An Appraisal of External influences in the Development of Corporate Criminal Responsibility in Cameroon

Abstract

Legislations on corporate criminal responsibility often arise out of a pressing crisis, public outrage and the desire to be seen to have acted. However, the eventual enforcement of such legislation is often more weaker than originally promised. Despite the introduction of corporate criminal responsibility into the Cameroonian legal system, there are both institutional and human influences that have marked its development and implementation. It’s likely that external factors are able to affect the final content of the legislation and its implementation. This article analyses the external influences that have affected and which continue to affect the development of corporate criminal responsibility in Cameroon. This article also hails the insertion of corporate criminal responsibility in the revised Penal Code of 12 July 2016 as well as in other specific sectoral legislations. However, this article opines that the law poses very glaring challenges with regards to the imputation of corporate criminal liability and some practical challenges linked with the execution of some categories of sanctions which are not unconnected with the influences of some external parties. This article concludes with the call for the enactment of a specific corporate criminal code as well as the revision of the criminal procedure code in order to insert procedural provisions specific to corporate responsibility in Cameroon.