What is arbitration?
This is an alternative means for dispute resolution out of court. Here, parties to the dispute invite private persons called arbitrators to resolve problems between them and pass a decision known as an arbitration award which they are to respect.
Advantages of arbitration
- Arbitrators are chosen by the parties to the dispute but before the court of law, parties can’t chose their judge.
- Arbitration is faster in achieving results than court action.
- Arbitration is cheaper compared to court action.
- arbitration avoids unnecessary publicity.
- parties before arbitrators choose the language in which the will be judged where as parties before a court do not decide the language of the court.
- Arbitration award is easily enforceable than court action.
Disadvantages of arbitration
- It may be subject to pressure from powerful law companies that may be hired by the parties.
- it has a disadvantage that there is no possibility of appeal against the decision of the arbitrators.
- It is not directly binding on the parties.
- Arbitrators are unable to enforce interlocutory measures. This is a measure that the court forces when the judgment is still going on. and the parties can take an advantage on it to appeal
Arbitration Agreement
Article 3 of the law of arbitration states that the arbitration agreement must always be in writing. this agreement is different from the main agreement that led to the dispute. if parties to the dispute do not agree that their matter is solve by way of arbitration, arbitrators will have no authority over the matter.
Arbitration Tribunal
Unlike modern law courts in Cameroon which have well-constructed court halls, an arbitration tribunal does not have a specific building where it judges a matter. any place where arbitrators sit to judge a matter is referred to an arbitration tribunal.
The arbitration tribunal maybe permanent or temporal. It is competent to hear social and civil matters referred to by parties, but is does not have powers to hear criminal matters.
Duties of the arbitration Tribunal
- it is required to act fairly and impartially between parties.
- it is required to adopt procedures suitable for the circumstances of each case.
- it is required to pass an impartial arbitration award based on the facts presented by the parties.
Composition of the arbitration tribunal
Each party to the dispute will appoint one arbitrator and the third arbitrator will be appointed by the two arbitrators. He will automatically become the Umpire or president of the court.
Article 6 of the Uniform Act states that arbitrators must be awarded in writing and where one party fails to appoint his own arbitrator for more than a month when asked, then the other party will be ask to appoint the two arbitrators.
Procedures before the arbitration tribunal
Parties before the arbitration tribunal are required to go through the following procedures and processes;
- Parties will have reasonable time to defend their case before the arbitrators. the law requires the arbitrators to give the parties reasonable time within which to present their defense.
- Arbitrators must fix a deadline within which the case has to be resolved and it must not be more than 6 months.
- The trial before the arbitration tribunal should be a secrete and should not be open to the public. Members of the public are not allowed to weakness proceedings before the arbitration tribunal.
Other pacific or peaceful ways of dispute resolution out of court
- Mediation:
This is a form of dispute resolution with a third party called the mediator who goes between the parties with disputes and assists them in negotiating a settlement.
The mediator uses various techniques to bring the parties to the negotiating table.
The role of the mediator is to bring the parties to negotiate and agree but he does not force them to agree.
Merits or advantages of mediation:
- It is cheaper than court action
- it is confidential and convenient to parties unlike court judgments which are open to a public audience
- the parties have control over the solution to the dispute.
- parties easily comply to the mediated solution since it was mutually agreed upon by them.
- the parties are guided and supported throughout the process.
- Conciliation
This is a form of dispute resolution in which a third party called the conciliator meets with the parties separately in an attempt to resolve their differences. it is different from mediation in the sense that, the conciliator meets with the parties separately and hardly brings them to sit on the negotiating table.
The conciliator proposes a solution to the dispute after meeting with each of the parties but does not force them to adopt a solution. - Reconciliation:
Unlike mediation and conciliation, there is no middle man in the case of reconciliation. this is a situation where the two parties on their own decide to bury their differences and become friends again. Maybe by one party apologizing to the other.
Arbitration Award
Although arbitration awards always grant damages against the judgment debtor, in main jurisdictions, arbitration awards can have a wide range of remedies that can form part of the award. these include;
1. Payment of a sum of money by the judgment debtor to the judgment creditor.
2. in some jurisdictions, the tribunal may have powers to
- issue injunctions,
- order specific performance
- order the rectification or cancellation of a document.
After the settlement of the dispute by means of arbitration, the award must indicate the following;
i. The name of the arbitrators
ii. the place where the arbitrators sat and judge the matter
iii. The name of parties who appeared before the tribunal
iv. Name of counsel (Lawyers) if any.
v. States the facts presented by each of the parties.
vi. State the decision of arbitrators.
Instances where the court might intervene in cases of arbitration
Although arbitration is an out of court dispute resolution method, the court may sometimes be invited to assist in the process. such situations are;
- Courts can intervene to appoint arbitrators when the parties are unable to do so.
