On 2 June 2026, President Paul Biya signed a decree appointing members of the Supreme Council of the Magistracy. Ten of the fourteen members were reappointed for a new five-year term, even though their previous mandates had expired a year earlier. The council has not held a session since August 2020 – almost six years ago.
Lawyer and human rights defender Me Felix Nkongo Agbor Balla described this as a serious institutional failure with far‑reaching consequences for the rule of law, judicial independence and public confidence in the justice system.
The Supreme Council of the Magistracy is constitutionally responsible for managing magistrates’ careers, discipline, integration and ethical oversight. “Its prolonged dormancy has paralysed these essential functions and severely weakened the judicial sector,” Agbor Balla wrote in a January 2026 analysis that offered a near‑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 judiciary. As a result, they cannot take the oath or exercise judicial functions. This unprecedented situation has created an alarming vacuum in courts across the country,” he lamented.
“Cameroon is currently facing a critical shortage of magistrates, leading to overburdened courts, excessive case backlogs, prolonged detentions and widespread delays in the administration of justice,” he noted with regret.
“The prolonged absence of a meeting of the Supreme Council of the Magistracy also deprives citizens of prompt access to justice, especially since many posts remain vacant due to deaths, retirements or resignations.”
“This vacuum has led to legally questionable appointments, notably in some administrative jurisdictions where judges have been designated without the prior opinion of the Supreme Council of the Magistracy, the only body competent to appoint and assign 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,” Agbor Balla concluded.
Such a stark and alarming assessment makes the urgent convening of the Supreme Council of the Magistracy evident. The law provides for this body to meet twice a year; strict compliance with that requirement is now essential.
