came into existence in 1961 was based on a two-state
federation consisting of West Cameroon, made up of the former Southern Cameroons, and
East Cameroon, made up of the former French Cameroun. Until the country became the
"United Republic of Cameroon" in 1972 when a unitary system of government was
introduced, the two federated states had each retained their inherited colonial system of justice
although this was under the control of a Federal Ministry of Justice. However, the early
history of the independent and reunified Cameroon was marked by strides towards complete
political and legal unification. By 1964, two Federal Law Reform Commissions had been
created to draw up a Penal Code, a Criminal Procedure Code and several other Codes. Its only
achievement was the 1967 Penal Code which remains the only reasonably successful
legislation that reflects the country's dual legal culture, although it was substantially based on
the French Penal Code. Based on the unitary Constitution of 1972, Ordinance no.72/4 of
August 26, 1972, which has since been amended several times, created a civilian- style
unitary system of Courts to replace the different court structures that had operated in the two
states. Nevertheless, article 38 of the Constitution provided for the continuous application of
the different laws that were in force in the two legal districts provided these were not
inconsistent with any new laws. As a result of this, despite the unified court structure, the two
pre-independence legal systems continued to operate. The 1972 Constitution has been
amended on several occasions, though the most significant and substantial was in 1996 in
response to pro-democracy nation-wide strikes and demonstrations that had started in the
early 1990s.
Since the reunification of the two portions of Cameroon, successive Constitutions
have indirectly sanctioned the co-existence of the English and French legal systems in the
country. With respect to this, the 1996 amendment states in Article 68:
“The legislation applicable in the Federal State of Cameroon and in the
Federated States on the date of entry into force of this Constitution shall
remain in force insofar as it is not repugnant to this Constitution, and as long as
it is not amended by subsequent laws and regulations.”
The Cameroonian legal system can therefore be described as bi-jural in which French
law applies in the eight French speaking provinces and English law substantially applies in
the two English speaking provinces, although most of the uniform laws that are now being
introduced are essentially based on French legal concepts.

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 CHAPTER: DIFFERENCES BETWEEN COMMON LAW AND CIVIL LAW
It is sometime said that the civil law is excessively conceptual or “logical” or
“formalist”, whereas the common law is pragmatic and concrete. (a similar contrast is made,
within the common law between English law and American). This observation seems to bear
two different meanings;
Firstly, it can mean that civil law will apply a given principle or concept “logically”
even though the practical consequences are unjust or inconvenient. Whereas the common law
will abandon a principle if its consequences are inacceptable. More precisely this is a contrast
not between logic and the lack of it, but between approaches which treats principles as having
an immutable meaning (or at least is unwilling to re- examine the established interpretation in
the light of its consequences), and one which acknowledges that meaning and interpretations
change with circumstances.
Secondly, the observation refers to the fact, which has noted, that French civil law is
ostensibly at least, a complete and coherent system, each part of which is capable of being
related to every other part. A French lawyer takes it for granted that one article can be
interpreted in the light of another in a quite different part of the code or in some subsequent
legislation. This view of the law as a single, intellectually coherent system is common to the
civil law systems (it is carried to a far higher degree of generality by German law than by the
French) but it does not come readily to the mind of the common lawyer.
CHAPTER FOUR: FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES UNDERLYING THE
ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICES IN CAMEROO
Introduction
The force of the Cameroon legal system resides in the principles and concepts
underlying the administration of justice, the institutions where justice is administered and the
way the legal rule, regulations and judgements are enforced.
1) Public administration of justice
The preamble of the 1996 constitution of the Republic of Cameroon provides that the
“Law shall ensure the right of everyone to a fair hearing before the courts” and article 4 of the
1972 judicial organisation ordinance corroborates same that “all judgments shall be
pronounced in open court”. This is an aspect of the broad principle of judicial neutrality and
impartiality and independence. Justice must not only be done; it must also be seen to be done.
Yet there are exceptional circumstances where the court may hear cases in camera
either on its own motion or upon the application of the parties on grounds of state security,
public order or morality.

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2) Reasoned judgments
Reasons must be given for judicial decision. Article 5 of the judicial organisation
ordinance provides that all judgments must set out the reason upon which they are based in
fact and in law. A judgment given in breach of this principle is invalid. One reason for this
principle is to provide a safeguard against judicial arbitrariness. The principle of reasoned
judgments also provides a means by which the superior courts are enabled to control decisions
of inferior courts.
3) Justice rendered free of charge
Article 6(1) of the judicial organisation ordinance provides that justice shall be
administered “free of charge” subject only to the fiscal provisions concerning stamps duty and
registration. Judges are employed and remunerated by the state to perform a public service
(that of administering justice) and are therefore not entitled to demand or receive payment
from litigants for services they render.
Providing justice “free of charge” does not however mean that litigants are exempted
from paying costs, court fees, besides stamp duty and registration fees. But such fees and
expenses are borne finally by the party who fails in the action, subject only to the reasoned
decision of the court any way.
4) Unity of Civil and Criminal Courts.
In Cameroon Civil and Criminal cases are handled by the same courts with only a few
exceptions. One, customary courts do not deal with criminal matters. Two, the court of
impeachment, the state security court and the military court do not handle civil matters.
Consonant to this principle of unity of civil and criminal courts is the practice of non-
specialisation. Cameroonian judges are all-round and do not specialise in any particular area
of the law. This saves forensic embarrassment.
5) Decentralisation of the courts system.
In Cameroon we have both judges who dispense justice only at fixed seats in
permanent courts and itinerant judges who move from one town to another dispensing justice.
The courts structure in Cameroon is highly decentralised. With the solo exception of
the Supreme Court whose territorial jurisdiction covers the entire nation, all other courts are
located at various territorial levels throughout the country. This has been prompted by the
government’s desire to bring justice nearer to the people. This desire itself has evidently been
motivated by the realisation that the court, located as they were, in urban areas, were
physically inaccessible to the vast majority of the people in the suburban areas.
The decentralisation of the courts structure is also intended to bring about cheap and

