ABSTRACT
The state of Cameroon stands out in legal terms due to the heterogeneity of the norms that govern it. Between Romano-Germanic law, which is essentially written; Anglo-Saxon common law; and customary law of Black African origin, the issue of personal status in relation to the constitutional principle of equality of all citizens before the law is a source of deep concern. Indeed, these bodies of law are very often divergent and convey opposing, even contradictory, values and rules, particularly in matters of matrimonial property regimes, divorce, and succession, thus leading to different treatment of citizens depending on whether civil law, common law, or custom is applied, with the prospect of difficulties in resolving conflicts arising from interterritorial movements and the inevitable diversity of couples and families. How, then, can these sources of law, both state and non-state, be made to interact without undermining the imperative of respect for equality between citizens of the same state?
Empirical observation leads to two conclusions: on the one hand, there are recurring, sometimes inextricable conflicts between customary law and state law, between common law and civil law; on the other hand, there is a genuine privatization of the management of plural normativity by litigants, as highlighted by a survey conducted in five state courts, both traditional (Tribunal de premier degré, customary courts, and alkali courts) and modern (Tribunal de grande instance and High Courts).
The relevant solution lies in the construction of a new paradigm, essentially leading to a dual revolution, both normative and methodological. The crystallization of contemporary social and political debates on the future of plurality of personal status, through the draft Personal and Family Code, therefore appears to be an ideal opportunity to both preserve the state of Cameroon’s multiculturalism and guarantee the equality of all its citizens before the law.
