A book on the subject was launched at the University of Buea recently.
What is the law on succession in Anglophone Cameroon? Who, where and how can one inherit property? What property is most often the focus of succession? Answers to these sensitive and contentious questions are thoroughly examined and explained in a new book, “The Law on Succession to Property in Anglophone Cameroon” by Dr. Joseph Nzalie Ebi, a lecturer with the University of Dschang in the West Region.
Speaking during the book’s launch in the University of Buea on March 28, the President of the Court of First Instance Tiko, Justice Tasi Theophilus, said the book, in four parts, attempts to lay down the law on succession before the competent courts for persons seeking succession to property in Anglophone Cameroon. It begins with an account of the evolution of law in Anglophone Cameroon from the time of the Germans, the legal ramifications after the World Wars, the League of Nations and the UN Mandated Territory of Cameroon under British and French colonial rule.
The author highlights laws on succession that the mandated powers brought to the mandated territories of Anglophone and French Cameroon. Property, he explains, is defined widely as being anything tangible or intangible capable of ownership and permanence that continues to exist or be used beyond the death of the owner, thus giving right to ownership to property notwithstanding that the person takes absolute, alienable or only possessory interest.
Recommended to all legal practitioners, academicians, the book is also very educative for all those who own property to reflect on how best to will them before their demise. According to Gordon R. Woodman in the foreword, the law governing the transmission of wealth to the next generation on the death of the holder can have profound effect on the distribution of wealth, influence, power, the happiness of the individual and the basic unit of society - the family.
For people contemplating inter vivos gifts, settlements, gifts in contemplation of death, nominations or writing wills, the book offers sufficient information on how the courts will proceed to treat their intestacy. The work is therefore a major contribution to Cameroon’s judicial procedures and a must for those who wish to acquire more knowledge.
- Author: Dr. Joseph Nzalie Ebi
- Price: FCFA 10,000
