After a six-year hiatus, the body responsible for judicial appointments and discipline has not met, triggering serious concerns over the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary in Cameroon.
On 2 June 2026, President Paul Biya signed a decree renewing the members of the High Council of the Judiciary. Of the fourteen members, ten were reappointed for a five-year term, even though their mandates had expired a year earlier. The council has not convened since August 2020 – nearly six years without a single session.
Lawyer and human rights defender Felix Nkongo Agbor Balla calls this a serious institutional failure with deep consequences for the rule of law, judicial independence, and public confidence in the justice system.
The High Council of the Judiciary is constitutionally responsible for managing magistrates’ careers, discipline, integration, and ethical regulation. “Its prolonged inactivity has paralysed these essential functions and significantly weakened the judicial sector,” Balla wrote in a January 2026 opinion piece that provided an almost exhaustive diagnosis of the situation.
“One of the most worrying consequences of the council’s inaction is that magistrates who graduated from the National School of Administration and Magistracy (ENAM) over the past six years have still not been formally integrated into the judicial corps. As a result, they cannot take the oath or perform judicial duties. This unprecedented situation has created a dangerous vacuum in courts across the country,” Balla lamented.
“Cameroon is currently facing a critical shortage of magistrates, leading to overloaded courts, excessive case backlogs, prolonged detentions, and widespread delays in the administration of justice,” he noted with regret.
“The prolonged absence of the High Council of the Judiciary also deprives citizens of prompt access to justice, especially since many positions remain vacant due to deaths, retirements, or resignations.”
“This vacuum has led to legally questionable appointments, particularly in some administrative courts, where judges have been appointed without the prior opinion of the High Council of the Judiciary – the only competent body for appointing and assigning magistrates.”
“Beyond integration, disciplinary procedures are blocked, promotions are suspended, and professional misconduct cannot be examined. Honest magistrates are discouraged while corruption thrives in the absence of oversight,” Balla added.
Faced with such a clear and alarming picture, the urgency of convening the High Council of the Judiciary becomes obvious. The law itself requires the council to meet twice a year.