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quick justice. For, the nearer the institutions of justice are to an individual, the more he is
secure in his person (life, limb, liberty), honour and property.
He does not have to travel long distances to seek legal redress in the law courts. He does not
have to pay high transport fares in order to arrive at the seat of a court.
The judicial organisation ordinance makes provision for the setting up of one
Magistrates Court for each sub-division in the country, one High Court for each division and
one Court of Appeal for each region.
CHAPTER FIVE: SOURCES OF LAW
In Cameroon, there are two main sources of law, legislation and custom. Legal writing
is not a source of law at all. Also, the general tendency is to consider case law as not being a
source of law. The old time argument is that, the court and legal writers do not make law.
They have no such authority or responsibility, it is contended. The duty of the court is simply
to apply the law, while legal writers do more than expound and expatiate on the law.
In reality however and despite appearances to the contrary, case law is another source
of law in Cameroon, though a secondary one. In any case, the court fulfils a very vital
function in interpreting the law. An legal writing plays an important role as a persuasive guide
to courts decisions and to legal development in general.
A. Legislation
Legislation otherwise known as enacted law is the principal source of law in
Cameroon. Legislation is law made by formal and express declaration of rules of conduct by
the legislators or the executive by virtue of the constitution of the republic. The law thus made
is binding. Its authority cannot be questioned on moral grounds. Or on the grounds of
unreasonableness, bad faith, or non-compliance with the general will of the people.
Different legislative sources in Cameroon
It is of some interest to note that enacted laws that apply in Cameroon emanate from
two different legislative sources: from within and without Cameroon.
1. Cameroonian source
Law No 96/06 of 18 January 1996 to amend the constitution of 2 June 1972 provides
two sources from which legislation emanate in Cameroon: from the National Assembly, that
is, parliament known as the legislative domain and from Executive, that is, the Head of State
and Government ministries known as the Executive domain.
a. The legislature or the legislative domain
Article 14(1) OF January 18 1996 revised constitution provides that "legislative power
shall be exercised by the parliament which shall comprise two houses: (a) the National

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Assembly (b) the senate". In Cameroon therefore matters reserved for the legislative domain
are specifically stated out in Article 14 to 26 of January 18 January 1996 revised Constitution.
Pieces of legislation passed by parliament on any subjected list in the legislative domain are
known as "laws" in the formal sense of the word.
b. The Executive or the executive domain
Part II chapter I of January 18 1996 revised constitution deals with Executive power.
The President of the Republic is the Head of Executive power. Article 25 of the above
constitution states that "bills may be tabled either by the president of the republic or by the
members of the parliament, while Article 27 and 28 of the same constitution talks of members
reserved for the Executive". By Article 28(1) parliament may empower the president of the
republic to legislate by way of ordinance for a limited period and for a given purpose. Such
ordinances shall enter into force on the date of their publication. They shall be tabled before
the bureau of the National Assembly and the Senate for purpose of ratification within the time
limit lay down by the enabling law. They shall be of a statutory nature as long as they have
not been ratified (see Article 28 (2)).
B. Extraneous sources in Cameroon
Every sovereign state has the monopoly of legislation over its territory. Therefore the
only pieces of legislation that ought normally to apply in Cameroon are those provided by the
Cameroonian law maker and promulgated in Cameroon in accordance with the Cameroonian
Constitution. That, however, is the general principle. By way of exception certain extra -
national laws apply in Cameroon. A number of factors account for this.
The first of these factors is international social intercourse. Improved means of
transport has made the world look smaller, facilitated trade and cultural exchanges thereby
bringing the peoples of the world closer. As a result of this it does happen that cases with a
foreign complexion do not come before a municipal court. The court in resolving these cases
applies or takes into account some foreign law. There is a particular branch of law known as
conflict of laws or private international law, which deals with problems involving foreign
elements.
The second factor that may impel, a Cameroonian court to apply some piece of
legislation that is not national is the fact of international relations and comity. Cameroon is a
sovereign state. But it cannot live in cloistered isolation. For a variety of reasons it must
maintain relations relations with other friendly nations. Frequently, treaties (conventions or
agreements) dealing with matters of mutual interests are entered into foreign states.

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 The third and most important factor responsible for the application of foreign
legislation in Cameroon is the country’s colonial past. Most of the laws still applicable in
Cameroon are of colonial origin-English and French. Furthermore, some matters are governed
by current English and French laws on the subject. This body of foreign laws continue to
apply by virtue of Article 68 of the present constitution.
CHAPTER SIX
CLASSIFICATION OF LAW
The general classification of law falls under five arms:
- Subject Classification;
- Municipal or Civil Law and Public International Law, classification;
- Public and Private Law;
- Law and Equity;
- Civil and Criminal Law.

1. Subject classification
Law is usually studied in a series of subject compartments; for example, the law of
tort, the law of contract, mercantile law, criminal law, insurance law, etc.
Sometimes it is essential to combine our knowledge of these different compartments;
for instance the law of tort and the law of contract or the law of tort, contract and criminal law
etc, before arriving at a solution. For example, the liability of a solicitor for his careless
conduct may raise not only issues of tort but also include issues of contract, equity etc. Also
the same act may be both a crime and a civil wrong, e.g occasionally at a bus station; there is
someone who makes a living by looking after people’s luggage, while they are shopping. If I
entrust my bag to such a person and he runs off with it, he commits the crime of theft and also
two civil wrongs, that is –the tort of conversion and –a breach of contract with me to keep my
luggage safe.
To take another illustration, if a railway signalman, out of forgetfulness, fails to pull
the lever at the right moment, and a fatal accident occurs on the line, his carelessness may be
regarded as sufficiently gross to amount to the crime of manslaughter, and it is also the tort of
negligence towards the victims of the accident and their dependants, and a breach of his
contract with the railway authority, to take due care in his work. It will be notice that this time
the right of action in tort and the right of action in contract are vested in different persons.

