*SYLLABUS OF THE COMPETITIVE ENTRANCE EXAMINATION INTO THE JUDICIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE SECTIONS OF THE MAGISTRACY AND COURT REGISTRY DIVISION OF ENAM FOR 2025/2026 ACADEMIC YEAR*

SYLLABUS OF THE COMPETITIVE ENTRANCE EXAMINATION INTO THE JUDICIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE SECTIONS OF THE MAGISTRACY AND COURT REGISTRY DIVISION OF ENAM FOR 2025/2026 ACADEMIC YEAR

I – WRITTEN PAPERS:

A – GENERAL KNOWLEDGE:

• Literature, philosophy, modern history;

• Scientific and technological development;

• Arts and Culture;

• Gender and development;

• Regional integration;

• Geopolitics and Geostrategy;

• ICTs and their impact on society;

• Social, economic, political, and legal issues in Cameroon, Africa, and the world;

• Current issues.

B – PAPERS FOR EACH SPECIALTY:
1 – JUDICIAL SECTION:
a – CIVIL LAW / CIVIL PROCEDURE:

1. CIVIL LAW:

• The Basis and Characteristics of the Rule of Law:

• Sources of Law:

  • Sources of inspiration of Cameroonian law;

  • Texts: the Constitution, international conventions, legal and regulatory texts;

  • Non-textual sources of law: general principles of law, customs, case law.

• Legal Subjects:

  • Distinction between natural persons and corporate entities;

  • Identification of persons;

  • Personality rights;

  • Property rights;

  • Legal personality;

  • Incapacities;

  • Cameroonian nationality.

• The Family:

  • Marriage: types, formation, effects, evidence, sanctions;

  • Divorce and legal separation;

  • Filiation: legitimate, natural, adoptive;

  • Parenthood and marriage: key duties arising from parenthood and marriage;

  • Alimony (condition, enforcement, nature).

• Matrimonial Property Regimes:

  • The general regime;

  • Legal matrimonial property regimes;

  • Conventional matrimonial regimes.

• Successions:

  • The general regime;

  • Will succession;

  • Legal succession.

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• Obligations:

  • General regime: sources, types, foundations, performance, extinction;

  • Contracts: characteristics, guiding principles, formation, effects, extinction, sanctions;

  • Legal facts: torts, quasi-torts, and quasi-contracts.

• Property:

  • Historical developments and categories;

  • Property;

  • Individual ownership: the right of ownership, methods of acquiring property, management, and protection of property;

  • Dismembered ownership: dismemberments of the right of ownership, easements, long-term leases;

  • Shared ownership: co-ownership, joint ownership;

  • Land and property tenure in Cameroon.

• Private International Law:

  • General principles;

  • Conflicts of law;

  • Conflicts of jurisdiction;

  • International circulation of enforceable titles: recognition and exequatur.

• Labour Law:

  • The employment relationship: formation, performance, and termination of the employment contract;

  • Wages and working conditions;

  • Individual and collective labour disputes.

2. CIVIL PROCEDURE:

• The guiding principles of legal proceedings and the requirements of fair justice;

• Initiating civil proceedings: conditions, methods, nature of actions;

• The conduct of civil proceedings:

  • Taking evidence;

• The outcome of civil proceedings: court decisions and their effects;

• Legal appeals;

• Enforcement of decisions: general principles, stakeholders, procedures;

• Presidential courts;

• Proceedings before the Court of First Instance (TPI);

• Proceedings before the High Court (TGI);

• Proceedings before traditional courts;

• Proceedings before the Court of Appeal;

• Proceedings before the Supreme Court.

SERVICES OF THE PRIME MINISTER
VISA

• 000358
  14 APR 2025
  PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE

b. BUSINESS LAW:

• Conflicts of Community standards in business law (OHADA, CEMAC, UEAC, OAPI, CIMA, CIPRES);

• Conflicts of Community jurisdictions;

• OHADA and its institutions;

• General commercial law: the status of the trader and the entrepreneur, business assets, professional leases, commercial intermediaries, commercial deeds;

• The law of commercial companies and economic interest groupings: types, formation and operation, transformation, liability actions, and nullity rules;

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• The law governing special companies: banks, microfinance institutions, insurance companies, stock exchange companies, semi-public companies, etc.;

• The law governing cooperative societies: categories, formation, operation, liability claims, conversion, etc.;

• The law of security interests: general regime, agents of security interests, personal security interests, security interests in property;

• Freight transport law: general regime, land transport, air transport, sea transport, multimodal transport;

• Simplified collection procedures: payment orders, restitution orders, and delivery orders;

• Enforcement procedures: enforcement authorities, protective seizures, seizures of movable property for enforcement purposes, seizures of immovable property, distribution of the price of the seizure, litigation relating to enforcement procedures;

• Liability resolution proceedings: general regime, judicial representatives, preventive proceedings, receivership, and liquidation of assets;

• Arbitration law: general rules, initiation and conduct of arbitration proceedings, arbitral awards, appeals, recognition, and enforcement of arbitral awards;

