Unfair pre-trial detention and corruption in the criminal justice system. The case of Cameroon

Abstract

The massive over-use of pre-trial detention around the world and its excessively prolonged duration represent an alarming but still overlooked human rights abuse undermining the right to presumption of innocence, the right to liberty and security and the right to a fair trial, fostering further violations. The need for addressing such a practice should include a specific attention to corruption and poor rates of integrity within the institutional sectors playing a relevant role in the pre-trial stage, namely the law enforcement agencies and the judiciary. This thesis starts from the hypothesis that a particularly close relationship is likely to arise between unfair pre-trial detention and corruption in the criminal justice system. It attempts to explore the commonly underestimated nexus between the two and its implications. In order to do so, it makes use of the case-study of Cameroon, where both the issues under examination seem to be substantial. Based on the need for more effectively addressing unfair pre-trial detention, the last chapter will propose some potential modalities of intervention aimed at countering such practice by taking into account also its vulnerability to corruption.