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 The question then is, if the compartments overlapped, in real life, while should we not
study the context and adopt a classification based on real life approach? To give a simplistic
answer, the subject matter approach makes it easier to understand and apply the law.
2. Municipal or civil law and the public international law classification:-
Municipal or national law or what some writers like Salmond refer to as civil law, is law that
applies within a given State; e.g the State of Cameroon(the Penal Code, the Labour Code, the
Constitution, the 1974 Land Ordinance, the 1982 Civil Status Ordinance etc.) are considered
as municipal laws.
Public international law on the other hand, is law which governs the relationship
between sovereign States, e.g the USA, UK, Cameroon, Nigeria etc.
The phrase ‘Civil Law’ is susceptible to several meaning.
- Like in the context above, it may be use to distinguish it from international law.
- It is more often use to mean law that is not common law.
- Historically it means Roman law.
- When contrasted with the common law, civil law refers to the law in countries such as
France Germany. The law is largely the work of the legislature, and is codified as
opposed to the common law which is largely from the decisions of judges and which is
not codified.
3. Public and private law classification:
The Roman system of law made a clear distinction between private law, which govern
the transaction between citizens amongst themselves and public law, which govern the
relationship between the citizen s and the State. The distinction has survived the continental
law system, which inherited the Roman tradition.
In France for instance, there is a separate system of courts for determining matters
affecting the State, and it also applies to body of laws separate from those which govern the
relationship between private citizens. A contract for example between a citizen and French
State Agency is subject to different rules and to the jurisdiction of a different court, from one
made between two citizens.
The English system does not draw a distinction between public and private law in this
sense; and there exist no separate and autonomous body of public law principles, in English
law.
4. Law and equity (classification)
The distinction between law and equity is not peculiar to the English legal system
alone. It appears in the legal development of all progressive societies. Sometimes the law fails

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to achieve adequate justice or may lead to injustice in some instances. Equity is therefore a
supplementary system which came in to correct the short comings of the law. It is
synonymous to natural justice or faire justice, for its principles are more tied to considerations
of morality and the conduct of the particular litigant, than those of the law.
In many areas of the law the principle of equity and the common law coexist
somewhat uneasily, but where the rule of equity and the common law conflicts, the rule of
equity prevails.
In simplistic term, equity refers to that which is fair and just, moral and ethical,
righteous and correct. Equity is one of the main sources of law applied in Cameroon. By
virtue of S.11 of the Southern Cameroon High Court Law 1955; the law applicable in former
West Cameroon are the common law of England, the doctrine of equity and the Statute of
general application which was applied in England before 1900.
5. Civil and criminal law classification:
The distinction between the two is often misunderstood. It does not depend on the
nature of the act but the legal consequences that follow the act; as seen in the cited case of the
railway signalman, who out of dumb forgetfulness, fails to pull the lever at the right moment
and a fatal accident occurs on the line, his carelessness may be regarded as sufficiently gross
to amount to the crime of manslaughter, and it is also the tort of negligence towards the
victims of the accident and their dependants, and a breach of his contract with the railway
authority, to take due care in his work.
The distinction between criminal and civil law lies not only in the terminology used, but also
the nature of the proceedings they may give rise to, and the outcome of such proceedings.
Civil law defines the rights and duties of persons towards one another, and provides a
system of remedies such as damages, specific performance, injunction etc. Examples of civil
law subjects includes: Law of contract, law of tort, family law, law of succession, insurance
law, company law of agency, etc
Criminal law on the other hand is concern generally with acts or omissions which are
considered to be contrary to public order and security, and which exposes the guilty person to
variety punishments.
In civil cases facts are proven on the balance of probabilities, while in criminal case
the prosecution must prove its case beyond reasonable doubt, to guard against wrongful
convictions. If the prosecution successfully proves its case, the defendant will be convicted
and may be punish in the form of a fine, an imprisonment or both. In aggravated cases a death
penalty may be meted out.

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 In a successful civil action the defendant may be ordered to pay the plaintiff money
(damages) or transfer property to him, (injunction) or to perform a contract (specific
performance)
CHAPTER SEVEN
THE CONCEPT OF CORPORATE OR LEGAL PERSONALITY OF COMMERCIAL
COMPANIES
The theory of the legal personality that was conceived by the public law doctrine has
considerably developed in the 19 th century thanks to the jurisprudence of private law. The
case law construction of the legal personality was based on Article 8(7) of the civil and
criminal procedure code and Article 529 of the civil code. The first text distinguished the head
office of a company from the domicile of its partners by referring to the social house. Article
529 of the civil code on it part introduced a distinction between the immovable property of the
company from the properties of their partners.
From these texts the legal personality of commercial companies was developed. There
are two consequences attached to the legal personality. It permits the company to have an
identity and to have autonomous property. However there are a lot of doctrinal controversies
on the notion of legal personality.
7. 1.The legal theory of the legal personality of commercial companies.
the theory of the legal personality is based on the bases and practical use of the legal
personality of commercial companies.
7.1.1 The bases of the legal personality of commercial companies.
There are two opposed doctrinal conceptions concerning the bases of the legal
personality of commercial companies. According to the school of fiction headed by Saving
and the Inhering, only physical persons are real subjects of law. However, certain groups of
individual could apply for a legal personality from the state once they ma nifest the desire to
acquire good or rights or to carry out a separate activity from that of it members. The major
objection of this school of thought is based on the question to know whether the state as a
moral person has a legal personality.
This objection favors the development of the theory of reality. The theory of reality
was championed by Dean Geny. It criticized the state authorization in the process of
acquisition of a legal personality. The purpose of the school of reality is to identify the legal
personality of all groups which effectively carry out a separate activity from that of their
members and which can manifest their proper interest and will. These groups should be
considered as autonomous legal persons. The theory of reality has been greatly upheld and it

