ACHPR/37/OS/11/437 6 Like any other Country, the government has three "arms”: The Executive, the Legislature, and the Judiciary. The President of Cameroon holds executive power in the government as per the reforms introduced to the Constitution in 1996. He is given a broad range of powers and is able to carry them out without consulting the National Assembly. He is the chief of state and commander of the armed forces and is elected by universal suffrage. The 1996 amendment to the Constitution extended his term from five years to seven and introduced a two-term limit. The federal ministers, including the prime minister, are appointed by the President and, by statute, are not permitted to be members of the legislature. The President also appoints the governors of the country’s provinces. The 1996 amendments to the Constitution introduced a second Chamber, the Senate, to the Cameroonian National Assembly which consists of 180 delegates elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms, and in whom legislative power is vested. The President of the Republic can either lengthen or shorten the term of the legislature, which meets three times a year with the main responsibility to pass laws and regulations. The Senate is composed of delegates who are partially directly elected and partially appointed. With respect to the judiciary, the Republic inherited not only two different cultures and languages from its colonial masters, but equally two legal systems - the French Civil Code and English Common Law. Irrespective of this heterogeneity, however, the judicial system of Cameroon is largely based on the French system. The judiciary is subordinate to the Ministry of Justice, which is part of the executive’s structure. The highest judicial body is the Supreme Court. Other courts are the appeals courts, regional courts, and magistrates' courts (Courts of First Instance). The President appoints Supreme Court judges while the National Assembly elects those at the High Court of Justice (consisting 9 judges and 6 substitute judges). The Supreme Court may review the constitutionality of a law but only at the request of the President. Unfolding of the Mission Consultations Undertaken by the delegation 1. Government Authorities During discussions with various authorities, the delegation explained that the aim of the visit was to examine the state and condition of prisons and detention centres in the country with a view to make recommendations to improve them. The Special Rapporteur would have loved to meet with the President of the Republic had it not been for His prior engagements outside the country. The