Applying International Standards in Enforcing the Right to Personal Liberty in Cameroon: Challenges and Prospects

Enonchong, Laura-Stella

Abstract

This article examines the problematic enforcement of the right to personal liberty in Cameroon. It offers a critical review of that right by assessing its compatibility with international standards endorsed by article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and article 6 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. It finds that, although a small number of provisions are not sufficiently robust to protect that right adequately, for the most part the Cameroonian provisions reflect international standards. In the light of that assessment, the article seeks to identify the impediments to the effective enforcement of the right and to recommend the most effective and feasible mechanisms for developing a robust enforcement framework for the protection and promotion of the right to personal liberty in Cameroon.

Citation

Enonchong, L.-S. (2016). Applying International Standards in Enforcing the Right to Personal Liberty in Cameroon: Challenges and Prospects. Journal of African Law, 60(3), 389-417. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0021855316000140

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jun 4, 2015
• Publication Date: Nov 11, 2016
• Deposit Date: Jan 12, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 12, 2116
• Journal: Journal of African Law
• Print ISSN: 0021-8553
• Electronic ISSN: 1464-3731
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 60
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 389-417
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0021855316000140
• Keywords: Right to personal liberty, African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, pre-trial detention, habeas corpus, bail, Cameroon