Monaco follow-up on the implementation of the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

On 8 and 9 April 2025, at its 82nd session (7 April 2025 - 2 May 2025), the Committee against Torture considered Monaco's 7th periodic report under the Convention against Torture (CAT/C/MCO/7, distr. 8 June 2023) drawn up on the basis of a list of issues (submitted on 24 December 2019).

At the headquarters of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva, the Monegasque delegation presented developments in the legal and institutional framework (including legislation in preparation, the prison system, the High Commissioner for the Protection of Rights and Mediation, etc.).

The Committee's concluding observations contain recommendations on the following subjects:

• Definition and criminalisation of torture
• Absolute prohibition of torture and superior responsibility
• Universal jurisdiction
• Fundamental legal safeguards
• Asylum and non-refoulement
• Conditions of detention at the Monaco Remand Prison
• Extraterritorial incarceration and monitoring of the conditions of transferred detainees
• Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and Mediation and monitoring of places of detention
• Psychiatric facilities
• Independence of the judiciary
• Inadmissibility of evidence
• Justice for children
• Corporal punishment
• Gender-based violence
• Human trafficking
• Migrant workers, including domestic workers
• Repairs
• Training

Monaco's follow-up agenda:

• no later than 2 May 2026, provide the Committee with information on the follow-up it has given to its recommendations concerning the definition and criminalisation of torture, extraterritorial incarceration and monitoring of the conditions of transferred detainees, the Office of the High Commissioner for the Protection of Rights and Mediation and the monitoring of places of detention.
• between now and the submission of the 8th periodic report, no later than 2 May 2029, inform the Committee of the measures it intends to take to implement the other recommendations made in the concluding observations.

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I. Concluding observations of the Committee against Torture (May 2025)

SUMMARY OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS:

Definition and criminalisation of torture

• Amend the Criminal Code "in order to expressly establish torture as a separate offence and to provide a definition of torture that fully complies" with the Convention against Torture (Article 1 CAT).
• Extend the scope of this definition to the attempt to commit acts of torture, complicity and participation (article 4 par. 1 CAT), and acts of torture should be punishable by appropriate penalties which take into account their gravity (article 4 par. 2 CAT).
• The offence of torture should not be subject to the statute of limitations.

Absolute prohibition of torture and superior responsibility

• Incorporate the principle of the absolute prohibition of torture into legislation (article 2 par. 2 CAT).
• Guarantee that an order from a superior or a public authority can never be invoked to justify torture. (article 2 par. 3 CAT): protection mechanisms for subordinates who refuse to obey such an order; inform all law enforcement officers of the prohibition on obeying unlawful orders and of existing protection mechanisms.
• Provide in the Criminal Code that "superiors shall be held criminally responsible for the conduct of their subordinates when they are aware or should have been aware of acts that the subordinates have committed, or were likely to commit, and they failed to take reasonable preventive measures or to refer the matter for investigation and prosecution to the competent authorities".

Universal jurisdiction

• Be able to effectively exercise universal jurisdiction over persons presumed responsible for acts of torture who are on Monegasque territory, if necessary, in the absence of extradition to another country (articles 7 and 8 CAT).
• Provide the Committee with information on judicial decisions invoking CAT concerning extradition and universal jurisdiction (article 5 CAT).

Fundamental legal safeguards

• Ensure that detainees benefit (in law and in practice) from the outset of their deprivation of liberty (in law and in practice) from the fundamental legal safeguards for the prevention of torture, regardless of the reason for their detention, in particular the right to inform a family member or any other person of their choice of their detention.
• Amend the Code of Criminal Procedure to ensure that the duration of police custody does not exceed 24 hours, renewable once in exceptional circumstances duly justified by tangible evidence.
• Persons taking part in detention-related activities: adequate training on fundamental legal guarantees; monitoring of their observance; sanctioning of breaches by officials.

Asylum and non-refoulement

• Ensure "that, in practice, no person can be expelled, returned or extradited to another State where there are substantial grounds for believing that he or she would be in danger of being subjected to torture":
• adopt a national legal and institutional framework for asylum (procedural safeguards against refoulement; refugee status determination procedure in line with international standards; effective and accessible remedies in any return procedure).
• Formalise the framework for cooperation with the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (OFPRA) (clarity, transparency, effectiveness, case monitoring mechanism).
  Guarantee the automatic suspensive effect of appeals against expulsion, refoulement, surrender or extradition decisions.
• Establish effective national mechanisms for vulnerable asylum seekers, in particular victims of torture, and refer them without delay to the competent services.

Conditions of detention at Monaco prison

• Continue to improve living conditions in the remand centre, with the Committee recalling the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules), the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for Non-custodial Measures (the Tokyo Rules) and the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules).
• Ensure that people in pre-trial detention can have visits or telephone calls without specific authorisation from the judicial authorities.
• "While being aware of the State party's territorial planning constraints, the State party should consider the possibility of transferring to a new prison structure that is more in line with international standards of deprivation of liberty and prevention of ill-treatment".

