Wayzata World Factbook 1996/The World Factbook - 1996 Edition - Wayzata Technology (3079) (1996).iso/pc/text/humanrts/san_mari.txt

Text File | 1996-01-05 | 11KB | 259 lines

TITLE:  SAN MARINO HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES, 1994
AUTHOR:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DATE:  FEBRUARY 1995

                           SAN MARINO


San Marino is a democratic, multiparty republic.  The popularly
elected Parliament (the Great and General Council--GGC) selects
two of its members to serve as the Captains Regent (Co-Heads of
State).  They preside over meetings of the GGC and of the
Cabinet (Congress of State), which has ten other members, all
also selected by the GGC.  Assisting the Captains Regent are
three Secretaries of State (Foreign Affairs, Internal Affairs,
and Finance) and several additional secretaries.  The Secretary
of State for Foreign Affairs has come to assume many of the
prerogatives of a Prime Minister.

Elected officials effectively control the centralized police
organization (the Civil Police) and the two military corps (the
Gendarmerie and the "Guardie di Rocca").

The principal economic activities are tourism, farming, light
manufacturing, and banking.  In addition to revenue from taxes
and customs, the Government derives much of its revenue from
the sale of coins and postage stamps to collectors throughout
the world and from payments of an annual budget subsidy by the
Italian Government under the terms of the Republic's Basic
Treaty with Italy.

The Legal Code extensively provides for human rights, and the
authorities respect its provisions.  Although the Parliament
and the Government have demonstrated strong commitment to the
protection of human rights, some laws discriminate against
women, particularly with regard to transmission of citizenship.

RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

Section 1  Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including
           Freedom from:

     a.  Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing

There were no reports of political or extrajudicial killings.

     b.  Disappearance

There were no reports of disappearance or abduction.

     c.  Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading
         Treatment or Punishment

The law prohibits torture and other cruel, inhuman, or
degrading treatment or punishment.  There were no reports of
violations.

     d.  Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile

There were no reports of arbitrary arrests, detentions, or
exile.  The law requires judicial warrants for arrests.

     e.  Denial of Fair Public Trial

The law provides for procedural safeguards for the rights of
the accused, and the Government fully implements these
provisions.

Detainees may not be held more than a few days without being
either formally charged or released.  There is no legally
prescribed limit on pretrial detention, but the courts hear
most cases within days or weeks.  The procedural law grants
trial judges considerable discretion in this regard, but there
were no indications in 1994 of any abuse of this authority.
Accused have the right to a public trial and legal counsel.
For indigents, the State provides a court-appointed attorney at
no cost.  There is no incommunicado detention, and the accused
cannot be compelled to answer questions or make statements
without having an attorney present.

The judicial system delegates some of its authority to Italian
magistrates, both in criminal and in civil cases.  Cases of
minor importance are handled by a local conciliation judge.
Appeals go, in the first instance, to an Italian judge residing
in Italy.  The final court of review is San Marino's Council of
Twelve, a group of judges chosen for 6-year terms (four
replaced every 2 years) from among the members of the GGC.

     f.  Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or
         Correspondence.

The authorities respect the concept of privacy of the home.
The law requires judicial warrants for searches, and provides
also for protection of the privacy of correspondence, including
telephonic communications.

Section 2  Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

     a.  Freedom of Speech and Press

The law provides for freedom of speech and press, and the
Government does not restrict this freedom.  It does not censor
the media.  Academic freedom is respected.

     b.  Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association

The law provides for freedom of peaceful assembly and
association, and the authorities respect these provisions.
Organizers of a public gathering need only notify the police in
advance.  They need no permit unless they plan to use a parking
area as the site for the gathering; the authorities routinely
grant such permits.

     c.  Freedom of Religion

The Government fully respects freedom of religion.

     d.  Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign
         Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation

The Government fully respects the rights of all citizens to
travel abroad, emigrate, and repatriate.  Although it does not
formally offer asylum to refugees, it has given a few
individuals de facto asylum by permitting them to reside and
work in San Marino.  Refugees and other foreigners are eligible
to apply for citizenship only after 30 years of residence.

