Cameroon: Supreme Court President says judicial errors and stalled proceedings must be eradicated

The president of the Supreme Court of Cameroon has said that judicial errors and stalled proceedings are there two evils that have plagued the functioning of the Cameroonian justice system and must be eradicated. The head of the judiciary made the declaration on February 23, 2016 in a ceremony attended by cabinet members including the Prime Minister and Head of Government, Philemon Yang. Another speaker who lampooned the Cameroonian legal system was the Attorney General of that body, Luc Ndjodo.

Justice Luc Ndjodo told the CPDM cabinet that based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, every citizen was entitled to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal in the determination of his rights and obligations or of the merits of any criminal charge against him. The heads of the Cameroon judiciary also castigated some lawyers lacking in legal finesse observing that they do not even master court proceedings.

Daniel Mekobe Sone added that to limit these errors of often serious consequences, better training should be accorded magistrates and greater independence from the influence and intervention from the CPDM government.