Maurice Kamto: A Refined Professor of Law

Prof. Maurice Kamto, born February 15, 1954, is a Cameroonian politician, an emerging but robust opposition figure to the country’s regime, in power since 1982.

He is one of 34 members of the International Law Commission of the United Nations, where he is the current president. He successfully led the Cameroonian delegation in negotiations for the handover of the Bakassi Peninsula territory disputed with neighbouring Nigeria.

This decisive contribution led to his appointment as Minister Delegate to the Minister of Justice in 2004, before he resigned in November 2011.

Early Life

Maurice Kamto comes from a modest family in the city of Bafoussam, West Region of Cameroon. He brilliantly completed his primary and secondary studies, before entering the University of Yaoundé, where he obtained a degree in public law.

In 1980, he obtained a diploma of advanced studies of fundamental public law and a diploma of advanced studies of international law at the Faculty of Law of the University of Nice.

In 1982, he graduated from the International Institute of Public Administration in Paris and the following year, he obtained a doctorate of state in law at the Faculty of Law of Nice. In 1988, he received the Overseas Academy of Sciences Award. He  became an associate of the French law faculties the same year.

He later became dean of the faculty of legal and political sciences of the University of Yaounde II.

Professional Life

Maurice is successively professor at the universities of Yaoundé I, Ngaoundéré and, since 1994, at the University of Yaounde II. He also teaches at the Institute of International Relations of Cameroon (IRIC), and at the National School of Administration and Judiciary (ENAM) of Yaoundé. He is regularly invited by several Western and African universities.

He is a member of the jury of the entry competition of several institutions. He became a member and legal adviser to the Cameroonian delegation of the Rome Diplomatic Conference for the Establishment of the International Criminal Court (member of the drafting committee) in July 1998. He is also a member of the United Nations International Law Commission.

Political Career

• Decisive contribution to the resolution of the Cameroon-Nigeria Bakassi conflict (1994-2008)

Maurice Kamto has presented himself as Cameroon’s lawyer before the International Court of Justice (ICJ): he is a member of the Cameroon-Nigeria-United Nations joint commission in the resolution of the conflict between Cameroon and Nigeria on the peninsula of Bakassi border claimed from both countries.

This decisive contribution was undoubtedly the driving force behind his appointment as Minister Delegate to the Deputy Prime Minister , Minister of Justice of Cameroon in December 2004 .

• Resignation from the government and prohibition of speech (2011-2012)

Maurice Kamto resigned from the Cameroon government in November 2011. On  13 August 2012, along with other political figures, he launched the Movement for the Renaissance of Cameroon (MRC) in Yaounde.

This new opposition party, aggregated with other parties, aims to revive the political debate in this country where the opposition is fragmented. Cameroon has more than 200 political parties and the 2011 presidential election alone included 23 candidates.

Maurice Kamto declares he wants to “propose to the Cameroonian people new ideas” and affirms his conviction that “a change of regime does not necessarily take place through violence”.

The launch of the MRC is however prohibited despite the existence of an authorization of demonstration signed by the authorities that prohibited it.

On January 23, 2013, Maurice Kamto made an epistolary exit, with the subject: MRC warn about a possible attempt by the government to organise senatorials before the municipal and legislative.

Distinctions

Maurice Kamto has received several honours:

• Chevalier des Palmes académiques from the African and Malagasy Council of Higher Education (CAMES)
• Knight of the Order of the Value of Cameroon and Commander of the Nigerian Value Order.

Works

Maurice Kamto is author and coauthor of several publications including Views on public law in Africa: Mixtures in honour of Dean Joseph-Marie Bipoun-Woum.