Abstract

This study critically examined the role of four land management boards in Cameroon – the Land Consultative Board, the Site Board Commission, the InterVillage Boundary Settlement Commission and the Farmer–Grazer Commission – in the resolution of land disputes in a plural legal framework. Positioned at the intersection of statutory law and customary practice, these boards embody hybrid institutions whose legitimacy and effectiveness depend on their ability to reconcile competing normative orders. To ensure conceptual clarity, the study defined and situated the notions of Land Management Boards, land dispute-resolution and legal pluralism, in this way grounding the analysis in precise theoretical and institutional terms. Employing a doctrinal legal research methodology, the study relied on a qualitative analysis of both primary sources (first-hand interviews, statutes, decrees, judicial decisions, ministerial circulars) and secondary sources (scholarly works, reports of international organisations) to consider the adequacy of the existing frameworks. Analytical and comparative approaches were adopted to evaluate the ways in which statutory instruments and customary practices interact in Cameroon and to situate these findings in broader African experiences in Ghana, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Mozambique. The findings indicate that whereas the boards provide a necessary interface between the law and communities, their effectiveness is constrained by procedural ambiguities, bureaucratic bottlenecks and chronic delays in implementation. Through the lens of legal pluralism, the authors argue that strengthening hybrid institutions requires statutory safeguards that integrate customary legitimacy supported by digitisation, gender inclusion and streamlined administrative processes. The findings contribute to ongoing debates on land governance, institutional accountability and tenure security in Africa; moreover, the authors offer recommendations for reform that enhance both legitimacy and efficiency in dispute-resolution.