MONACO: National Laws

Summary: General overview of Monaco's national legal provisions on children's rights, including guidance on how to conduct further research.

National laws on children's rights

Status of the CRC in national law

Ratified treaties which have been issued through a Sovereign Ordinance, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child, are part of national law and may be invoked before the courts. The State has reported that the Convention has been cited before national courts, but CRIN has been unable to obtain the relevant judgments.[1]

Constitution: Chapter III of the Constitution of Monaco contains a number of rights provisions that apply regardless of age, and one provision that specifically relates to the rights of children:

  • Article 27: entitles all Monegasque people to free primary and secondary education.

Legislation: there is no comprehensive or consolidated Children's Code in Monegasque law, rather provisions relevant to children can be found in a number of Codes, Acts and Sovereign Ordinances. Legislation of particular relevance to children includes, but is by no means limited to:

  • The Criminal Code

  • The Code of Criminal Procedure

  • The Civil Code

  • The Code of Civil Procedure

  • Act No. 740 of 25 March 1963 on juvenile offenders

  • Sovereign Ordinance No. 3.031 of 12 August 1963 on the rules applicable to minors who have committed offences

  • Act No. 1382 of 20 July 2011 on the prevention and repression of violence

  • Act No. 1344 of of 26 December 2007 increasing the penalties for indictable offences against children

  • Act No. 1387 of 19 December 2011, permitting naturalised Monegasque men and women to pass their nationality on to their spouse

  • Act No. 1296 of 12 may 2005, permitting mothers to pass on their nationality to their children

  • Act No. 1276 of 22 December 2003, permitting naturalised Monegasque women to pass their nationality on to their children

  • Act No. 572 of 18 November 1952 on the acquisition of Monegasque nationality

  • Act No. 1.341 of 3 December 2007 on apprenticeships

  • Act No. 890 of 1 July 1970 on narcotics

  • Act No. 1.359 of 20 April 2009 establishing an antenatal and family support coordination centre

  • Act No. 1.346 of 9 May 2008 on protecting against tobacco addiction

Legal Research

The Constitution of Monaco is available in English through the website of the Consulat Général de Monaco in New York (http://www.monaco-consulate.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/Constitution.pdf). Legislation is available in French through the Legi Monaco website (http://www.legimonaco.mc/305//legismc.nsf) and the website of the Journal de Monaco (http://cloud.gouv.mc/dataweb/Jourmon.nsf). In addition, the GlobaLex project at New York University has published a guide to legal research in the small jurisdictions of Europe (http://www.nyulawglobal.org/Globalex/Microstates.htm) and the World Legal Information Institute (http://www.worldlii.org/links/2777.html) and the U.S. Law Library of Congress (http://www.loc.gov/law/help/guide/nations/monaco.php) both provide access to a selection of legal and governmental resources.

Case Law

CRC Jurisprudence

Please contact CRIN if you are aware of any cases in national courts that reference the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Case Law Research

The decisions of the courts of Monaco are available in French through the Legi Monaco website (http://www.legimonaco.mc/305//legismc.nsf).

Compliance with the CRC

In its Concluding Observations of 2013, the Committee on the Rights of the Child welcomed a number of positive reforms to Monegasque law, including the adoption of legislation on children's nationality rights, violence against children and increasing the penalties for indictable offences committed against children. Nonetheless, the Committee raised a number of concerns about national laws on children's rights.

In depth analysis

Among the areas of national law about which the Committee expressed particular concern was the justice system. The Committee expressed concern that the minimum age of criminal responsibility (MACR) remained at 13 years; that modifications made to the Penal Procedure Code in June 2013 permitted the placement of children under the age of 13 in preventative detention on the grounds of investigating offences; that lawyers providing legal assistance to children in conflict with the law did not receive systematic training on children's rights; and that the disciplinary measures applied to children between the ages of 16 and 18 who have been deprived of their liberty were not in compliance with the Convention. The corresponding recommendations urged the State to address these issues, including by considering raising the MACR; considering repealing the amendment to the Penal Procedure Code that permitted children under 13 to be held in police custody; and ensuring the provision of qualified and specialised legal aid to children.

The Committee also expressed concern about the exclusion of children from access to health and education services based on their nationality or residence status. Specifically, the Committee expressed concern that under domestic legislation and practice, children of foreign nationalities were not entitled to free medical assistance if they had resided in the country for less than 5 years, and urged the State “[to] undertake all necessary measures, including legislative measures, to ensure that all children, including non-nationals, enjoy the same access to quality health services.” With regards to education, the Committee noted that Monegasque legislation did not expressly guarantee free education to children of foreign nationalities whose parents or representatives are neither residents nor lawfully established in the State, and urged the State to grant all children equal access to education services.

The Committee also expressed regret that despite criminal law provisions prohibiting many forms of violence against children, there was no explicit prohibition on corporal punishment, including in the home, in institutions and in alternative care settings. The Committee reiterated its earlier recommendation that the State expressly prohibit corporal punishment in all settings and strengthen its efforts to promote positive, non-violent and participatory forms of child-rearing and discipline.

Current legal reform projects

Please contact CRIN if you are aware of any current legal reform projects.  

Countries

Please note that these reports are hosted by CRIN as a resource for Child Rights campaigners, researchers and other interested parties. Unless otherwise stated, they are not the work of CRIN and their inclusion in our database does not necessarily signify endorsement or agreement with their content by CRIN.