The CPT received no allegations of ill-treatment and many persons deprived of their liberty said that they had been treated with respect by law enforcement officials, prison and hospital staff.

On the whole, the report notes that the fundamental safeguards against ill-treatment in custody were in place (the right to be informed of one's rights, to notify a third party, to have access to a lawyer and to a doctor) and that material conditions of the holding cells were acceptable.

However, the CPT deplores the poor material conditions of the Court’s waiting cells and calls upon the authorities to take out of service cells which measure less than 1 m² and are therefore too small to detain a human being, and to construct more spacious ones.

It also recommends that the Remand Prison be transferred to a more suitable prison structure, because of the limited access to natural light, recurrent problems of dampness and the lack of outdoor space. The establishment offered an open-door regime during the day, but the number of activities or jobs remained too limited; therefore the Committee recommends that this situation be improved and that the so-called “zero tolerance” regime be discontinued due to its indiscriminately restrictive nature.

As regards closed psychiatric units, conditions were good, but improvements should be made with regard to prolonged hospitalisation and the treatment of minors and detained patients requiring psychiatric care.

The involuntary hospitalisation procedure appeared, on the whole, to offer the necessary safeguards to prevent possible abuse.

This report is based on a visit carried out in September 2020, during which the CPT visited all places of deprivation of liberty in the Principality (Central Directorate of Public Security, Waiting cells in the Court, Monaco Remand Prison and Princess Grace Hospital).

The report and response have been made public under the automatic publication procedure introduced by the Monegasque authorities.

• Read the report (French only)
• Read the executive summary in English
• Read the response (French only)
• The CPT and Monaco