Adoption of Children in Cameroon: A Blend of the Procedures before the Civil and Common Law Courts of Cameroon

Abstract

Adoption is a process that provides comfort and relief to potential parents who are unable to conceive, as well as a God-given opportunity for disadvantaged children to grow up in a stable and dependable home to secure their education and general well-being. Most countries have adopted a law on adoption and are parties to different bilateral and multilateral conventions. On its part, Cameroon does not have any stringent laws on adoption matters except when recourse is made to English and French laws owing to the colonial past of the state. This presents a serious problem in understanding the procedure for adoption in Cameroon as courts on the two divides of the country, and especially in Anglophone Cameroon continues to make use of different pieces of legislation. This article therefore sets out to discuss the procedure for adoption common to the courts of the civil and common law jurisdictions of Cameroon. Findings indicate that no matter the form of adoption wherever it is sort, the paramount concern of the courts is the welfare of the child to which unperturbed consent of either party must be given for adoption to be granted. Cameroon is also encouraged to ratify the 1993 Hague Convention as most adoptions made in Cameroon are by foreigners.