CENTRAL AFRICA : Towards the creation of a law school

Central Africa is refining its project to create an initial and continuing education school for lawyers. The project led by the Union of Central African Lawyers (UNAAC) was presented on Tuesday, June 4 to the Prime Minister of Gabon, Raymond Ndong Sima.

Before Gabon, the project was presented in the Republic of Congo.

« The regional school of lawyers that we wish to create is an old project. We were received in audience by the President of the Republic of Congo, Denis Sassou Nguesso, who gave his agreement for the school to be installed in Brazzaville »,

said Patrice Monthe, former Cameroonian bar president and president of UNAAC.

According to the services of the Gabonese Prime Minister’s Office, the project has received the approval of the country’s highest authorities, who at the same time expressed the wish to set up a school of this type, but limited to Gabon. This recommendation has received a favorable opinion from the UNNAC.

« This (sub-regional school, Editor’s note) does not exclude local structures that provide training on site »,

explained Patrice Monthe.

For the moment, no information has been given on the implementation of the project. However, the UNAAC has indicated that the future school will be integrated into the project to harmonize the legal profession in Central Africa.

« We are organizing ourselves to standardize and improve the practice of the legal profession in Central Africa. We want to ensure that professional integration is achieved »,

added the former bar president, indicating that this harmonization will be inspired by the model in force in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU).

This initiative is part of a context of regional integration in Central Africa. With the creation of this law school, the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC) intends to harmonize practices in the legal and judicial fields, like what is being done within the WAEMU.

The objective is to promote the mobility of lawyers within the sub-region, to strengthen skills and to guarantee better quality of legal services for citizens and businesses in Central Africa. Initial and continuing training of lawyers in a sub-regional framework should help raise the level of the profession and respond to the challenges of economic and social development in the sub-region.

Although challenges remain, particularly in terms of financing and governance, this UNAAC initiative demonstrates the willingness of Central African countries to rely on the strengthening of legal capacities to accelerate regional integration and the economic development of the sub-region.

Sorelle Ninguem