Law Without Boundaries:Bail In Criminal Offences

By Tanyi Joseph Mbi Attorney -at-Law

Bail may succinctly be defined as the temporal release of a suspect, defendant, accused or convict by the Judicial Police Officer, the State Counsel, the Examining Magistrate or the court seized of the matter, to the custody of a surety or sureties who undertakes to produce him to the competent judicial authority at a given place and time.

A suspect, an accused, or defendant may on his application or that of his counsel apply for self bail to enter into a recognizance to appear before the Examining Magistrate wherever convened and to inform the latter of his movement. 

A person who has been released on conditional bail is considered to be in lawful custody of his surety pursuant to the provisions of section 231 the harmonised Criminal Procedure Code (CPC).

The surety shall be responsible for the appearance of the person released on bail to the competent judicial authority whenever need arises. In a case where he fails to produce him, he shall forfeit the amount of money mentioned in the recognizance or in default thereof imprisoned under section 563 of the code.

The concept of bail is a constitutional right enshrined in the preamble of the Cameroon 1996 Constitution pulling its strength from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights under the notion of the presumption of innocence, meaning that an accused is always presumed to be innocent until he/she is proven guilty by a competent court of law.

Therefore, until conviction, an accused person, suspect or defendant is entitled to bail. After conviction, the convict is no longer entitled to bail unless there are special circumstances. Such circumstance must be exercised cautiously and judiciously by the judicial authority. R Vs MURI (1957) N, R.L.R. at page 524.

However, bail is not usually granted as of right for felonies punishable with death or life imprisonment except in exceptional circumstances pursuant to the provision of section 224(2) of the CPC.

The competent judicial authority in considering an application for bail shall take cognizance of the following;The resources  of the accused, the likeli hood of the accused jumping bail, the likelihood  of tempering and interfering with the investigation, the severity of the offence and punishment, the criminal records of the accused, the likelihood of repeating the offence, the health  of the accused and unnecessary delay in filing the indictment.

What is germane is that bail should not be withheld as a form of punishment, but it is to ensure that the accused person attends court to stand his trial. (DOGO VS COMMISSIONER OF POLICE)

Bail, under the constitution, and especially under the harmonised Criminal Procedure Code, provides the necessary checks and balances  for undue or imagined excesses of the executive and  the judiciary, so that where the circumstance warrants any  citizen who is arbitrarily or unduly  incarcerated, will by force gain his/her temporal liberty.

Comments

[Mac Satan]

Mr Tanyi,
Good laws. The problem here is how do we impliment and enforce them.
Has it ever crossed your mind why so many Cameroonians have lost faith in the Judicial Process in Cameroon? That is a big issue you guys in that field should be addressing. There is no trust in the instruments of delivering justice, its practitioners and the population.
I will like to read about proposals to reinstate trust in the system. This will prevent most of you being Paupers as is the case at present after putting in much in your training.That way they will stop referring to all as empty 'pocket' lawyers or '5 franc' lawyer.
Also can someone address the usage of the following titles in our judicial system:
Attorney, Lawyer, Barrister, Solicitor, Notary and Sheriff Bailiffs.
Atleast I know clearly who a magistrate is and what 'procureur'(they like this title)are.
Weird system and grandoise titles.
Chaaa! I fear dis Country. I de wait answer.

[ERICK-DENZEL]

Dear Barrister Tanyi, i appreciate what you have done by educating us on the law. Most people fall in to trouble because they are ignorant about the law and ignorance of the law is no excuse.
I wish to state here and now that the only qualms i have with you and your colleagues in Cameroon is that your legal writing skills are far below standard. I say so because your citations are just like that of a kinder garden pupil in Basildon.
How can you call yourself an Attorney at law writing an article and you give a citation as ''Dogo v Police commmissioner'' This is ridiculous because it has no legal dressing.
All the citations you have made since you started the legal column are degrading for an Attorney.
I will advice that the Cameroon Bar Association should organise a seminar on legal writing and research to improve on the poor legal writing skills of Cameroonian lawyers. Legal writing doesnot only entails the use of ''big terms'',it comprises of techniques which most Cameroonian lawyers lack entirely.
I pity the ''postulants'' or better still ''Aspirants ''who have to learn from their principal due to the absence of a law school , they also grow-up with very poor legal writing skills which they inherit from their principal.
I am disappointed because i am a Cameroonian and a rising 3l (third year American law school student)

[NjifenztBD(U.K)]

Denzel,
This is quite a gray area you have exposed quite clearly.A generous and elevated mind is distinguished by nothing more certainly than an eminent degree of curiousity.State institution as a whole has got enormous loopholes in Cameroon.
Our gov't is highly unitary, authocratic conservative,corrupt and intolerant to its same bulk of elite abroad who are prepared to improve the situation when given the opportunity unperturbed.
I always hold the conviction that the greatest gift of a statesman rests not in knowing what concessions to make, but recognising when to make them.
Political speech and good jounalistic write-ups from CRTV is largely the defense of the indefensible.
However, i an certain that, this regime in Cameroon is awaiting the sensation of a short sharp shock!

[Barrister Tanyi joseph mbi]

dear mr Eric

Thank you for your objective observations. However , this article , the previous and future onces are meant to help the local masses and not lazy law student like you.If you need the full citation for your legal research , kindly be polite to tell me so ratter than make silly remarks about the cameroon Bar.

[Barrister Tanyi joseph mbi]

dear Mr SATAN.
I have taken note of your worries.Continue reading this column and you will find the answers . why do you call yourself SATAN ?

[Barrister Tanyi joseph mbi]

dear Mr SATAN.
I have taken note of your worries.Continue reading this column and you will find the answers . why do you call yourself SATAN ?