Cameroon

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Several lessons emerge from the analysis. First, although many interviewees agreed that recent reforms had been made to improve accessibility to the justice system, only 33.64 percent of households reported that access to justice had improved because of these reforms. The reforms, in the respondents’ views, included improved staff access to documentation, increased staffing in jurisdictions, and construction of new court buildings. Others involved legislative text reforms, improving staff remuneration, retraining court staff, and acquiring modern equipment. 

About 50 percent of respondents said administrative courts were difficult to access and 70.59 percent thought that Cameroon’s judiciary favored the rich and powerful at the expense of the less fortunate. 

Second, barriers to access justice remained significant. Among interviewees, 55 percent primarily pinpointed the lack of information, while 57 percent of young people and 58 percent of women, two of the vulnerable groups focused on in the survey, identified the absence or limited availability of legal aid services, which significantly increased the cost of accessing justice. The length and complexity of legal proceeding, likewise, represented a serious barrier for these vulnerable groups, at 74 percent of young people and 73.48 percent of women. 

Beyond the physical barriers, interviewees in Yaoundé pointed to prevalent corruption (up to 86.27 percent of respondents), discrimination by officials of justice (64.89 percent), poor decisions (65.71 percent), and lack of confidence in justice (78 percent) as the main barriers to access. 

Third, awareness of national laws and information about the operation of the Cameroonian judiciary system, exacerbated by the absence of legal aid services, is a significant problem. 

In fact, more than 44 percent of women and 35 percent of men said their knowledge levels of rights was low and 69.44 percent of women and 61.68 percent of men believed that their knowledge level of the operation of the judiciary system was low. This is because information is indeed limited. For 81.03 percent of key players of the judiciary system, legal information is not available at the community level. A lack of legal aid services exacerbates the problem, with similarly high levels of both women and men identifying the problem. Most interviewees said used the media as their primary source of information and 45.40 percent of them said they never used law professionals. 

Fourth, it is therefore not surprising that much of the population no longer has confidence in the judiciary to administer justice fairly and independently. As an alternative to the formal system, 24 percent of interviewees in Yaoundé systematically resorted to alternate justice mechanisms (conciliation, mediation). Among these people, women represented 53.82 percent and individuals younger than 35 accounted for 60 percent. 

Finally, and more all-encompassing, it is clear from this study that many barriers to access to justice persist in Cameroon. In addition, many substantive questions on certain issues such as family law, the rights of young people, the rights of elderly and disabled people as well as the rights of consumers are not always addressed. Any reforms should ensure that recourse to the courts is as inexpensive and as expeditious as possible and that the services of lawyers and notaries are accessible to all.