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has been consecrated by case law through the celebrated decision of the cour de cassation of
28 January 1954 which decided that the legal personality is not the creation of law, in
principle, it belongs to all groups that has the possibility of collective expression for the
defense of legal interest and which are legally recognized.
But the successive reforms of the law on commercial companies have consecrated the
theory of fiction. The UA in art 98 provides that all commercial companies shall have a legal
personality from the date of their registration in the TPPC
7.2.The practical utility of legal personality of commercial companies.
The acquisition of a legal personality first of all permits the commercial company to
carry out a separate activity from that of it partners and to engage its own liabilities. The UA
also provides in Art 106 acts done and commitment entered into by founders on behalf a
company under formation before it registration shall be brought to the attention of partners
before the signature of the Articles of Association where the company does not make a public
call for capital during the first meeting of shareholders, where the contrary applies, such acts
and commitments shall be detailed in a statement called statement of acts done and
commitments made on behalf of the company under formation with indications for each of
them.
From the above, it can be deduced that all Acts and commitments carried out by the
founders on behalf of a company prior to its registration shall be the responsibility of their
authors. Article 110 provides that; acts and commitments taken over by a duly constituted and
registered company shall be deemed to have been made by the company from the origin.
Whereas, acts and commitments not taken over by the company shall not be binding on the
company and the persons who made them shall have unlimited liability for the obligations
they entail.
Above the questions linked to the autonomy of property, the acquisition of legal
personality leads to the delimitation of the respective liabilities of the company and the
partners. This depends on the transparency of the legal personality. In principle the creation of
a separate legal personality creates a screen between the co- contracting partners of the
company and the partners. The partners may be liable above their amount of contributions in
the capital of the company. In the case of public limited companies, joint stock companies’
societe par action simplifie and private limited companies, the partners have limited liability
towards the debt of the company.
The legal personality can be a screen for the founders who create a de factor
partnership to limit their liabilities in the exercise of their professional activity. Equally

15
certain persons banned from trade can fraudulently hid behind the legal personality to carry
out trade. The abuse of the legal personality constitutes a fraud which can be sanctioned either
by the nullity of the company, or the confiscation of it property. This makes the partners to be
jointly and indefinitely responsible toward the company’s debts.
This type of fraud is also witness in labour law when the manager of an enterprise abusively
uses the legal personality of his enterprise by appointing the staff representative rather than
his election. In tax matters, the abusive use of the legal personality consists of the creation a
fictitious company in order to evade taxes.
In all cases, the law sanctions all abuses on the legal personality. This means that the
tax authorities have to proceed with the collection of taxes by the use of arbitrary procedure.
With regard to the partner who fraudulently uses the legal personality, the simplified recovery
procedure sanctions the confusion of property by the extension of the bankruptcy of the
company to the partners.
7.3.The effects of the legal personality.
According to the General Law of the legal personality, the acquisition of the legal
personality confers on the company some attributes such as; a patrimony, a proper identity
and full legal capacity.
As a holder of property rights, the company becomes an active and passive subject of
law. This makes the credits and debts of the company different from that of the partners. The
partners do not have any legal authority over the company’s property. The property of the
company is distinguished from that of its partners.
The identity of the company is translated by the existence of a name, a registered
office (domicile) and a nationality which is generally that of the state where the registered
office is found. Article 24 gives the partners the power to decide on the location of the
registered office either at the company’s principal place of activity or at the place where its
administrative and financial services are concentrated. The principle of unity of domicile for
physical persons is not strictly applicable to commercial companies which at times can
transfer their registered office to a branch. A branch, according to article 116 UA shall be a
commercial, industrial or service providing establishment which belongs to a company or
natural person and which has been granted a certain degree of autonomy in its management.
The legal capacity confers on the company the rights to acquire property to enter
contracts and to bring an action in court for the defense of it interest in it name. The penal
sanctions of commercial companies or other moral persons are not provided by the OHADA
legislator.

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 CHAPTER EIGHT
CIVIL AND CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY
The law is divided into two great branches; -the civil and criminal law division. Civil
and criminal responsibility:-
1 Civil responsibility
It is the personal responsibility of an individual, or groups of individuals. The law of
tort, contract, law of succession, Insurance law, Family law, mercantile law etc; are subjects
that deal with civil law matters. The function of civil law is to provide individuals with
remedies, which are enforceable in a law court; where the aggrieved party have suffered a
wrong, which is recognized by statute or decided cases. In civil matters the plaintiff usually
has to prove his case on the balance of probability. This is in fact a lower standard of prove
than in criminal cases. In civil cases there is no dock as in a criminal case. Also in civil
matters an aggrieved party is not obliged to bring his case for hearing. The decision to submit
his case for trial rests ultimately with him; but this is not the case with criminal cases, where
an offence committed is considered to be an offence against society or the State and therefore
calls for urgent intervention by the State in order to prosecute the offender. Hence a criminal
action is instituted against an alleged accused by the State Prosecutor in the name of the
people of Cameroon
2. Criminal responsibility
On the other hand, is the general responsibility towards the public or the State. One of
the major objectives of criminal law is to punish the wrongdoer for the offence, which the
state deemed is contrary to the interest of its citizens. Criminal law does not have as a major
objective the provision of compensation or support for the victims of a crime. A crime
committed against an individual, is an offence against the State, as a whole. The discretion to
prosecute is seldom carried out by the victim of a crime. Criminal proceedings is normally
initiated by the State or its agents and brought in the name of the State.
In criminal matters the prosecution will have to prove its case beyond all reasonable
doubt that the accused did in fact committed the offence charged. A crime is therefore an act
or an omission which constitute a serious offence against an individual, group of individuals,
or the State and punishable by law. Any person who has attained the age of eighteen is
criminally responsible for his/her act or omission. A person below the age of eighteen who
commits an offence is sent to a juvenile prison or a borstal institute for reformation. The
insane or the mentally deranged are not criminally responsible for their act, or omissions. An
insane person who is a threat to society may be confine in a psychiatric detention centre.

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 Criminal offences include crimes such as; murder, prostitution, abortion, infanticide,
adultery, false imprisonment, rape, desertion of incapables, assault occasioning death, assault
occasioning slight harm, assault occasioning grievous bodily harm , embezzlement,
misappropriation of public funds; etc.
Certain types of conduct simultaneously constitute a crime, a tort and a breach of
contract. Thus the thief, who steals my luggage entrusted to his care, commits the crime of
theft, the tort of conversion and a breach of contract to keep my luggage safe. The result is
that two sorts of legal proceedings, can be taken against him: - a prosecution for the crime,
and –a civil action for the tort and for the breach of contract.(of course the plaintiff in the
latter action will not get damages twice, over merely because he has two causes of action; he
will get only one set of damages)Also certain acts like assault, adultery and false
imprisonment is both a crime and a tort.
As earlier mentioned the distinction between a crime and a civil wrong, though
capable of giving rise to some difficult legal problems, is in essence quite simple. The first to
understand is that, is that the distinction does not reside in the nature of the wrongful act itself.
This can be proved quite simply by pointing out that, the same act may be both a crime and a
civil wrong.
To take our illustration, if a railway signalman out of dumb forgetfulness, fails to pull
the lever at the right moment, and a fatal accident occurs on the line; his carelessness may by
regarded as sufficiently gross to amount to the crime of manslaughter, and is also the tort of
negligence towards the victims of the accident and their dependants, and a breach of his
contract with the railway authority, to take due care in his work. It will be notice that this time
the right of action in tort and the right of action in contract are vested in different persons.
These examples shows that the distinction between a crime and a civil wrong, cannot
be stated as depending upon what is done, because what is done(or not done) may be the same
in each case. The true distinction resides therefore, not in the nature of the wrongful act, but in
the legal consequences that may follow it.
If the wrongful act or omission is capable of being followed by what are called
criminal proceedings, then is regarded as a crime or an offence. If is capable of being
followed by a civil proceedings, then it is regarded as a civil wrong. If it is capable of being
followed by both, then it is both a crime and a civil wrong.
Therefore either an act or an omission may give to a civil wrong. For example if Mr.
Ndumu trespasses on Mr. Ndifor’s land, he is liable for a civil wrong called trespass to land.
In another situation, if Mr. Paul parked his car on a slope and fails or omits to apply the hand

18
breaks properly, and the car rolled down the slope and injured a bystander; an action for
negligence may be brought against him, for failing to apply the brakes properly. Here no act
was carried out but simply an omission to do something properly.
In the same vein, a crime or an offence may be committed by an act or an omission.
For example, a policeman who shot and killed an armless civilian commits a criminal act
called murder. On the other hand, if a policeman fails to provide essential drugs to a sick
detainee or refused him access to medical care, and he dies; then the officer can be charged
with the offence of murder, due to his omission, to facilitate access of vital medical assistance
to the concern.
3.Criminal and civil procedure code.
Criminal and civil proceedings are (in the normal case) easily distinguishable: The
procedure is different, the outcome is different, and the terminology is different.
In criminal proceedings the terminology is as follows: We have the prosecutor, prosecuting
the defendant or the accused, and the result of the prosecution if successful is a conviction and
the defendant,(accused) may be punished by one of the variety of punishments, ranging from
a few months or years in detention, life imprisonment, detention in a psychiatry centre,
released on probation, payment of a fine or else may be discharged without punishment; or
dealt with in several other ways .
Turning to civil proceedings, the terminology generally is that a plaintiff sues; that is
brings an action against a defendant, The proceedings if successful, result in judgement for
the plaintiff, and judgement may order the defendant to pay the plaintiff money (damages) or
to transfer property to him, or to do or not to do something (injunction) or to perform a
contract, (specific performance)
Magistrates and Judges at one point in time can preside in either a civil case or a
criminal matter. I n other words they do not specialised in one of the disciplines.
In Cameroon we have the harmonised Criminal Procedure Code, instituted by law No
2005/007 of 27 July 2005.This Code have laid down rules to be followed, before instituting a
criminal action. It deals particularly with: The investigation of offences; the search and
identification of offenders; the methods of adducing evidence; the powers of those charged
with prosecution; the organisation, composition and jurisdiction of courts in criminal matters;
verdict; sentencing; the right of parties; the methods of executing sentences.
During the prosecution of a criminal case, the accused is presumed innocent, unless
proven guilty by the law courts.S.8 (1) of the Criminal procedure Code, provides that; ‘A
person suspected of having committed an offence, shall be presumed innocent, until his guilt

