A Legal Appraisal of the Application of the Principle of Humanity in the Criminal Justice System of Cameroon

Abstract

This article appraises the application of the principle of humanity in the criminal justice system of Cameroon. This principle prohibits torture and inhuman or degrading punishment, promotes the rehabilitation and resocialisation of offenders, and protects the rights of victims. It does not prevent punishment but rather shapes it to be fairer, ensuring that the criminal justice system maintains its legitimacy. In essence, it ensures that justice is served in a humane manner that aligns with proportionality. Cameroon has ratified several international and regional normative frameworks demanding that suspects be treated with dignity and informed of their rights. At the national level, this principle is enshrined in the Constitution, the Criminal Procedure Code and the Penal Code, guaranteeing rights like freedom from torture and humane treatment for suspects. Through the use of relevant primary sources of data collection such as the constitution, court cases, statutes, conventions and secondary sources of data collection such as journal articles, reviews, academic books and compiled statistics, this article establishes that the practical application of this principle faces major challenges. Some of which include; continuous widespread allegations of torture and inhuman or degrading punishment and treatment, inhumane prison conditions, limited resources to meet international rehabilitation standards, and insufficient mechanisms to guarantee compensation for victims of crimes. This leads to significant gaps between legal provisions and reality, despite international commitments and domestic laws. Ultimately, the article advocates principally for a review of the legal and judicial safeguards, for instance to provide death penalty procedural safeguards, amend Section 277-3 of the Penal Code so that the penalties for the offence of torture are proportionate to the gravity of the acts. It is also argued that the State needs to allocate enough resources especially financial and infrastructural to curb the deplorable prison conditions.