The general rule on costs is that each party bears
his or her own costs. However, at the end of litigation, the Court
normally orders the loser to reimburse the winner's court fees. Legal
fees are, as a general principle not recoverable. In certain parts
of Cameroon where principles of Common Law are applicable, the Courts
are allowed to judiciously exercise inherent discretionary power by
ordering punitive costs against any party for reasons as varied as
default and abuse of Court Process. Because of judicial delays and
the varied nature of the workload of the Courts handling Commercial
disputes it is difficult to say how long Commercial disputes usually
take to be heard. This is further complicated by the fact that there
are 2 different procedural rules applicable in the Country. The Civil
procedure rules, styled after the Common Law Civil procedure rules
applicable in the English speaking part of Cameroon, require the ordering
of pleadings and a trial, while the “Procedure Civile et Commerciale,”
styled after French Civil Procedure is based mainly on written submissions
and the presentation of supporting documents. On the overrule it would
take at least 12 months for a Civil or Commercial dispute to be heard
at First Instance and about another 12 months for it to be heard on
appeal. There is currently a harmonized Criminal Procedure Code applicable
in the whole country.