19
has been legally established in the course of his trial, where he shall be given all necessary
guarantee for his defence. By virtue of S.8 (2) ‘The presumption of innocence shall apply to
every suspect, defendant and accused. A suspect shall be given adequate time to prepare his
defence and to have access to a Council, if he can afford to fee one.
As mentioned earlier, criminal cases are prosecuted by the State Prosecutor in the
name of the people of Cameroon or the State of Cameroon. For example if Elvis burgled in
the room of Vivian and stole a gas bottle, he commits an offence against the State called theft,
and the case will be cited thus: Elvis v the people of Cameroon; and prosecuted by the state
prosecutor, who is also known as the State Counsel.
On the other hand, the Civil Procedure Code laid down rules, for the institution of a
civil suit. Civil cases are usually cited by the name of the parties; e.g Ndifor John v Lum
Foncha. In civil cases it is generally the plaintiff who sues the defendant, though in some
areas of the civil law, other terms is used; for example, in matrimonial cases, the parties are
called petitioner and respondent; and the relief sought concerns dissolution of the marriage,
consequential financial arrangements and the custody of children.
The word ‘guilty’ is used primarily of criminal matters. The corresponding word in
civil cases is ‘liable’, but this word is also used in criminal context. In criminal cases there is
an open box in the court room, technically called a dock in which the accused seats. The
accused is arraigned while standing in the dock.
6. Classification of criminal offences.
Section 21 of the Penal Code classifies all offences in Cameroon, into three categories,
namely: felonies, misdemeanours, and simple offences. This section defines a felony as an
offence punishable by death or with a term of imprisonment whose minimum exceeds ten
years and above. The same section defines a misdemeanour as, an offence for which a penalty
of imprisonment or a fine may be imposed, where the term of imprisonment exceeds ten days
but not more than ten years and a fine which exceeds twenty five thousand francs cfa. Finally,
a simple offence is defined as an offence punishable with imprisonment of less than ten days
and a fine of twenty five thousand francs cfa.
It is essential for a beginner in introduction to law to know what conduct constitutes a
crime. Crime involves a social and a legal element.
The social element of a crime manifest itself only when individuals find themselves
living in a community. They constitute what is generally called a society. The individuals
interact with each other, in so doing they behave or conduct themselves in a manner, which
may adversely affect the interest of one another or the welfare of the community. Society

20
would in such circumstances want to imposed certain rules of behaviour and to establish a
social order with a view of safeguarding its survival and welfare, as well as protecting and
ensuring the free exercise and the enjoyment by its members of their individual and collective
rights.
Where such a social order has been established, any violation of one of such rules by
any member of the society disturbs it and for this reason, constitutes an anti social act. A
person, who violates the rule of the established social order, is popularly said to have
committed an offence or a crime. In this light crime is a social phenomenon; it manifest itself
only when there is a society.
However, the above definition is too wide from the point of view of modern criminal
law. Crime therefore as a legal concept, is different from crime as a social concept. As a legal
concept, crime has a narrow and technical concept.
From a legal point of view, it is not all acts of social behaviour that is punishable, in
the name of society. Acts of social behaviour vary in complexity, in nature, in the gravity of
their influx and in the type of harm or prejudice, which they may cause. Such acts are so
obviously harmful to the public that anyone would say they should be criminal and such acts
almost certainly are. In order that anti social conduct or behaviour should amount to a crime,
in the legal sense, it is necessary that in addition to its being condemned by the public, it
should be declared punishable by competent public authorities; e.g Parliament, the President
of the Republic, the Prime Minister and other senior executive members of government.
Lord Akin in Proprietary Article Trade Association v Attorney General for
Canada, said ‘the criminal quality of an act cannot be discerned by intuition, nor can it be
discovered by reference to any standard but one, is the act prohibited with penal
consequences’? On their part, Smith and Hogan, suggests at page 18 that ‘crime then are
wrong which the Judges have held, or Parliament has from time to time laid down as
sufficiently injurious to the public to warrant the application of criminal procedure’
Historically, crimes were acts which were mentally wrong such as rape, murder, and
theft. However, in more recent times, certain acts have come to be prohibited on grounds of
social expediency, rather than on account of their intrinsically immoral nature. Examples
include:road traffic offences, custom offences, and taxation offences.etc
CHAPTER NINE
JUDICIAL ORGANISATION IN CAMEROON
The administration of justice in Cameroon is on a tripartite basis. There are constituted
courts, special courts and indigenous courts. The judicial organization ordinance No 72/4 of

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26 August 1972, as amended by law No 89/19 of 29 th December 2006 makes a tripartite
classification of courts into original jurisdiction, courts with Appellate jurisdiction and courts
with special jurisdiction.
9.1. Courts with original jurisdiction
These are courts which have an all-embracing jurisdiction to hear and determine actions of
every kind whether criminal or civil for the first time. In Cameroon these courts includes
customary courts justice de paix attributions correctionnelles, courts of first instance and the
High courts.
i. Customary Courts
Customary courts apply the native law and custom prevailing in the respective areas of
their jurisdiction. The jurisdiction of these courts is mentioned in section 16(1) (b) of
ordinance No 72/4 of August 26 1972 as amended by section 16(1) (c) of the 1989 law. In fact
by section 9(1) (b) of the SCHL 1955, the high court shall not exercise original jurisdiction in
matters pertaining to customary law. Customary law courts include Alkali courts that exist for
the Fulani Degre in the Francophone Region.
ii. Justice de Paix Tribunals
These courts of which were four in number existed only in the Francophone regions and
dealt only with simple offences and misdemeanours, they have no civil jurisdiction. They
were found at Banyo, Tibati, Yoko and Moloundon. But with the creation of a court of first
instance in Tibati in 1984, another in Banyo in 1985 and others quite recently in Yoko and
Yokadauma areas, the justice de paix courts have ceased to exists in Cameroon.
iii. Courts of First Instance (Magistrate Court)
There is a court of first instance for each sub-division and is composed of a president, one
or more judges, a state counsel, one or more deputy state counsel, a chief registrar and one of
more registrars. The court of first instance is a single-judge court. All cases brought before it
are heard by a single judicial officer except in labour matters when the judge sits with two
assessors. The jurisdiction of the court is both civil and criminal. Its criminal jurisdiction is
limited to the trying of simple offences and misdemeanour offences. Section 13 (1) (c) of the
1989 law gives the court of 1 st instance jurisdiction to try civil, commercial and labour matters
where the amount of the action does not exceed 10.000.000 Francs CFA. See generally the
2011 on judicial organization.
iv. High Courts
The chief town of each Division has a High court whose territorial jurisdiction covers the
division in which it is located. Each High court is composed of a president who must be a