Offshore incarceration and monitoring the conditions of transferred prisoners

• Persons sentenced by the Monegasque courts to a custodial sentence and serving their sentence in France: allow the Monegasque enforcement judge to carry out monitoring visits to prisoners; guarantee that these persons have free access to an independent lawyer of their choice.
• Formally enshrine the need for the explicit consent of those sentenced in Monaco to their transfer to France.
• Dispel legal uncertainties as to the obligations incumbent upon Monaco with regard to persons detained in France (receiving complaints; conducting investigations into allegations of torture or ill-treatment; guaranteeing reparation; examining communications submitted by individuals pursuant to article 22 CAT).

Office of the High Commissioner for the Protection of Rights and Mediation and monitoring of places of detention

• Provide the Office of the High Commissioner for the Protection of Rights and Mediation with extensive powers and financial and human resources so that it can carry out its mandate effectively and independently, in accordance with the Paris Principles.
• Encourage the High-Commissionner to seek accreditation with the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI).
• Establish an independent and effective national mechanism to monitor and inspect all places of deprivation of liberty, and follow up on the findings; ensure that monitoring bodies are able to carry out regular, independent, unannounced visits, during which they can meet confidentially with all persons deprived of their liberty.
• Consider acceding to the Optional Protocol (OPCAT).

Psychiatric establishments

• Provide medical and non-medical professionals in psychiatric establishments with training on the rights of people with disabilities and on non-violent and non-coercive methods of intervention.
• Adequate supervision and safeguards to prevent any mistreatment of people in these establishments.

Independence of the judiciary

• Ensure that the judiciary is protected from any type of pressure or undue interference, particularly from the executive: composition of the High Council of the Judiciary Haut Conseil de la Magistrature (High Council of the Judiciary) (ensure a majority representation of magistrates elected by their peers; strengthen its powers with regard to appointments, promotions, suspensions, transfers and dismissals of judges and prosecutors, as well as disciplinary measures against them).
• Strictly supervise written instructions from the Secretary of State for Justice to the public prosecutor's office.

Inadmissibility of evidence

• Prohibit the use of confessions or other statements obtained under torture as evidence in any proceedings, except against the person accused of torture.
• Mandatory training for all agents of the security forces, judges and prosecutors, based on the Principles for Effective Interviewing in Investigations and Information Gathering (Méndez Principles).

Justice for children

• Ensure full compliance with international standards, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the United Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty and the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (the Beijing Rules).
• Consider: raising the age of criminal responsibility; repealing the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure allowing children under the age of 13 to be held in police custody for investigative purposes; explicitly prohibiting the use of disciplinary isolation against children aged 16 to 18.
• Increase the use of non-judicial measures for children accused of criminal offences and, where possible, apply non-custodial sentences.
• Ensure that detention conditions for children comply with international standards (access to education and health services).

Corporal punishment

• Prohibit and criminalise corporal punishment in all settings (family, day-care centres, alternative care facilities, detention centres).
• Strengthen awareness-raising programmes for parents and professionals working with and for children (promote positive, non-violent and participatory forms of child-rearing).

Gender-based violence

• Cases linked to acts or omissions by public authorities or other entities engaging the international responsibility of the State: thorough investigation, prosecution of the presumed perpetrators, appropriate penalties, reparation including in the form of adequate compensation.
• Adopt a national strategy to prevent and combat all forms of violence against women, with specific measures for women victims of domestic violence who are highly dependent economically on their spouses.
• Systematic training for judges, prosecutors, law enforcement officers and lawyers on all legal provisions.
• Encouraging and facilitating the lodging of complaints and effectively eliminating obstacles that might prevent women from reporting acts of violence.

Human trafficking

• Strengthen the legislative framework (make human trafficking an autonomous offence in the Criminal Code) and public policies (national strategy to prevent and combat it).
• Investigate human trafficking and related practices promptly and thoroughly, prosecute and duly punish, while ensuring that victims have access to effective remedies.
• Speed up the adoption and implementation of the circular on the interdepartmental coordination plan (identification and care of victims).
• Adequate protection and support: create special, well-equipped shelters staffed by qualified personnel; strengthen long-term reintegration measures; compensation, including in the form of adequate compensation, regardless of nationality and residence status.

Migrant workers, including domestic workers

• Strengthen the capacities and resources of the labour inspectorate (in particular monitoring the recruitment and working conditions of domestic workers).
• Redouble efforts to make migrant workers, including undeclared workers, aware of their rights and complaints mechanisms, and facilitate their access to them.
• Repeal the provisions of Sovereign Order no. 3.153 which criminalise irregular migration.
• Consider ratifying the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families.