- To terminate the mandate of arbitrators where it has been proven that they are bias
- To set aside an arbitral award
- to render an exequatur in order to make the arbitral award binding on the parties.
- intervene to compel the production of evidence before the tribunal
- compel witnesses to appear before the arbitration tribunal.
What is a Negotiable instrument
This is a signed document used either to substitute money or to extend payment of a debt. it is a document guaranteeing the payment of a specific amount of money either on demand or on a fixed date. Negotiable instruments are highly used today because they make business transactions quicker, safer and more efficient.
What are the Types of negotiable instruments
- Promissory notes and certificate of deposit:
A promissory note is a written document issued by one person promising to pay another person a certain sum of money on a specific date. it must be unconditional and state a fixed sum of money.A certificate of deposit on the other hand is a specialized form of promissory note issued by a bank acknowledging the reception of money and promises to pay on demand. - Bill of Exchange:
This is an unconditional order in writing requiring the person to whom it is addressed to pay at a fixed date a certain sum of money to an identified person.
There must be 3 parties to a bill of exchange namely; the drawer, the drawee and the payee.
With the drawer being the person who issues a bill of exchange ordering a drawee to pay a certain sum of money to a beneficiary known as the payee. - Cheque:
this is an unconditional order in writing by the customer of a commercial bank ordering the bank to pay a specific sum of money to an identified person either on demand or on a fixed date.
For it to be acceptable as a negotiable instrument, it must be unconditional, carrying a specific sum of money payable to the identified person or the bearer.
Types of Cheque
- Crossed Cheque:
This is a cheque with two parallel lines drawn across it from left to right. the implication of crossing a cheque is so that the cheque should not be catched over the counter.
There are two ways of crossing a cheque;
- General crossing
Here, 2 parallel lines are drawn across the face of the cheque with nothing written in between the crossing.
- Specially crossed:
Here, if a statement is written between the 2 parallel lines drawn across the face of the cheque, then the cheque is referred to as a cross cheque. - Certified cheque:
This is a cheque that the bank guarantees payment on submission. It is established by the customer and taken to the bank to certify that the customer has sufficient credits in his account and the bank will be willing to disburse the funds whenever requested. - Stale Cheque:
This is a cheque that has not been catch for more than 6 months from the day that it was issued. By law, a cheque that is issued for more than 6 months cannot be catch. Do everything to catch an issued cheque before 6 months because after 6 months, no bank will accept the cheque - Cashier’s Cheque:
this is cheque drawn by a bank on its own funds, payable to a person specified in the cheque. anybody can by a cashier’s cheque irrespective of whether he or she has an account in the bank or not. - Travelers Cheque:
This is a popular type of cashier’s cheque issued by a bank on its own funds. it is issued primarily to tourist. It is issued in different units of the requested currency. It has two spaces of signature, the buyers of the cheque signs on one space in the bank and the other space is signed when it is being issued to a third party.
What are the conditions for a cheque to bounce
- Insufficient funds:
The cheque will bounce if the account holder does not have enough money in their bank account to cover the amount written on the cheque. - Account closed:
if the account on drawn on the check has been closed by the account holder, then the cheque will bounce. - Stale cheque
- Payment stopped: if the account holder request the bank to stop payment on a cheque before it is presented, the bank will not honor the cheque.
- Frozen account: If the bank has blocked or frozen the account due to legal or administrative reasons. in this case, the cheque will bounce.
what are the requirements for a negotiable instrument
For a negotiable instrument to be accepted it must fulfil the certain conditions;
1. Signature: for it to be accepted, it must have the signature of the drawer or the person establishing it.
2. Unconditionality:
No condition should be attached to the settlement of a negotiable instrument. it must express a definite condition to pay.
3. Fixed amount:
The amount to be paid to the payee or beneficiary must be fixed and not debatable.
4. Time of payment;
there must be a fixed time for the payment of negotiable instrument except the instrument requires that it should be paid on demand.
Endorsement of a Negotiable instrument
The drawer can endorse a negotiable instrument by printing any of the following phrases on it;
- For deposit only,
- payable to jane or payable to account number 001
- they can be blank endorsements that consist only of the signature of the drawer.
The person giving out the cheque is the drawer, the bank paying the cheque is the drawee and the person receiving the payment is the payee.
What are the conditions for the termination of a negotiable instrument
A negotiable instrument comes to an end when;
1. Settlement;
once a negotiable instrument has been settled, the instruments comes to an end.
2. Material cancellation;
where the drawer has effected substantial cancellation on the negotiable instrument, it brings the negotiable instrument to an end.
3. Where the instrument is staled.
if the instrument is not catch or paid within a period of 6 months, it can no longer be accepted and it comes to an end.
