HOW TO OBTAIN A DEATH CERTIFICATE IN CAMEROON 2023
In legal and administrative terms in Cameroon, the death or passing away of a person corresponds to the cessation of all vital functions with the definitive cessation of all cerebral activity.
In other words, death means the cessation of all life within an organism.
A death certificate is either a legal document issued by a medical practitioner which states when a person died, or a document issued by a government civil registration office, that declares the date, location and cause of a person’s death, as entered in an official register of deaths.
An official death certificate is usually required to be provided when applying for probate or administration of a deceased estate. They are also sought for genealogical research. The government registration office would usually be required to provide details of deaths, without production of a death certificate, to enable government agencies to update their records, such as electoral registers, government benefits paid, passport records, transfer the inheritance, etc.
It occurs when all organic processes have ceased to function. In humans, death is determined by the cessation of brain function and the beginning of body decomposition. It must be verified by a doctor.
The declaration of death must follow this statement. This is a mandatory procedure that must be carried out by a medical doctor at the town hall of the place of death, after the death.
Legal Procedures for Death Declarations and Certificates in Cameroon
In the case where the death is violent, for example, a suicide or an accidental death, the entourage must notify the police station or the gendarmerie. Law No. 2011/011 of May 6, 2011, amending and supplementing certain provisions of Ordinance No. 81-02 of June 29, 1981, on the organization of civil status and various provisions relating to the status of natural persons stipulates in its Article 78 that the death of a person must be declared to the civil registrar of the place of occurrence, burial, residence or the birth of the deceased within 90 days, by the head of the family, a relative of the deceased or by any other person having certain knowledge of the death. Two witnesses must sign this declaration.
The declarant must also mention the name of the civil status centre and the officer who drew up the document, then immediately inform the National Civil Status Office (established by the same law) and, where applicable, the registrar in charge of keeping the birth register of the deceased, for the purpose of affixing the corresponding marginal note.
The death certificate also includes the surnames, first names, date and place of birth of the deceased; the sex, marital status, profession and residence of the deceased must also appear there as well as the surnames, first names of the father and mother of the deceased.
The act established by a civil registrar following the death of a person certifies said person’s death. Act was drawn up by a civil registrar
The question here is whether the death certificate can be drawn up when the death is certain but the body cannot be found or is not identifiable (absence or disappearance relating to an air disaster, a train accident, natural disaster, shipwreck, etc.). In such an event, a judicial declaration of death is required. The request relating thereto is forwarded to the High Court with territorial jurisdiction at the instance of the Public Prosecutor or by the interested parties. The declaratory judgment of death fixes the date of death taking into account the presumptions drawn from the circumstances of the cause and the day of the disappearance of the deceased.
Article by CHUO ANGABUA JUNIOR
‘’The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. We insist specialist advice be sought depending on your specific circumstance’’
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