SOAS Research Online

Abstract

This article discusses the establishment of the Common Law Division (CLD) of the Supreme Court in the context of the Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon. It argues that the problem of the common law’s unequal status in Cameroon’s bijural legal system is compounded by the feeble constitutional affirmation of bijuralism as a constitutional identity. That has a concomitant effect on the way that the common law is represented within the Supreme Court and the CLD in particular. To explore that argument, the article offers an original analysis of bijuralism as a constitutional identity constructed from the legal, political and historical evolution of bijuralism in Cameroon. It is further contended that the establishment of the CLD was a missed opportunity to address the parity of the two legal traditions. Ultimately, the article suggests that the door to further reforms is not closed. In particular, the introduction of constitutional amendments to unequivocally affirm bijuralism as a constitutional identity and to reassert the parity of the two legal traditions.