• The law of mediation and other alternative methods of settling business disputes;

• Consumer law;

• Competition law;

• Intellectual property law: general regime, industrial property rights, literary and artistic property rights, intellectual property litigation;

• Payment instruments law;

• Investment law;

• The main contracts in business life: company contracts, business leases, loan contracts, sales contracts, transport contracts, service provision contracts, employment contracts, company contracts, sub-contracting contracts, engineering and technology transfer contracts, leasing contracts, management leases, distribution contracts, franchising contracts, concession contracts, etc.

c. CRIMINAL LAW AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE:

• General Criminal Law:

  • General principles;

  • The offence: constituent elements, classifications, attempt, aggravating circumstances;

  • The connection of participation in the offence: co-action and complicity;

  • Criminal liability: conditions, exemptions;

  • The system of criminal penalties: nomenclature, purposes, setting, and enforcement of penalties;

  • Extenuating circumstances and suspended sentences.

• Special Criminal Law:

  • The main values protected by criminal law;

  • Offences listed in the Criminal Code and other criminal laws;

  • The system of penalties for different categories of offences;

  • Special procedures;

  • Business criminal law;

  • Environmental criminal law, etc.

SERVICES OF THE PRIME MINISTER
VISA

• 000358
  14 APR 2025
  PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE

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• Criminal Procedure:

  • Guiding principles of the criminal trial;

  • The players in criminal proceedings;

  • Police investigation;

  • Judicial information;

  • Public prosecution;

  • Civil action;

  • Police custody and pre-trial detention;

  • Criminal courts and their jurisdiction;

  • Judgment;

  • Evidence;

  • Remedies and res judicata;

  • Enforcement of criminal decisions.

2. ADMINISTRATIVE SECTION:
a. ADMINISTRATIVE LAW AND LITIGATION:

• General Administrative Law:

  • Origins of administrative law;

  • General principles of administrative law;

  • Historical evolution of administrative law in Cameroon;

  • Legal persons governed by public law;

  • Administrative authorities: central, devolved, and decentralized;

  • Regulatory power and administrative action;

  • Public contracts and other administrative contracts: criteria, creation, execution, termination;

  • Administrative police;

  • Public service;

  • Management of administrative activities: management boards, concessions, public establishments, public companies, professional bodies.

• Administrative Litigation:

  • Administrative justice in Cameroon: origin, evolution, organization, jurisdiction;

  • The status of the administrative judge;

  • The judicial judge in administrative litigation;

  • Cases in which administrative litigation may be filed;

  • Procedure before the administrative court: referral, case instructions, administration of evidence, judgment, and remedies.

b. PUBLIC LIBERTIES:

• The basis and historical development of civil liberties;

• Origins of civil liberties;

• Categories of civil liberties: fundamental, individual, collective;

• Civil liberties and human rights;

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• Limitations on civil liberties;

• Institutions regulating civil liberties: the Cameroon Human Rights Commission, the National Communication Council, the Telecommunications Regulatory Agency, etc.;

• Non-jurisdictional mechanisms for protecting civil liberties: political parties, associations, NGOs, etc.;

• Jurisdictional mechanisms for the protection of civil liberties;

• Supranational mechanisms for protecting civil liberties (UN and African).

c. CONSTITUTIONAL LAW:

• The origin and historical development of constitutional law;

• National sovereignty and popular sovereignty;

• Political power;

• Political systems: parliamentary, presidential, mixed;

• Constitutional democracy;

• The constitution: origin, form, place, content, drafting, revision, guarantees;

• The State: constituent elements, form, functions;

• Local and regional authorities;

• Separation and collaboration of powers;

• Constitutional justice: organization, functioning, powers;

• Constitutional litigation: cases opened, referral, investigation, evidentiary system, decisions, and appeals system.

II – ORAL EXAMINATION:
A. GRAND ORAL:
An interview with a jury to assess the candidate’s personality and predisposition to serve the State and citizens.
N.B.: Emphasis will be placed on knowledge of the justice institutions in Cameroon, namely:

3. JUDICIAL ORGANIZATION:

• Traditional courts;

• Court of First Instance;

• High Court;

• Military Court;

• Administrative courts;

• Regional audit courts;

• Court of Appeal;

• Special Criminal Court;

• Supreme Court;

• High Court of Justice;

• The Court of State Security;

• The Constitutional Council;

• The Common Court of Justice and Arbitration.

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4. JUDICIAL SERVICE STAFF:

• Magistrates: the status of magistrates;

• The Superior Council of the Judiciary (CSM);

• Registry and public prosecution staff: status and duties.

5. AUXILIARY STAFF OF THE JUSTICE:

• Bailiffs, Enforcement Agents, and Auctioneers;

• Lawyers;

• Notaries;

• Officers of the Judicial Police;

• Assessors and interpreters;

• Legal experts.

B – THE LANGUAGE JURY:
An interview with a jury: in French for English-speaking candidates and in English for French-speaking candidates.

SERVICES OF THE PRIME MINISTER
VISA

• 000358
  14 APR 2025
  PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE