CHAPTER V : DISPUTE AND RESOLUTION IN CAMEROON
It is a fact of business life
that disputes arise over legal rights, be
they contracted or otherwise. Having a basic
familiarity with the legal system of the country
seems to be of great importance, even though
business transactions can be structured to
avoid litigation.
I. THE CAMEROONIAN COURT SYSTEM
The Cameroonian Court system is
an original mixture of the French and common
law systems in regard to its organization,
however the litigation procedure is entirely
a French one.
A) THE COURTS
The Cameroonian system has
one level of trial courts and two levels of
appellate courts. With the exception of the
single judge system for the Tribunal de 1ère
Instance, courts are fitted with a three judge
panel which issues a collegial opinion.
1. TRIAL COURTS
There are two kinds of trial courts:
the customary courts and the modern courts.
a) The customary courts
Customary courts can have
jurisdiction if both the plaintiff and the
defendant agrees on it, and unless special
jurisdiction has been granted by law to the
modern courts. The courts base their decisions
in view of customary law.
b) The modern courts
There are three trial courts
in the modern system :
The Tribunal de Première Instance
With the exception of labor matters, the Tribunal
de Première Instance is a single judge
Court. The Tribunal de Première Instance
has jurisdiction over minor offenses, civil
and commercial actions involving less than
500,000 CFA Francs, summary proceedings and
juvenile delinquency matters.
The Tribunal de Grande Instance
The Tribunal de Grande Instance has a general
jurisdiction which covers civil, commercial
and penal matters. The Tribunal de Grande
Instance is divided into several chambers
: The civil division, the commercial division,
the labor division and the criminal division.
The Military Court
The Military Court is composed of at least
one military judge who deals with military
offenses and attempts against government security
2. THE COURT OF APPEAL
The Court of Appeal has jurisdiction
over appeals issued from the Tribunal de Grande
Instance, the Tribunal de Première
Instance and the customary courts.
Unlike the common law Court of
Appeal, the Court of Appeal reexamines the
facts of a dispute and can hold hearings to
supplement a case's factual record.
In military matters one of the
three judges is a military judge or an army
officer.
In labor matters, two of the three
judges are non professional judges elected
among workers and employers.
In major crimes, when the defendant
can be sentenced to death, the three judge
panel is completed by a jury of four.
3. THE SUPREME COURT
In civil, penal, commercial and
labor matters, the Supreme Court is the final
level of appeal and it can only review the
application of the law.
The Supreme Court also has jurisdiction
over all matters in which the government is
concerned. These include especially tax law
disputes, government contracts and torts.
As far as administrative matters
are concerned, the administrative division
of the Supreme Court is the trial level and
appeals from its decisions are dealt with
by the plenary session.
B) THE LITIGATION PROCEDURE
The following exposé concerns
civil and administrative litigation. The procedure
of which is very similar to criminal proceedings.
1. CIVIL AND COMMERCIAL PROCEDURE
a) Initiation of a law suit
A law suit is initiated by
a writ of summons which contains a complaint
made against a defendant (assignation or citation).
The writ must be delivered by a process server.
The delivery must transit through
a process server, even when the law suit in
question is brought before a court in a foreign
country.
b) Evidence
gathering
In Cameroon, the Court actively orchestrates
the gathering of evidence. The parties can
ask the court to take the necessary measures
for gathering evidence. There are three basic
ways of doing so at a court's disposal :
it may order the concerned party or third
party to submit an affidavit with regards
to some aspects of a law suit
it may order parties to appear in court, in
view of their testimony and gathered evidence
it is the court rather than the parties themselves
which examines a party's testimony in view
of the evidence it has been given. Each party
may give any evidence it considers relevant
to the court.
2. ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE
All matters to which the government,
professional orders or public institutions
are a party are dealt with by the administrative
division of the Supreme Court. The plaintiff
must make a preliminary claim before the relevant
ministry.
The law suit is initiated before
the administrative division by the registration
of a complaint at the clerk of the court's
office. The latter then informs the ministry
or the relevant administrative authority which
may represent the defendant. The administrative
division has the same powers of investigation
as those of the civil division.
II. ARBITRATION
Under Cameroonian law and in commercial
and international matters only, parties can
decide either by contract (clause compromissoire)
or by a post-dispute agreement that arbitration
rather than litigation will be pursued. Arbitration
is chosen for the following reasons :
a) it is considered to be more
amicable way of resolving a dispute ;
b) it is speedier than litigation
;
c) it allows a private, unpublicized
resolution ;
d) it allows a dispute to be resolved
through equity rather than through unfamiliar
rules of law.
Arbitration awards are made enforceable
in Cameroon by the presiding judge of the
relevant Court. Appeals against certain awards
are possible unless otherwise-provided before
the Tribunal de Première Instance or
the Cour d'Appel, but never go beyond to the
Cour de Cassation.
