Probate and Administration of Estate in Cameroon: An Appraisal of the Common Law Approach

Abstract

The legal system of Cameroon is a relic of colonial era. However, it is unique in that it consists of two distinct and often conflicting systems which are the English Common Law and the French Civil Law operating in parallel. This makes Cameroon one of the few examples of such dual legal system in the world. With the exceptions of customary law and areas where harmonization has been possible, the Cameroonian legal system can be described as bi-jural in which French laws apply in the eight French-speaking regions and English law substantially applies in the two English -speaking regions. This paper appraises the structure of succession law and probate practice as applicable in the Common law jurisdictions in Cameroon. The paper notes that death is inevitable and the inevitable happens unplanned sometimes. So, the questions this paper seeks to answer are, what happens to the estate of a person who died intestate? How is such an estate distributed among the deceased’s desired beneficiaries? Is there a law guiding the distribution of the estate of a deceased who died intestate? For a person who died testate, what is the process to ensuring that his/her wish stated in the will are fulfilled? What will happen to the estate of a testator who was domiciled outside Cameroon at the time of his death? In carrying out this research, the researcher employed the qualitative research methodology and findings reveals that there are conflicting views on the applicable procedural rules in probate matters in the English- Speaking Regions of Cameroon. The paper concludes that irrespective of how the testator died, there are available laws guiding the management of the deceased estate.