Reparation

• Establish a specific reparation mechanism including the relevant forms of reparation such as rehabilitation, satisfaction and non-repetition
  

Training

• Strengthen initial and ongoing training programmes to ensure that all public officials (members of the security forces, judicial officials, prison staff, immigration officials, employees of private security companies and other persons likely to be involved in the custody, interrogation or treatment of persons subject to any form of arrest, detention or imprisonment).
• Specially train relevant personnel, including judges, prosecutors and members of the medical profession, to detect and document cases of torture and ill-treatment, in accordance with the revised Istanbul Protocol.
• Design and implement methods to assess the effectiveness of training programmes (reduction in the number of cases of torture and ill-treatment, identification and recording of such acts, investigation and prosecution of perpetrators).

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II. Main points presented by Monaco (April 2025)

Criminalisation of torture

As Monegasque law stands, torture is prohibited by article 20 of the Constitution, with aggravated offences (murder, rape, kidnapping) when committed with acts of torture or barbarism. Crimes aggravated by torture are time-barred after 30 years. The nullity of evidence obtained under torture is guaranteed by the Code of Criminal Procedure and case law based on the European Court of Human Rights.

Monaco is considering incorporating a complete definition of torture into Monegasque law, in accordance with article 1 of the Convention, including the non-applicability of the statute of limitations to the crime of torture, the nullity of evidence obtained under duress and the non-opposability of hierarchical orders.

Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT)

The objective of the Protocol "is to establish a system of regular visits undertaken by independent international and national bodies to places where people are deprived of their liberty, in order to prevent torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment".

Monaco does not rule out its ratification, which requires impact studies, while giving priority to the ratification of the main international human rights instruments.

Refugees

Refugees are subject to ordinary law for entry and residence in Monaco. 23 refugees are currently accommodated here. Rejections of asylum applications are justified and may be appealed.

Monaco has introduced a temporary protection permit for Ukrainian citizens living in Monaco before February 2022 (around fifty).

International cooperation

Monaco has not received any requests for mutual legal assistance and has not handled any international cases involving acts of torture.

One extradition request was rejected by the Monaco Court of Appeal due to human rights concerns.

National human rights institution

The mandate of the High Commissioner for the Protection of Rights and Mediation has been extended since Sovereign Order no. 10.845 of 1st October 2024, and may in future take part in the Committee's examinations.

Guarantee of fundamental rights

The following guarantees apply to police custody: the right to a lawyer from the first hour, compulsory audiovisual recording, the right to remain silent, the right to a medical examination, the right to inform a close relative unless it is considered that such communication would be detrimental to the investigation (article 60-7 of the Code of Criminal Procedure). Only minors over the age of 13 may be held in police custody, unless there are serious exceptions.

The prison is the only detention centre in Monaco. Monitored by international mechanisms, improvements have been made (natural light, exercise yard, games room, air conditioning, end of solitary confinement, more flexible internal regulations). Imprisonment and pre-trial detention of minors are measures of last resort (alternatives to criminal prosecution, placement in a children's home "Foyer de l'enfance").

Monaco is considering formalising the procedure for transfer to a French prison, as requests are generally made by French citizens. No Monegasque is detained abroad.

The High Commission receives complaints from detainees and an internal control body within the police force may be called upon by the courts to investigate police officers accused of human rights violations. Legal proceedings are initiated once a complaint has been lodged with the public prosecutor.

Compensation and assistance for victims

A compensation scheme for victims of serious offences was introduced by Sovereign Order 10.640 of 27 June 2024.

The Association d'aide aux victimes d'infraction pénales (AVIP) assists them during the proceedings. A dedicated protocol takes care of victims of violence, particularly women and children (emergency accommodation, medical care, psychological and legal assistance). Health professionals are trained to support victims and perpetrators.

Training for judges and police officers

Judges receive 5 days' training a year on human rights, and the government ensures that decisions of the European Court of Human Rights are rapidly incorporated.

Police officers receive 10 months' training in ethics, human dignity, the proportionate use of force and the prohibition of torture.

Independence of the judiciary

The judicial power emanating from the Prince is fully delegated to the courts and tribunals. The Secretary of State for Justice, who administers this power, is separate from the Government. He may issue general policy instructions to the Attorney General in the form of circulars, but may not issue individual instructions.

The High Council of the Judiciary ("Haut Conseil de la Magistrature") issues binding opinions on appointments, promotions and disciplinary sanctions.

Judges and prosecutors are recruited by competitive examination, trained at the French Ecole Nationale de la Magistrature, and complete a 2-year traineeship in Monaco. Two-thirds of judges are seconded from France.

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Sources :

• UN Treaty Body Database on the website of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights - CAT 82 Session (07 Apr 2025 - 02 May 2025) Consideration of State Reports
• Press release from the Government of Monaco, 12 April 2025
• Meeting Summary produced by the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, 9 April 2025

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