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PACE rapporteurs welcome the reforms to strengthen the independence of the judiciary and the system of checks and balances in San Marino

San Marino, Parliament
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Following their visit to the country, PACE's rapporteurs for the honouring of membership obligations by San Marino, Viorel-Riceard Badea (Romania, EPP/CD) and Andrej Hunko (Germany, UEL) welcomed the recent reforms to strengthen the independence of the judiciary and the strengthening of the system of checks and balances in the country.

“San Marino has a unique and well developed system of democratic and rule of law institutions. The recent reforms should ensure that the functioning of these institutions are well adapted to the challenges of a micro-state in our current interconnected society. In this context it is important to emphasise that these reforms are not the end of the road but a starting point. Their implementation and impact should be continuously monitored by all stakeholders, in particularly by the Great and General Council, and adapted where necessary to ensure that the people of San Marino continue to enjoy the high level of democracy and protection of human rights that they are used to,” the rapporteurs said.

At the same time, the rapporteurs stressed the need for the authorities to ensure that these reforms be fully and coherently implemented. This is especially important in the context of information received from various stakeholders that laws and policies are not always consistently implemented and that the extensive consultation mechanisms in place in San Marino do not always obtain concrete results. This is a matter the rapporteurs expect the authorities to address.

The co-rapporteurs intend to present their report on the honouring of membership obligations to the Council of Europe by San Marino at the April part-session of the Assembly.