AN ASSESSMENT OF CAMEROON’S LEGAL AID SYSTEM AS AN INSTRUMENT TO PROMOTE ACCESS TO JUSTICE FOR THE POOR

Abstract

The administration of justice in Cameroon’s courts is govern by some general principles and concepts. Amongst the established principles is the one contained in the Law on Judicial Organisation in Cameroon,^[1] which provides that “Justice shall be administered free of charge subject only to the fiscal provisions concerning stamp duty and registration and those concerning the reproduction of records of proceedings for appeals”. This does not absolve a party to a case from paying his or her lawyer and other allied expenses. Therefore, this might be a barrier for the poor and underprivileged parties to have access to justice which is a fundamental human right. This paper examines the effectiveness of the Cameroonian legal aid system as an instrument intended to breach this barrier in order to realise the important commitment of the government contained in the slogan “justice for all by 2035”, in line with the social policies in support of growth and poverty reduction.