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judicial officer and member of the court of Appeal, one or more judges (members of the court
of Appeal), a state counsel, one or more deputy state counsel, a registrar in chief and more
registrars.
All felonies are tried at 1 st instance by the High court see S. 16 (1) (a) of the 1989 law. It
can also try at first instance any civil, commercial or labour matter which pecuniary value is
more than 10.000.000 Francs CFA (See S. 16 (1) (b) of the 1989 law). See generally the 2011
law on judicial organization.
9.2. Courts with Appellate Jurisdiction
The courts of appellate jurisdiction are the courts of appeal, the Supreme Court and to
some extent the common court of justice and Arbitration at Abidjan.
i. Court of Appeal
There is an appeal court for each region of the country and is headed by a president (a
chief justice) with one or more vice presidents (justices). By article 19nof law No 98/8 of 14
April 1998 (amending ordinance No 72/4 of 26 August 1972 relating to judicial organization),
the court of Appeal shall composed of a president, one or more vice presidents, one or more
justices of Appeal, a procureur general, advocate general, one or more deputies to the
procureur, legal assistants at the procureur general’s chambers, a registrar in chief, one or
more registrars.
As a collegiate court, decisions of the court of appeal are given by a bench of three
judges. However any one judge of the court is competent to give a ruling on behalf of the said
court of appeals against judgment referred to the court. The principle of collegiality is only
compulsory in three cases:
1. Where life imprisonment or death penalty may be incurred;
2. Where there is an appeal from a military court, the court of appeal must be composed
of two civilian judges and one military judge or a military officer;
3. Where there is an appeal on a labour matter, the president of the court sits with two
assessors. The courts of appeals jurisdiction is exclusively appellate.
ii. The Supreme Court
The Supreme Court is the highest court in the land in legal and administrative matters.
(See art 38 of law No 96/06 of January 1996). It comprises three benches, namely the judicial
bench, the administrative bench and the audit bench. The supreme court has it seat in
Yaoundé, and is comprised of a president, bench president, substantive or alternate puisne
judges, a procureur general and advocate general, deputies to the procureur general, a registrar
and registrars. Any case submitted to the court is heard by three judges.

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The Supreme Court is primarily a court of cassation only rarely does it decide a case on its
merits. It hears application alleging an error of law (and not a fact) in a judgment of a court
below. If it’s set aside a judgment of the court below, it makes an order of renvoi sending the
case back to be re-tries (on fact and law) by a court of the same jurisdiction as the one whose
judgment was set aside.
iii. The Common Court of Justice and Arbitration at Abidjan
The Common Court of Justice and Arbitration at Abidjan with its seat in Abidjan
Cote-d’Ivoire, rules on the interpretation and enforcement of the OHADA Treaty. It should be
recalled that Cameroon, being a founding member-state of OHADA (Organisation for the
Harmonisation of Business Law in Africa (OHBLA) Organisation pour l’Harmonisation en
Afrique Du Droit des Affaires) ratified the treaty leading to the creation of the organization by
Decree No 96/177 of 5 th September 1996. In this regard, appeals on commercial matters goes
to the common court of justice and Arbitration in Abidjan.
9.3. Courts with Special Jurisdiction
A court with special jurisdiction is one which deals either with specific matters formally
provided for by statute or with a particular class of persons. In Cameroon there are four courts
with special jurisdiction namely; the court of impeachment, the military court, the state
security court and the special criminal court. To this can be added the constitutional council
and the consultative boards, special criminal courts.
1. The Court of Impeachment
This court which existed under 1961 constitution of the federal high court of justice is
provided for in art 53(1) of the 1996 law revising the 1972 constitution. The court of
impeachment have jurisdiction in respect of acts committed in the exercise of their functions,
to try the president of the republic for high treason, and the prime minister, members of
government and persons ranking of such and senior government officials to whom powers
have been delegated in pursuance to article 10 and 12 of the constitution, for conspiracy
against the security of the state. The seat of court is Yaoundé. It is composed 9 substantive
and 6 alternative judges and is assisted by the national assembly: 6 substantive and 3 alternate
judges elected from among parliamentarians and the remaining 3 substantive and 3 alternative
judges elected from among non- parliamentarians. The elected judges choose their president
and vice president. The first Cameroonian case on impeachment is the federal procurator -
general versus Kanga (minister of information) where the minister was not charged with
conspiracy against the state but was charged and convicted with a fine and sentence of 4 years
imprisonment for false and tenacious publication.

