The Supreme Court, located in Yaounde is the incarnation of justice, elevated to the judicial power by the revised constitution of 18th January 1996.
It is also at the highest Court of the justice system of the country, which system has experienced a lot of changes.
Following the Germano-Douala Treaty signed on 12 July 1884 in Douala - which in fact was a protectorate agreement between German businessmen and the Douala chiefs - Cameroon became a German colony and remained so up to the dual occupation of the country in 1916 by French and English troops respectively under the command of General AYMERICH and General DOBELL.
This military occupation led to the partitioning of the country into two separate entities later on known as EAST CAMEROON and WEST CAMEROON.
This partition in turn led to the setting up on either side of the Mungo of two legal systems; the one, of Romano-Germanic tradition and the other, of Anglo-Saxon inspiration.
These systems functioned in the different parts during the League of Nations and the United Nations trusteeship under France and Great Britain.
The East Cameroon legal system was reformed by Ordinance No.59/86 of 17 December 1959 just a few days before the proclamation of the independence of the autonomous regions of A.E.F.I on 1 January 1960.
At the summit of the justice system is the Supreme Court to which an Audit Bench was added in 1961 (Law No.61/3 of 4 April 1961).
East Cameroon reunited with West Cameroon, an autonomous state within the Federation of Nigeria since 1954. On 1 October 1961 Cameroon became a Federal Republic.
Under this new dispensation, to sever the umbilical cord with the Lagos Court of Appeal and thus improve on the judicial organization of this Federated state (former West Cameroon), a Federal Ordinance of 16 October 1961 was signed to set up the Court of Appeal, Buea - the equivalent of the Supreme Court.
At the federal level a Federal Court of Justice was set up in the same crucial year of 1961 by Law No. 61/24 of 1 September 1961 to amend the Constitution.
This Court had jurisdiction to determine:
- The constitutionality and legality of instruments
- Conflict of jurisdiction between the highest courts of the federated states;
- Interpretation of Federal Law;
- Administrative litigation;
- Disputes between federated states or between the Federal Republic and the federated states.
The main disadvantage of the federal system was the extreme complexity of all the institutions functioning in the country and the ensuing financial burden on the State.
On 20 May 1972, following a referendum, the Federal State became a unitary state called, the United Republic of Cameroon.
All institutions of the new State underwent some changes to comply with its new structure and Constitution.
At the judicial level, Ordinance No.72/4 of 26 August 1972 on judicial organisation was enacted.
- The two highest courts of the federated states vanished with the states.