Section 3  Respect for Political Rights:  The Right of Citizens
           to Change Their Government

All citizens 18 years of age or older may vote in national
elections, which take place every 5 years, or sooner if the GGC
dissolves itself, and are free and fair.  In recent election
years the Government has offered to pay 75 percent of the
travel costs for any expatriate to return to vote.

Women gained the right to vote in the early 1960's, and voted
in national elections for the first time in 1964.  There have
been no impediments to women participating in government or
politics since the passage of a 1973 law eliminating all
restrictions.  In 1974 the first woman was elected to the GGC.
Since then, women have served in the Council as Secretary of
State for Internal Affairs and as Captain Regent.  All women's
branches of the political parties have been integrated into the
mainstream party organizations, and women hold important
positions in the various parties.

Section 4  Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
           Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations
           of Human Rights

There are no domestic human rights organizations, although the
Government imposes no impediments to the formation of such
organizations.  The Government has declared itself open to
outsiders' investigations of alleged abuses.  There have been
no known requests of such a nature.

Section 5  Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion,
           Disability, Language, or Social Status

The law prohibits discrimination based on race, religion,
disability, language, or social status, and the authorities
respect these provisions.  The law also prohibits some forms of
discrimination based on sex, but there remain vestiges of legal
as well as societal discrimination against women.

     Women

Several laws provide specifically for equality of women in the
workplace and elsewhere.  In practice there is no
discrimination in pay or working conditions.  All careers are
open to women, including careers in the military and police as
well as the highest public offices.

However, there is a law that discriminates against women in
stipulating that a San Marinese woman who marries a foreigner
cannot transmit citizenship to her husband or children, but
that a San Marinese man who marries a foreigner can do so to
both spouse and children.

The law provides for protection of women from violence, and
occurrences of such violence are unusual.

     Children

Since 1974 a special service in the state health care system
has been dedicated to fighting child abuse.  The service had no
cases in 1994 (and a total of only 14 since 1982).

     People With Disabilities

Since 1990 the Government has passed a number of laws to
safeguard the rights and promote the social integration of
disabled people.  A 1991 law regulates and encourages
employment of disabled people.  A 1992 law established
guidelines for easier access to public buildings; but
implementation of this has not yet reached all buildings.

Section 6  Worker Rights

     a.  The Right of Association

By law, all workers in San Marino (except the military, but
including police) are free to form and join unions.  A 1961 law
sets the conditions for establishment of a union.  The unions
may freely form domestic federations or join international
labor federations.

Union members constitute about half of the country's work force
(which numbers about 10,000 San Marinese plus 2,000 Italians,
among the country's total population of about 24,000).

Trade unions are independent of the Government and the
political parties; but they have close informal ties with the
parties, which exercise strong influence on them.

Workers in all nonmilitary occupations have the right to
strike.  No strikes have occurred in at least the last 5 years.

     b.  The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively

The law gives collective bargaining agreements the force of
law, and prohibits antiunion discrimination by employers.
Effective mechanisms exist to resolve complaints.  Negotiations
are freely conducted, often in the presence of government
officials (usually from the Labor and Industry Departments) by
invitation from both the unions and the employers'
association.  For the last several years, all complaints have
been resolved amicably by a "conciliatory committee" composed
of judges and government officials.

There are no export processing zones.

     c.  Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor

The law prohibits forced or compulsory labor.  There were no
known violations.

     d.  Minimum Age for Employment of Children

The minimum working age is 16.  The Ministry of Labor and
Cooperation permits no exceptions.

     e.  Acceptable Conditions of Work

In late 1994 the minimum wage was approximately $1,000 (1.6
million lira) per month.  This affords a decent living for a
worker and his or her family.  Wages are generally higher than
the minimum.

The law sets the workweek at 36 hours in public administration
and 37 1/2 hours in industry and private business, with 24
hours of rest for workers in either category.

The law sets safety and health standards, and the judicial
system monitors them.  Most workplaces implement the standards
effectively, but there are some exceptions, notably in the
construction industries.