Le régime juridique des étrangers au Cameroun

CHAPTER 2 - THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE NATIONAL TEXTS

The study of the normative framework interns which regulates the statute from abroad can be carried out under two angles. On a side, it will be a question of the guarantee of this statute by the constitution and, other, by the law. The first case puts forward the constitutional protection of the rights from abroad (Section 1). As for the second case, it returns to legal protection ; we will limit ourselves in particular to the study of freedom of movement of these people (Section 2).

SECTION 1 - THE CONSTITUTIONAL PROTECTION OF

RIGHTS FROM ABROAD

It is important to recall that the constitution, « with the material direction »^58(*), is the whole of the supreme and fundamental rules within a country. Those relate to in particular the form of the State, the bodies of the capacity, their attributions, their reports/ratios and the civil rights^59(*).

Like affirmed it Enrique RUIZ VASSILLO,  the constitutional standards and the international instruments of protection of the humans right must be complementary mutually^60(*). Thus, the constitution must be in conformity with the international treaty. But this last could not be integrated in national law without the will of the State. This interaction between internal and international rules (Paragraph 1) makes it possible to better encircle the legal statute of the expatriate in Cameroun (Paragraph 2).

Paragraph 1 - The constitutionalization of international protection

The law N°96-06 of bearing 18 January 1996 revision of the constitution of June 02, 1972^61(*) on the matter contains important provisions relating to protection from abroad in accordance with the international standards. Those are contained primarily in the preamble which, under article 65, « fact integral part of the constitution ». The analysis of the contents of this law proves to us that beyond the recognition of the humans right, the State affirms his faith with the rights from abroad.

Au préalable, the constitutional preamble proclaims the respect of the fundamental freedoms registered in the DUDH, the Charter of the United Nations, the African Charter of the humans right and of the people and all relating to it Conventions duly ratified. The range of these provisions is capital in what they make it possible to evaluate the particular statute which is granted to the international instruments relating to the humans right. Indeed, article 45 of the constitution affirms that « the treaties or international agreements have, as of their publication, an authority higher than that of the laws, provided for each agreement or treaty of its application by the other part ». It is acquired in right which this clause of reciprocity is without effect for the treaties relating to the humans right. Thus, « the ratification constitutes with it only a ticket of direct accession to constitutional dignity »^62(*) . So once ratified by the State, the treaty relating to the humans right is not any more one conventional standard, but rather a constitutional standard. Certain countries went on the matter further besides. On a purely illustrative basis, in addition to the assertion of its faith to these international legal instruments, the Benign one annexed the African Charter of the humans right and of the people to his constitution of December 02, 1990. The consequence which results from this is important : even if this Charter has been suddenly abolished at the regional level, it continues to apply at the Beninese State as long as the component will not have expressed the will to withdraw it from its legal scheduling.

Thereafter, the preamble to the Cameronian constitution proclaims that the human being has inalienable and crowned rights. In this direction, this provision is also applicable abroad. It is what justifies besides, the government bond to recognize a particular statute to him.

* ⁵⁸ I.e. according to its contents.

* ⁵⁹ PACTET (Pierre), Institutions political and constitutional law, 21e edition, Paris, Dalloz and Armand Colin, 2002, p.67.

* ⁶⁰ City by MINKOA SHE (Adolphe), Human right and criminal law to Cameroun, Paris, Economica, 1999, p. 70.

* ⁶¹ Cf Appendix 1.

* ⁶² OLINGA (Alain-Didier), quoted by MINKOA SHE (Adolphe), COp Cit, pp. 32 and 33.