Common Law Lawyers on Nationwide Sit-down Strike

By Christopher Talla Aghaa

UPDATE, Kumba, SWR, Cameroon, 12.10.2016…………. Legal Luminaries from the North West and South West Regions under the canopy of the Association of Cameroon Common Law Lawyers have gone on a sit-down strike. The strike which stated on Tuesday October 11^TH,2016 will last until the Friday October 14^th,2016. During this period, all court actions will be on a stand-still.

 

This Sit-down strike action, according to the Lawyers is to demonstrate their present feelings of government negative attitude towards their plight not withstanding their patience. Thus all members of the Cameroon Bar Association were called upon to support in this constructive strike action for a better role of law in Cameroon.

This decision is contained in a joint communiqué was signed by Barristers Harmony Bobga-Mbuton, Nkongho Felix Abgor Balla, Awutah Philip Atubah, and Ngangjoh Sopseh Emilien presidents of NorthWest Lawyers Association, NOWELA, Fako Lawyers Association,FAKLA, Meme Lawyers Association,MELA, and Manyu Lawyers Association, MALA,respectively, and endorsed by the leadership of the Constituent Association of Cameroon Common Law Lawyers, at the end of a meeting that took place in Bamenda Thursday October 6^th, 2016. The communiqué was addressed to the Head of State, H.E President Paul Biya in his capacity as Head of the Judiciary, Head of the Executive and Principal Initiator of Legislation in both legislative houses.

According to a copy of the communiqué, which UPDATE procured, the Anglophone Lawyers drew the attention of the Head of State to the over two years since he was served the resolutions arrived at, during the Bamenda inaugural conference of the Cameroon Common Law Lawyers that took place on May 9^th,2015 and the that of Buea on the February,13^th,2016, regarding the erosion of the most cherish Common Law  in Cameroon, by the powers that be, wherein a six months ultimatum was given to the Yaoundé Regime to amongst other things, return to a federal system of government as was the case before 1972, even though they are still to receive an acknowledgment of receipt to that effect.

The  communiqué, on behalf of the Common Law Lawyers, further informed the Head of State of a recent incident where some members in an attempt to exercise their constitutional rights of freedom of expression through the medium of a press conference were stifled with administrative bans and police harassments. Moreover the Anglophone Lawyers observed that after carefully reviewing the attitude of the government towards all complaints of Common Law Lawyers over the erosion of the Common Law in Cameroon as manifested in the Organization of Business Law In Africa, OHADA Legislation, The Insurance Legislation, CODE CIMA and virtually every other piece of legislation since 1972, they have no other choice to express their vexations to the Head of State through the memo and announcing their one week sit- down strike action.

The Lawyers from the off shots of all these mishaps have called on the Head of State in his capacity as Head of the Judiciary, that after having exercise patience to set up an Ad Hoc Commission to respond to the Bamenda and Buea Declarations’, and equally to convene an emergency session of the Higher Judicial Council and redeploy all Civil Law Magistrates from the Common Law Jurisdictions of the North West and South West Regions and equally redeploy all Common Law Magistrates from the Civil Law Jurisdictions to the Common Law Jurisdictions.

 

Genesis of the lawyers dissenting voices

It should be recalled that the appointments of Francophone magistrates in Common Law courts had being the immediate cause for the “All Anglophone Lawyers Conference” that took place in Bamenda in May 2015. According to the Lawyers the most cherish common law system practiced in the North West and South West Regions was gradually been eroded with Magistrates delivering their submissions in French language which the lawyers consider as doing injustice to the clients.

Barrister Harmony Bobga  recently resigned President of the North West Lawyers Association,  had stated during a meeting in Kumba in prelude to that historic Bamenda   meeting May last year, disclosed that enough  is enough and time for action is now. Barrister Bobga narrated that, the Common Law Lawyers noticed that, the government has been succeeding in dividing and ruling the West Cameroonians, reasons why when they touch the area of Law, after due reflection and consideration Lawyers decided to galvanized all common law lawyers to stand up as one person to ensure that the government recognizes, respects and gives protection to the Common Law values and tradition. He hinted that the common law jurisdiction have been inundated with Civil law train magistrates whom he described as judicial administrators. He observed that 65% of all the support staffs in the courts in Common law jurisdiction are all francophone.

Statistics according to  a research conducted by Barrister  Besong Atem Tambe of Temple-Inn Law Chambers and addressed to  the Editor of FAKLA Newsletter revealed that of the  148 magistrates in the South West Region, a Common Law Jurisdiction, 58 magistrates are Francophone,  and 54 magistrates working in the Legal Department. Meanwhile in the North West Region, of the 128 magistrates appointed to that jurisdiction 67 are Francophone and 67 work at the legal department, forcing the Anglophones to condemn such marginalization, insisting that Cameroon is a bi-jural state with Civil Law and common law operating in the Cameroon East of the Moungo and West Of the Moungo respectively.