@article{2017:ashukem:access_to_,
title = {Access to Environmental Information in the Context of Development Activities in the Legal Framework of Cameroon},
year = {2017},
note = {This article focuses on an examination of the substantive content of
section 7 of Law No 96/12 of 5th August 1996 on Environmental
Management in Cameroon (Law No 96/12) and argues that the
incompleteness of section 7 has made it difficult for people to
effectively gain access to environmental information held by public
and private bodies (including foreign corporations) during the
planning and implementation of development activities. The lack of
access to publicly and privately held information appears to raise
significant concerns about the environmental governance paradigm in
the country, as well as the protection of human-and
environment-related rights, when analysed from a rights-based
perspective. Questions that arise in this regard include: what is the
substantive content of section 7 of Law No 96/12 insofar as it relates
to the right to access to information and environmental information in
Cameroon generally? Does section 7 afford people a sufficient
guarantee and protection for them to be able to effectively gain
access to information generally and protection in the development
context particularly? Could a Cameroonian court enforce the right
embodied in section 7 of Law No 96/12, and what parameters could be
used by the court to enforce the right? Are there any loopholes in
section 7, and if so, how could they be closed? This article attempts
to provide answers to these interrelated questions by specifically
focusing on an analysis of the substantive content of section 7 and
the difficulty it poses to people who wish to gain access to publicly
and privately held information. More importantly, the article relies
on examples of development activities in Cameroon, and critically
analyses them in order to be able to suggest the reason(s) behind the
perceived reluctance to grant access to publicly and privately held
information during the execution of development activities. The
article concludes that there is an urgent need for the Cameroonian
legislature to enact and adopt national legislation on access to
information in order to address the current legal loophole.},
journal = {VRÜ Verfassung und Recht in Übersee},
pages = {435--450},
author = {Ashukem, Jean-Claude N.},
volume = {50},
number = {4}
}