An Appraisal on the Protection of the Rights of Accused Persons Standing Trial before a Competent Court of Law under the Cameroonian Legal System

Abstract

An accused person, otherwise referred to in French as “le prevenu”, is a person who must appear before the trial court to answer to the charge brought against him whether in respect of a simple offence, a misdemeanor or a felony [1]. The Cameroon Criminal Procedure Code upholds the trial rights of accused persons. The code like the 1996 Constitution of Cameroon provides a platform for the implementation of criminal norms in the country. It also helps protect accused persons from arbitrary and unjust laws and sanctions. The present Criminal Code harmonized the two procedural codes that existed in Francophone and Anglophone Cameroon which were the Code d’Instruction Criminelle, and the Criminal Procedure Ordinance respectively. These trial rights of accused persons are upheld through a legal process by the trial courts of Law in Cameroon. This therefore means that the rights of accused persons are therefore suppose to be treated in a particular way during a criminal trial. These rights embody the right to be given something as well as the right to be allowed to do something in a specific manner. Adopting purely qualitative research method involving purely content analysis of cases and relevant statutes, this paper conclude that the government has made efforts in respecting the rights of accused persons standing trial before a competent court of law but its efforts are inadequate. Notwithstanding, finding a compromise between the respects of the rights of accused persons standing trial before a competent court of law with societal interest has never been a trouble-free assignment. To this end, the paper seeks to examine the protection of the rights of accused persons as are confectioned in the criminal procedure code and its extent of implementation as we sought to respond to the main question, to what extent does the Cameroon government guarantee the respect of the rights of accused persons standing trial before a competent court of law?