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 2. The Military Court
The military court is governed by ordinance No 72/5 of 26 August, 1972 as amended by
law No 87/9 of 15 July 1987, law No 90/48 of December 1990 and law No 98/7 of 14 April
1998. In theory there is only one military court in Cameroon with its seat in Yaoundé. But the
court may, on the decision of the head of state or the minister delegate at the presidency in
charge of defense hold sessions in any locality in the country.
The military court comprises a president who may be either a civilian judge or a military
judge or an officer of the armed force; in time of war or during a state of emergency both
civilian and military judges are replaced by senior officers of the armed forces.
As a special court, the military court is by virtue of ordinance No 72/5 of 26 Au gust
1972, as amended by law No 90/48 of 19 December 1990 and law No 98/7 of 14 April 1998,
provides that the military court shall have exclusive jurisdiction to try the following types of
case involving persons of at least 18 years of age.
- Purely military offences provided for in the military code of justice. Offences of all
kinds committed by service men with or without civilian co-offenders or accomplices,
whether within a military establishment or while on duty.
- Any offence against the law relating to offensive and defensive weapons and to theft
committed with the aid of a firearm;
- Any offences related to the above.
It is stated in article 31(2) of law No 98/7 of 14 April 1998 that the military court shall
automatically take cognizance of cases dealing with defensive weapons, and to the theft
committed with the aid of firearm, which are pending before criminal courts on the
promulgation of this law. Decisions of the military courts are appealable in the court of
Appeal and ultimately to the Supreme Court.
3. The State Security Court
This court was created by law No 90/60 0f December 1990. The state security court has
jurisdiction over the whole Cameroonian territory. Its seat is in Yaoundé, but may, by
decision of the president of the Republic or the minister in charge of justice, conduct its
hearings in any other locality.
Persons below 14 years of age are not tried in the state security court, and the court has
exclusive jurisdiction to try felonies and misdemeanours against the internal and external
security of the state and related offences.
4. The Special criminal Court
5. The Constitutional Council

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 Law No 96/06 of 18 January 1996 created a constitutional council. By article 46 of the
said law, the constitutional council shall have jurisdiction in matters pertaining to the
constitution. It shall rule on the constitutionality of laws and it shall be the organ regulating
the functioning of state institutions.
The constitutional council according to article 48 shall ensure the regularity of
presidential elections, parliamentary elections and referendum operations. It shall proclaim
the results thereof.
Rulings of the constitutional council are not subject to appeal. They shall be binding on
all public, administrative, military and judicial authorities, as well as on all natural persons
and corporate bodies.
6. The Consultative Boards
Issues dealing with titles of unregistered land are resolved by the consultative board. They
fall within the ambit of the procedure laid down in section 5(3) of ordinance No 74/4 of 6 July
1974, fixing the acquisition of land title.
The consultative board was set up by Decree No 76/166 of 27 April 1976, with the purpose
of resolving all problems concerning unregistered land within the national territory. Members
of the board are not trained lawyers.
Chapter Ten: Some key aspects/principles of the Cameroon criminal law
1. The principle of legality
This principle brings out the legal element of an offence and it is indispensable to all
criminal offences. This crucial principle of criminal law holds that all offences and sanctions
must be provided for in a text by the legislator. It is generally express in legal jagons as “
Nullumcrimenlegen, nullapoena sine legen”. Meaningno crime,sanction without a text. This
principle is embedded in section 17 of the Cameroon penal code.
2. The principle of territoriality
This principle stands as the key principle in criminal law. It holds inter alia that the
criminal law of Cameroon is applicable to all offences committed on the Cameroonian
territory either by nationals or foreigners. In order word, Cameroon’s criminal law applies to
all individuals present within its territory without consideration of their nationality so long as
they commit or suffer from any offence perpetrated in the territory of the state. This principle
has a dual facet: sovereignty, efficacy.
Sovereignty: this is the power of each state to hear and determine all offences committed
within the state’s territory.
Efficacy: This is understood as giving the criminal law its repressive and intimidating
value.
3. The principle of non-retrospection of the law
This principle is contained in section 3 of the Cameroon penal code. This principle is to the
effect that once a legal text is adopted by the parliament and promulgated by the president of

26
the Republic, that law can only apply to offences committed after it coming into force. In
order word, the law is meant for future offences and has no retrospective effect.
Exceptionally, less severe law applies to offences in respect of which judgement has not been
delivered before its coming into force.
4. The principle of universality
This principle empowers the judge of the area or country of arrest to hear and determine
offences qualified as felony or misdemeanours without consideration of the nationality of the
parties concerned and the place of the commission of the offence. This concerns offences
generally referred to as: offences against humanity, piracy, human trafficking, money
laundry, trade in human organs etc…
5. The principle of double criminality/ jeopardy
This principle is to the effect that an individual cannot be retried for the same facts even under
a different statement of offence. In connection to this the Cameroon criminal procedure
codein its section 395(3) empowers any individual to raise the special pleas of autrefois
acquit, convict and pardon subject to the conditions provided by law.
6. The principle of non-accumulation of offences
This principle holds that, an accused person cannot be tried for several offences
contain in a single law suit. In order word, if an accused person commits more than one
offence, he shall be punished with the penalty prescribed for the most severe offence.
7. The principle of personality
This principle means that the Cameroon criminal law applies to its nationals (criminals or
victims) be they within the territory or abroad. Here we have active and passive personality.
The former is when the criminal law applies to a foreign criminal irrespective of the place of
commission of the offence. And the latter is aimed at submitting to the state’s criminal law its
citizens who are victims of an offence be they within the territory or not.
8. The principle of presumption of innocence
This principle is articulated on the idea that every accused person is presumed innocent
until proven guilty by the court of competent jurisdiction.
9. The principle of equal treatment
This principle is neatly provided in section 2 of the Cameroon penal code. It ordains that
everybody is subjected to criminal law. But exceptionally some categories of persons are
immune from criminal prosecution such as diplomatic agent. This diplomatic immunity is
based on the notion of extraterritoriality. These persons cannot even be called to give
evidence in court while they are in function. Diplomatic immunity is covered by the Vienna
Convention of 18th April 1961 which Cameroon adhered to on April 15th 1977.

Chapter Eleven: Laws and Text of Application

Laws are legal text promulgated into law by the Head of State. Texts of application on
the other hand, refer to regulatory or explanatory text. Most often they are aimed at
implementing or bringing in more precision to a promulgated law.
Laws are the expression of the legislative prerogatives whereas texts of application fall within
the prerogatives of the executive.

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