The maintenance of public order in Cameroon: a legal appraisal

Abstract

This paper examines the various legal instruments such as international agreements, laws, Ordinances and decrees that directly or indirectly guided the maintenance of public order in Cameroon. The adoption of these legal instruments was influenced by a number of factors including; the special status of Cameroon under the League of Nations and the United Nations Organisation, it's colonial history with France and Britain as well as important political, economic and social events that marked the evolution of the country during the regimes of Presidents Amadou Ahidjo and Paul Biya. In this paper, we aregue that changes in political regimes from the colonial to the post-colonial periods were accompanied by new security challenges that influenced mutations in the Cameroonian legal landscape. The overwhelming influence of the executive arm of government over the judiciary and legislature only helped to amplify the use of laws on the maintenance of public order as a means for the consolidation and perpétuation of political power. The main findings in this paper reveal that while legislation related to the maintenance of public order in Cameroon is diverse and rich, it's application on the ground reflected the ideological goals of each political system that often left much to be desired as accusations of human rights violations were common during the operations that were launched to restore public order.