The President of the Senate; The Speaker of the National Assembly; The President of the Constitutional Council; The President of the Economic and Social Council; The Prime Minister, Head of Government; The Minister of State, Minister of Justice, Keeper of the Seals; Distinguished Ministers; Ministers Delegate and Secretaries of State; The Lord Mayor of Yaounde; Distinguished Judicial and Legal Officers; The acting President of Cameroon Bar Association; The President of the National Chamber of Notaries Public; The President of the National Order of Sheriff/Bailiffs; Distinguished members of the judicial family; Distinguished guests, all protocol respected;
This solemn session is holding in a special context dominated by the covid-19 pandemic.
In a bid to respect the etiquette prescribed for this purpose, the Supreme Court has reduced this ceremony to its simplest form, with very few guests and a lot of moderation.
1
This solemn session is in compliance with the requirements of section 33 of Law No. 2006/16 of 29 December 2006 to lay down the organisation and functioning of the Supreme Court which provides:
“(1) At the start of each judicial year and on 28 February at the latest, a solemn reopening ceremony of the Supreme Court, attended by heads of appeal courts, lower administrative courts and lower audit courts in judicial robes, shall hold under the chairmanship of the [Chief Justice].”
(2) The President of the Republic may, at his request, attend the ceremony and deliver a speech, if need be.”
Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
The Supreme Court is honoured to welcome you to its premises and acknowledges you for enhancing the splendour of this ceremony with your presence.
In spite of the particular circumstances, the Supreme Court has undertaken to respect the tradition of sharing the following discourse with you on an increasingly worrying observation:
“The difficult execution of court judgments in Cameroon”
Generally, judicial activity has three phases: the conduct of the trial, the conclusion of the trial and the execution of the judgment.
Of course, the last phase is the most important (1).
(1) Calbairac, l’exécution des décisions de Justice, Dalloz 1947, chr 85 Du Rusquec, Réflexions sur l’exécution des décisions de Justice Gaz-pal 1982 Doct.355
First, it is important to litigants interested only in the effective outcome of their proceedings.
Second, it is important for the credibility of the Judiciary which would be weakened if there is a failure in the execution of the judgments delivered.
Pascal in his time held that: “Force without Justice is tyrannical; and Justice without force is powerless. What is right must therefore be strong and what is strong must be fair.”(2)
In fact, a trial does not really end until after the judgment has been executed. PLATO held that “it is right to give every man his due”
In a bid to ensure a rapid and effective execution of court judgments(3), the Cameroon lawmaker and the OHADA lawmaker provided for a range of measures to overcome the resistance of debtors and losers.(4)