What is tax?
this is a compulsory financial contribution paid by people and other entities cooperating with a given state to enable the government of the state to fund public expenditure.
It is an involuntary fee levied on individuals by the government to enable it fund its activities. it is generally levied on income, business profit, as well as consumption. levy, tariff, toll, excise, charge, fee, tithe are synonyms for tax.
Reason for the imposition of taxes
- To cover the course of administration, defense and provision of social amenities.
- To check the consumption of dangerous of harmful goods.
- to redistribute labor from one sector to another
- to reduce inequalities in income.
What are the major types of tax
- Company or corporate tax:
the Cameroon general tax code in its article 2 provides that a tax shall be levied on all profits or income made by companies and other corporate entities. This tax is realized by corporate entities within the period of 2 months. the rate of company tax is 35% of the profit made by the company or corporate entity. this tax is levied only on the net profit of the company. any company that makes an annual profit of less than 1000frs is exempted from this tax.
corporative societies engaged in production, processing and sell of agricultural and life stock products, charitable organizations, non profit making organizations and local councils and clubs are exempted from tax. - Personal income tax:
This is a kind of progressive tax on all income earners in Cameroon. This tax is payable by every national person resident in Cameroon. it is the percentage of the net income of the tax payer.
Anyone that earns an income less than 62000frs per month is exempted from paying personal income tax as provided for under section 81 of the general tax code.
Personal income tax rate in Cameroon is as follows;
- 10% of income between 62000 t0 200000
- 15% of income between 201000 to 3000000
- 25% of income between 3000000 to 5000000
- 35% of income above 5000000 - Indirect tax:
this type of tax is levied on the production chain. paid by everyone who consumes products or services. The following are the principal forms or indirect tax in Cameroon.
a. Value Added Tax (VAT):
it is levied generally on consumption. levied on production and services consumed in Cameroon. the rate of value added tax as provided by the tax code is 19.25% of the price of the article or goods.
b. Business license tax:
this is a form of tax paid by any natural or corporate persons carrying out any trade in Cameroon which generates profit. it is evaluated on the turnover or volumes of sales.
c. Council tax:
- Liquor license: this is a tax paid by a person who carry out the business of sell of alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks. also paid by exporters and importers of drinks. paid annually from june to july.
- Cattle tax: owners of life stock are exptected to pay this. it is popular known as jangali taxt. it is calculated by civil administrators at the level of each subdivision. the amout to be paid cattle is 200frs. Nonpayment shall lead to seizure of cattle.
- direct council tax:
Cameroon impose and collect the following taxes
* water taxt,
* Garbage taxt
* Ambulance tax
* Electricity tax
the amount payable per person for each of the above taxes should not be more than 100frs.
What are the sanctions for tax evasion
Tax evasion is the failure to pay taxes or non-payment of taxes or underpayment of taxes.
Anyone who commits this will face the following sanctions:
1. Seizure and sell of property:
The tax law in Cameroon gives taxation officials the power to seize and auction the property of anyone who fails to pay his or her taxes within a reasonable time.
- Freezing of bank account:
The tax law allows the taxation officials and the courts to freeze the business accounts of any tax payer who fails to pay his or her taxes. Once the account has being frozen, he or she can deposit into the account but can not withdraw until the tax has being paid. - Closure of establishment:
evasion of taxis can lead to taxation officials sealing the premises of the concerned tax payer. once a business premises has been sealed, it can only be reopened by the competent officials after payment of the required taxes and penalty. - Impoundment of moveable property:
Competent officials have the right to impound the property of taxpayers who fail to pay their taxes. - Exclosure from public contracts:
contractors who fail to pay their taxes can be excluded from the awards of public contracts as provided for by the public contract code. - Imprisonment:
The Cameroon penal code in it section 158 prescribes an imprisonment of 5 - 15 years for failure to pay taxes or under payment of taxes.
Section 158 of the penal code provides an imprisonment term of 1 month to 3 years for resistance against tax collectors.
Anyone who tries to prevent taxation officials to access their business premises will be punished according to section 156 of the penal code.
What is an intellectual property
An intellectual property is any property from the intellectual and creative process of an individuals mind. The computer software, music, novels will listen to are intellectual properties.
Categories or forms of intellectual properties
- Trade mark:
This is any word or symbol or device use in comments to identify and distinguish on manufacturer’s product from those of other manufacturers. A brand name or a logo constitutes a trade mark. they are highly protected by the law in article 330 of the Cameroon penal code. it provides the following sanctions, an imprisonment term, or a fine of 25000 - 1500000 or both. - Copyright: this protects original literary, artistic, and scientific works, such as books, music, paintings, computer programs and architectural designs.
- Patents: this are inventions that are new, and capable of industrial application. this include new processes, products, or improvements to existing processes or products.
