Assessing the role of the legal department in the administration of justice in Cameroon

CHAPTER ONE
GENERAL INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

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 judgments are enforced . The administration of justice is an ever evolving area. In Cameroon, before civilization, justice was absolutely in the hands of the Fons and chiefs since we were operating under the traditional system where each ethnic group was subject to the rules made by either the chief or the Fons.
These traditional leaders where conferred a lot of powers to resolve dispute, pass laws and determine the punishment for the breach of such rules and it was until 1884 when the Europeans came and colonized us and brought their policies of administration and implemented it on us. First, it was the Germans and after the defeat of the Germans during the First World War, by Britain and France. Cameroon was now jointly administered by Britain and France and was even further divided into two with France taking one part and Britain taking the other and thus Cameroon has a unique legal system which is reminiscent of its colonial past.

It is referred to as a bi-jural country because during the colonial administration, the French introduced civil law in what was then East Cameroon while the English introduced the Common Law in what was then west Cameroon; this alludes to the dual application of the French and English legal traditions. The Law N°2011/027 of 14th December, 2011 which amended and supplemented Law N°.2006/015 of 29th December 2006 on judicial organization governs Cameroon’s judicial organization of courts and their capacities as well as jurisdiction.
Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have committed crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. The goals include the rehabilitation of offenders, preventing other crimes and moral support for victims. The primary institutions of the criminal justice system are the courts, prisons and the police. The government of Cameroon has put in place laws which are there to regulate the criminal justice system.

In Cameroon, Ordinance No. 72/04 of 26 August 1972 modified by Law No. 2006/015 of 29 December 2006 on judicial organization organizes the courts charged with the deliverance of justice in the country. According to Section 3 of that Law, the courts in charge of administering justice in the country include the Supreme Court, the Courts of Appeal, Lower Courts for administrative litigation, Lower Audit Courts, Military Courts, High Courts, Courts of First Instance and the Customary Courts. Added to these courts is the Special Criminal Court which is created to fight against corruption and misappropriation of public property in Cameroon.
The Legal Department is in charge of prosecuting crimes in Cameroon. It has a very crucial role to play in the criminal justice system. The Legal Department is headed at the trial Courts by the State Counsel and at the Appellate Courts by the Procureur-General. There are two major characteristics of the Legal Department; indivisibility of action by the legal department and subordination to instructions from hierarchy.
Section 127 of the Criminal Procedure Code provides that “The Legal Department shall be indivisible.” Therefore any judicial act done by any Magistrate of the Legal Department shall be presumed to be done in the name of the entire Department. This also means that Legal officers appointed to functions at the Legal Department may assist or replace other legal officers in their prosecutorial functions in different State Counsel’s Chambers in the same Region.

There is subordination to instructions from hierarchy in the Legal Department. The legal officers in charge of prosecution at different levels of the court structure direct and control all actions conducted by the officers in their respective chamber. They are accountable before hierarchy. Some or all of these functions may be delegated to other legal officers within the chambers. No legal officer may be appointed to functions which places a senior legal officer under his authority. A relationship of subordination exists amongst the legal officers in the same chambers, between the chambers of the Procureur General and all the State Counsel Chambers in the same Region and between the Minister of Justice, keeper of the seals and all the legal departments.
According to Section 128 of the Criminal Procedure Code the Legal Department shall be a principal party in a criminal trial before the court and shall always be represented at such trials under pain of rendering the entire proceeding and the decision null and void and subject to the powers of the Presiding Magistrate to maintain order in court, the Legal Department may intervene at any stage of the trial.

The functions of the Legal Department in the criminal justice system are spelt out from Sections 132 to 141 of the Criminal Procedure Code. The Legal Department of the appellate courts shall be in charge of appeals lodged in the court. At the level of the trial courts, Section 137 of the Criminal Procedure Code is to the effect that the State Counsel shall direct and control the operations of the officers and agents of the judicial police and he may, at any time, visit the police post or the gendarmerie brigade in order to verify the conditions of persons in custody. In the course of such control, the persons whose release he orders of his own motion or by virtue of an order of habeas corpus, must immediately be set free, under pain of prosecution for unlawful detention against the judicial police officers in charge of the police post or gendarmerie brigade where the custody takes place.
The State Counsel may, at any time and place act as a judicial police officer. Section 138(1) of same code provides “The State Counsel shall, in the exercise of his duties, have the right to directly request the use of the forces of law and order.”
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
One problem confronted in the effective administration of justice in Cameroon is the problem of independence of the judiciary.
Another problem faced in the administration of justice in Cameroon is the adoption of archaic statutes that were largely meant to nurture a colonial society among others which are now part of our laws even till date. The Minister of Justice has the power to stop at any time any proceeding going on in court through the Procureur General. The law on judicial organization has established courts in the country with their competences yet civilians are tried in military courts every day .
1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
This research answers the following questions:
• What is the Legal Department?
• What role does the Legal Department play in the administration of justice in Cameroon?
• Is the Legal Department effective in administering justice in Cameroon?
• Are there any policy recommendations on the role of the Legal Department in the administration of justice in Cameroon?

1.4 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
The objectives of this research are both general and specific.
1.4.1 General objective
The general objective of this work is to examine the role of the Legal Department in the administration of justice in Cameroon.
1.4.2 Specific objectives
• To analyze what the Legal Department is.
• To examine the role played by the Legal Department in the administration of justice in Cameroon.
• To investigate the effectiveness of the Legal Department in administering justice in Cameroon.
• To make policy recommendations on the role of the Legal Department in the administration of justice in Cameroon.

1.5 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The methodology is qualitative in nature. This methodology deals with observation and interpretations. The method used is the doctrinal research method which is largely content analysis. Information are collected from both primary and secondary sources. Primary sources include information as it emanates from the law maker like the Criminal Procedure Code and the Law on Judicial Organization, and secondary sources include textbooks, journals, magazines and even internet sources.
The reason for this method is because there are so many articles and books touching on the role of the Legal Department and so it becomes easier for the researcher to analyze this library based information to achieve the aim of the research.
1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
 Geographic scope
Geographically the work is delimited to the State of Cameroon and thus does not go beyond the territorial boundaries of Cameroon.
1.7 JUSTIFICATION FOR THE STUDY
The preservation of state security, territorial integrity and national unity are the fundamental priorities to the Cameroon government. In order to achieve these goals, society must conform to the various criminal law texts; the need to provide justice for victims of crime and also to deter potential future criminals within the ambient of the law has necessitated the researcher to examine the role the Legal Department plays in dispensing justice. Thus the first motivation for this work is to provide literature on this subject.
‘‘Crime, no doubt permeates every known society ’’. The situation in Cameroon is not different. Another justification for this research is that it will give the researcher the opportunity to make policy recommendations for the effective administration of justice in Cameroon.
This research is also undertaken in partial fulfillment of the award of the Bachelor of laws at the University of Buea.
1.8 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY