Douala: Researchers propose ways to make justice system more human-centred.

The meeting of the justice researchers was held as part of the second edition of The Okwelians Campus Researchers programme.

The said programme has an ambition to suggest conditions for the re-humanisation of the Cameroonian justice system. It was organised in partnership with the Foundation for Innovation in Democracy.

For the this edition, The Okwelians' Laboratory of Ideas, known as 'The LaB’ , mobilised a variety of stakeholders ranging from students, academics, and Cameroonian experts from various fields to engage in an advanced and critical reflection on the chosen theme: “Justice and Democracy: Putting Humanity at the Heart of Justice".

The theme reflects The Okwelians’ ambition to invest in all social fields to promote equity and work towards a better social justice system in Cameroon.

The Executive Director of The Okwelians, Carole Medy, said: "The theme chosen for this second edition of the Campus Researchers programme reflects our commitment to work towards a justice system that places humanity at the centre of its concerns”. 

“By bringing together researchers and experts from diverse backgrounds over the course of these three days and beyond, we are paving the way for deep and critical reflections that are essential for the sustainable transformation of Cameroon’s judicial system. We are convinced that by mobilising the research community around current issues, such as the state of our justice system, we will succeed in building a fairer society and a sustainable democracy," Medy added. 

The panelists were eager to come up with ideas that could reflect a justice system based on the African notion of human interest. Going by Prof Moneboulou Minkada, the current justice system was inherited from the Europeans and imposed on Africans. 

"It is difficult to recognise ourselves in this system. Now, gaining independence, we can now think on our own justice system with the human being as the first value of justice…the system of justice should be at the service of the individual, who is a victim of offenses," Prof Moneboulou said.  

Participants were selected through call for applications which opened in March.  About sixty young Cameroonian researchers manifested interest. 

After a pre-selection based on the submitted applications and a thorough review of the projects by an independent jury composed of high-level experts, 10 researchers from various fields – law, history, politics, economics were retained.

One of the researchers, Dr Joseph Olinga, insisted that “democracy and justice cannot be disassociated. We need a situation where there can be the right application of justice”. 

“After the meeting, we hope to take our proposals to the government and stakeholders engaged in the justice system in Cameroon," he said.  

This article was first published in The Guardian Post issue N0:3241 of Thursday September 26, 2024