cannot undermine her right established in the past and through a procedure
that was validated by the Respondent State itself.
102. The Complainant submits that the Respondent State cannot claim the
failure to seek remedies to justify its failure to meet its obligation to protect.
She contends that despite the several steps she took to obtain the protection of
the State, the latter did not take any measure and was incapable of detecting
the numerous cases of error, fraud and irregularities involved in the
procedure for issuing the land certificate. The Complainant points out that
under Cameroon criminal law the State should have taken action, simply on
the basis of information provided to the State Counsel, against third parties
and government employees.
103. Regarding the procedure for issuing the land certificate, the Complainant
maintains that the State should have annulled the land certificate no. 25641
used by Mr MBAGOFA to claim ownership over the entire land from which
was extracted the plot of land allocated to her vendor by the authorities of the
Respondent State. In this regard, the Complainant presents correspondences
and a report dated November 2008 and January 2009, documents
recommending the annulment of the three land certificates mentioned above.
The Complainant submits that it is important to find out why the Respondent
State failed to discuss these documents.
Analysis of the Commission on the Merits
Alleged violation of Article 14
104. Article 14 of the African Charter stipulates that: “The right to property
shall be guaranteed. It may only be encroached upon in the interest of public
need or in the general interest of the community and in accordance with the
provisions of appropriate laws”. Using a literal interpretation, the
Commission notes that under the said provision the African Charter
stipulates a right that is guaranteed but also limited by the interest of public
need and general interest, limitations that have to be determined by the
relevant laws.
105. After considering the arguments put forward by the parties, it appears to
the Commission that in this case, the limitations provided for under Article 14
of the African Charter do not apply; the reason being that in response to the
violations alleged by the Complainant the Respondent State does not invoke
neither general interest nor public need. In order to determine if the right
guaranteed under Article 14 has been violated, the Commission will consider
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