The Liability of Cobac For Prejudice Caused To Individuals By Its Acts Or Omissions In Cameroon: Reflections On A Legal Vacuum

In its administrative function, the Central African Banking Commission (COBAC) has the power of prior authorisation which manifests through the conformity opinion it gives prior to the approval of credit and microfinance institutions as well as their directors and auditors. In the exercise of this power, it ma y commit faults likely to cause prejudice to actors of the banking system. Unfortunately, the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) law is silent on the question of its liability. The CEMAC Court of Justice is also silent on the issue, even if it has once recognised that COBAC committed a fault in the exercise of its function. This paper questions whether the silence of the law could be considered as attributing immunity to COBAC. The author, based on comparative law, demonstrates that despite the legal vacuum, there are possibilities of committing this community organ. However, it is difficult to implement its liability because it lacks legal personality, thus, the necessity for the CEMAC legislator to confer on COBAC a legal personality so as to clarify the issue of its liability.