San Marino Urged to Revamp Judiciary to Combat Corruption

The Council of Europe’s anti-corruption body, GRECO (Group of States Against Corruption), has published a report calling for significant reforms in San Marino’s judiciary to combat corruption and improve its overall functioning.

Recommendations to Limit Political Influence

• The report recommends changing the composition of the Judicial Council to reduce partisan meddling and limit political influence.
• GRECO emphasizes the need to review the court’s workload, internal procedures, and resources to streamline operations and enhance transparency.

Improving Transparency and Public Access to Information

• The report suggests making public information on judicial activity more accessible and transparent.
• GRECO recommends developing a comprehensive approach to judicial integrity and improving the regulation of disciplinary actions to ensure objectivity, proportionality, and effectiveness.

Strengthening Criteria for Case Allocation

• GRECO calls for strengthening criteria for case allocation to guarantee consistency, objectivity, transparency, and fairness.
• The report emphasizes the importance of implementing corruption prevention mechanisms in the Great and General Council by introducing a code of conduct for parliamentarians and requiring public declarations of assets and interests.

Monitoring Compliance

• The implementation of these 14 recommendations will be closely monitored by GRECO through its compliance procedure.
• An assessment is scheduled for the second half of 2022 to ensure that San Marino is taking concrete steps to revamp its judiciary and combat corruption.