Editorial: When MPs interrogate justice minister.

There are at least five Magistrate promotion sessions in the country (meaning that body has not held for five years). So what's blocking the holding of the Higher Judicial Council?

The laconic answer from the minister was: "I have taken note of your concern". The visibly surprised Honourable Member of Parliament just laughed.

But it was a crucial question that touched the heart of the rule of law, given the importance of the Higher Judicial Council. 

The Council is chaired by the Head of State, President Paul Biya, and assisted by the Minster of Justice and Keeper of the Seals. The Higher Judicial Council appoints judges and magistrates, promotes some and has responsibility of disciplining corrupt ones.

The Guardian Post checked and found out that it last met at the Presidency, as usual, on August 10, 2020, in a session that was chaired by President Biya, who is "guarantor of the independence of Cameroon’s magistracy".

During that session, he said an oath those appointed “should be a source of inspiration for you and commitment to the service of a credible justice system that is attached to its principles, endowed with competent personnel, and appreciated by our fellow citizens”.

There was no case of indiscipline against any magistrate, as had been in the past.

Magistrates were promoted, some transferred and new graduates from the National School of Administration and Magistracy, ENAM, were validated and posted even at the peak of COVID-19 pandemic.

The meeting was organised in strict compliance with the exigencies of the COVID-19 pandemic.

What has happened since then, especially as graduates after Higher Judicial Council session have been idling while cases are delayed in courts because of shortage of magistrates?

Minister of State, Laurent Esso told parliament that he had taken note of the delay, which was a polite way to parry the question.

Such ambiguity, however, brews speculations. For instance, the highly respected Africa Confidential newsletter, in a report titled: "Cameroon's Higher Judicial Council paralysed by tensions", attributed the delay to alleged conflict between the Ministry of Justice and the secretariat of the presidency.

Such speculations, be they true or not, are detrimental to the image of the country. At The Guardian Post we think the minister would have expatiated in his reply.

It is not only the Higher Judicial Council that has not held for the past three years, not five as the parliamentarian said; the Bar Association exams are notoriously delayed. 

In a recent interview with University World News, Barrister Justice Ntoko Ebah, a member of the Cameroon Bar Council, said: “The government is taking too long to organise Bar exams, sometimes more than seven years. This is too frustrating for the thousands of law graduates from different universities at home and abroad wishing to enter the Bar and practice”.

The government has been blaming the delay on budgetary constraints, he said. The delay in organising the exams has often forced many students from Cameroon to seek training opportunities in other African countries like Nigeria, Liberia and Rwanda, The Gambia, where there are specialised law training schools.

As a solution, the President of the Bar Association, Barrister Mbah Eric, has called for the creation of a Law School. 

"It is imperative that we get a training institution for lawyers ... It will not only improve the quality of our lawyers, but will permit those trained at home to perform better, no matter where they live and function,” Mbah Eric said. 

There has also been a opinions that the Higher Judicial Council placed under the President of the Republic is inclined to delays given his tasking positions such as National President of the ruling CPDM, Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, and his being regularly called to resolve strikes in ministries with "high instruction".

The African Commission for Human Rights and Freedoms is on record to have recommended that the Higher Judicial Council should be handled by a parliamentary commission to guarantee the independence of the judiciary.

There is no question that parliamentarians were not satisfied with the response from the Minister of Justice. But it is an opportunity to exert their own power and independence.

They should pass a private member bill to institute a Higher Judicial Council headed by an independent personality of mettle as in other countries like the United Kingdom, where there is an independent Judicial Appointment Commission.

This story was first published in The Guardian Post issue No:3150 of Wednesday June 26, 2024