Lawfulness of corporal punishment

Home

Corporal punishment is lawful in the home.

According to article 1 of the Declaration on the Citizens’ Rights and Fundamental Principles of San Marino Constitutional Order (Law No.59, 1974, amended 2002), international human rights agreements, including the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, “shall prevail over domestic legislation in case of conflict”. Article 31 of the Reform of Family Law (Law No.49, 1986) states that: “Both parents have common responsibilities for the maintenance, upbringing and education of their children, in the respect for their personality and aspirations.” The Criminal Code makes it an offence for a person to mistreat a family member under his or her authority (article 235) and to abuse corrective and disciplinary powers (article 234). Under examination by the Committee on the Rights of the Child in 2003, the government delegation stated that article 234 effectively prohibited corporal punishment, but there is no explicit prohibition.

Schools

Corporal punishment is unlawful in schools under article 4 of the General Provisions on Education (Law No.21, 1998).

Penal system

Corporal punishment is unlawful as a sentence for crime and as a disciplinary measure in penal institutions. Article 15 of the Declaration on Citizens’ Rights and Fundamental Principles states that penalties “shall be humane and rehabilitative in nature”. Article 26 of the Penitentiary Law (Law No.44, 1997) states: “The use of physical force on detainees and interned people is not allowed except when indispensable to prevent or impede acts of violence, attempts of jailbreak, to overcome resistance, also of a passive nature, to the execution of orders or to guarantee the safety of the detainee.” Article 35 states that special attention should be paid to detainees who are minors.

Alternative care

There is no explicit prohibition of corporal punishment in other institutions and forms of childcare outside the home. Prosecution is possible under the Criminal Code (see above).

Workplace

No information.

Prevalence research

None identified.

Recommendations by human rights treaty bodies

Committee on the Rights of the Child

“The Committee welcomes the information that article 234 of the Penal Code also includes the prohibition of corporal punishment, but is concerned at the lack of any concrete statistical data and other information on the prevention and prevalence of and intervention in cases of child abuse and neglect.

“The Committee recommends that the State party undertake awareness-raising campaigns on the negative impact of corporal punishment. Furthermore, the State party should undertake studies to assess the prevalence and nature of violence against children and develop a comprehensive plan of action based on this study for the prevention of and intervention in cases of child abuse and neglect, including the provision of services for recovery and social reintegration of victims, taking into account the recommendations of the Committee adopted at its days of general discussion on children and violence (see CRC/C/100, para. 688 and CRC/C/111, paras. 701-745).”
(27 October 2003, CRC/C/15/Add.214, Concluding observations on initial report, paras. 21 and 22)