CONTEXT AND JUSTIFICATION

 Recent developments portray Cameroon in the international scene as an arena where insecurity reigns due to recurrent social revindications. The most chocking scenario is the recent social tensions which have been termed “the Anglophone problem” dealing with the many preoccupations raised by some professional bodies such as that  of the lawyers.

The origin of these tensions which has degenerated into social disorder in the South and North West regions has its roots in a movement that started on the 8^th November 2016 by English speaking Cameroonian lawyers.

Amongst the main grievances tabled to the state of Cameroon, was the necessity to translate the Uniform Acts of the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa also called l’ Organisation pour l’Harmonisation en Afrique du Droit des Affaires (OHADA) into English given Cameroon’s membership since the 20^th of October 1995.

In response to this complaint which was deemed legitimate by public authorities, the Permanent Secretary of OHADA completed and published an updated English version of the Uniform Acts and Treaties of OHADA on the 24^th of November 2016. Following suit, on the 28^th   of November 2016, the Permanent Secretary of this institution, Her Excellency Dorothé COSSI SOSSA presented the final consigned result of the special edition of the OHADA official gazette to the Minister Secretary General at the Presidency of the Republic of Cameroon, Mr. Ferdinand NGOH NGOH, representing the President of the Republic of Cameroon, His Excellency Paul BIYA.

In the same light, the Prime Minister, Head of Government, Mr. Philemon YANG signed an order on the 22^nd of December 2016 on the creation, organization and operation of an ad hoc committee to examine and propose solutions related to the operation of Justice as raised by the English-speaking lawyers of Cameroon.

In effect, per the official figures released by the Cameroonian Ministry of Justice, Cameroon has 1265 French speaking and 227 English speaking magistrates, 59 francophone court bailiffs working in the North and South West regions and just 15 Anglophone court bailiffs in the South West REgions. Out of a totality of 514 court bailiffs in Cameroon, no Anglophone court bailiff is working in the francophone parts of Cameroon.

It is therefore with the aim to contribute in the search for solutions to the preoccupations raised by English speaking lawyers on the functionality of justice in Cameroon that the African Business Climate Survey (in its role as a monitoring and evaluation body ensuring the effectiveness of the OHADA law in its 17 member states) and the Cameroon Business Forum, with the institutional support of strategic and sectoral ministries concerned such as, MINJUSTICE, MINFI,