The hereditary monarch holds extensive executive authority, including the exclusive right to change the government, and there are no constitutional provisions allowing citizens to alter this system. The current prince, Albert II, took the throne after his father’s death in 2005. The head of government, known as the minister of state, is traditionally appointed by the monarch from a candidate list of three French nationals submitted by the French government. Serge Telle, the current minister of state, took office in 2016.

The 24 members of the unicameral National Council are elected for five-year terms; the 16 candidates who receive the most votes are elected, and the remaining 8 seats are filled through list-based proportional representation. The 2018 elections were evaluated as credible by international observers. The new political movement Priorité Monaco, led by veteran politician Stéphane Valeri and defectors from the more established Horizon Monaco, won 58 percent of the vote and 21 seats. Horizon Monaco itself took 26 percent and 2 seats, while the Union Monégasque took 16 percent and the remaining seat. After the elections, Valeri became president of the National Council, which is regarded as the most powerful elected office in Monaco.

The legal framework provides an adequate basis for credible elections, and a number of recent changes have improved the conduct of elections, including the modification of campaign finance rules in 2017 and the broadening of suffrage rights for detainees in 2014. However, in a 2018 report, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) argued that the campaign finance system could be further strengthened.

Municipal authorities, led by the mayor of Monaco, form an Electoral Committee that administers elections with support from the Interior Ministry, and observers consider their conduct to be credible. However, technical meetings in preparation for elections are not open to the public, limiting the committee’s transparency.

Political associations, groupings of people who hold similar political viewpoints, compete in Monaco, rather than traditional parties. There are no undue restrictions on the formation of new political associations. However, office seekers are prohibited from running as individual independent candidates; independents must instead form a list of at least 13 candidates to participate in elections.

Opposition political associations are able to gain seats in the parliament. In 2018, the new political movement Priorité Monaco, also known as Primo!, won 21 seats, while Horizon Monaco fell from 20 seats to just 2. However, there are structural limits on the opposition’s ability to secure executive power through elections, as the cabinet—appointed by the prince—is not responsible to the elected parliament.

The fact that the head of government is a French national appointed from a list submitted by the French government, and that the powerful head of state is an unelected monarch, means that people’s political participation is heavily circumscribed by democratically unaccountable forces. Nevertheless, voters’ and candidates’ choices with respect to parliamentary representation are largely free from domination by such entities.

Only about 9,000 of Monaco’s residents—roughly a quarter of the total—are citizens, and noncitizens do not have the right to vote or run for office, though a number of legal routes to naturalization are available. Most noncitizen residents are nationals of neighboring France or Italy.

Women and members of minority groups are free to participate in elections, both as voters and candidates, but women’s interests are not always well represented in the political system, and only eight women were elected to the parliament in 2018.

The hereditary prince has significant governing authority, including the exclusive power to initiate legislation, conduct foreign policy, and approve changes to the constitution. However, all legislation and the budget require parliamentary approval, and the parliament is generally free from interference by unelected groups.

Despite recent improvements in the anticorruption legal framework, several loopholes remain. The parliament lacks a code of conduct on accepting gifts or potential conflicts of interest. High-level corruption is a problem, and officials sometimes act with impunity.

In 2017, Philippe Narmino resigned as director of judicial services, or justice minister, after it was revealed that wealthy Russian businessman Dmitriy Rybolovlev gave him gifts in exchange for pursuing fraud charges against an art dealer. The Rybolovlev case revealed extensive corruption in Monaco’s judicial system. In September 2019, Laurent Anselmi was replaced as justice minister months after he unexpectedly turned down a request for a term renewal from the judge overseeing the ongoing investigation into the Rybolovlev scandal. However, Anselmi then became Monaco’s foreign minister.

The law generally provides for public access to government information, including draft laws and proposed legislation. However, a 2017 report by the Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) highlighted shortcomings in the transparency of parliamentary work, including a lack of consultation with the public on proposed legislation and the confidentiality of committee meetings. There are no financial disclosure laws in place for lawmakers or officials appointed by the prince.

The constitution provides for freedom of expression, and press freedom is generally respected in practice. Monaco has a weekly government newspaper, an English-language monthly, and several online publications. There is one public television channel and one privately owned channel. French and Italian broadcast and print media are widely available, and internet access is not restricted.

Roman Catholicism is the official state religion, but the constitution guarantees freedom of religion and public worship, and this is largely respected in practice. Jehovah’s Witnesses have struggled to secure official recognition as a religious association despite favorable rulings by the Supreme Court.

There are no undue restrictions on academic freedom.

People are generally free to express their personal views without fear of retribution. Insulting the ruling family is illegal and can result in prison sentences of up to five years, but the law is infrequently enforced.

The constitution provides for freedom of assembly, which is generally respected in practice.

No significant restrictions are imposed on the formation or operation of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).

The law grants workers the right to establish unions and bargain collectively, and antiunion discrimination is prohibited. All workers except government employees have the right to strike. Unions and employers engage in collective bargaining in practice.

The constitution provides for an independent judiciary. The prince names five full members and two judicial assistants to the Supreme Court based on nominations by the National Council, government bodies, and the lower courts. The recruitment process for judges lacks transparency, which contributes to a perception that they may lack independence. The Judicial Service Commission is ostensibly responsible for ensuring the independence of the judiciary, but in practice it does not have enforcement power. The director of judicial services, who oversees the judicial and law enforcement systems, is responsible only to the prince. Approximately half of the judges in Monaco are Monegasque nationals, and the other half are French nationals.

Concerns about the independence of the judiciary resurfaced in June 2019, when the director of judicial services turned down a request for a three-year term renewal from the judge overseeing the investigation into the Rybolovlev corruption scandal. The director was replaced in September.

Due process rights are generally respected. Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty and are informed of the charges against them promptly. Defendants have access to attorneys and sufficient time to prepare a defense.

The population faces no major threats to physical security. Violent crime and excessive use of force by police are both rare in Monaco.

Monaco lacks a law that broadly prohibits discrimination based on race or ethnicity, though insults and defamation on such grounds are illegal. In the absence of a comprehensive law, Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights is used to prevent and punish discrimination. The government established the Office of the High Commissioner for the Protection of Rights, Liberties, and for Mediation in 2013 to address discrimination. The government does not publish statistics on hate crimes.

The law prohibits discrimination based on gender, and women’s rights are generally respected. However, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance has noted that women do not enjoy the same rights to social benefits as their male counterparts, as men receive head-of-household status by default, and called for the establishment of a program guaranteeing the equal treatment of LGBT+ people.

There are no significant restrictions on freedom of internal movement or foreign travel.

Property rights are respected, and noncitizens holding a residence permit may purchase property and establish businesses. However, obtaining government approval to start a business is often a lengthy and complex process, and related costs can be prohibitively expensive.

Personal social freedoms are generally respected. Abortion remains illegal except under special circumstances, including rape and a risk to the woman’s life or physical health. In October 2019, however, the parliament passed legislation that removed criminal punishments for women who have an abortion; health professionals could still face penalties for performing an abortion in Monaco. In December, the parliament adopted a law that allows civil partnerships for both same-sex and opposite-sex couples. Domestic violence is outlawed in Monaco, and there are few reported incidents. The government and NGOs provide a network of support services for victims of domestic violence.

Score Change: The score improved from 3 to 4 due to the legalization of same-sex civil partnerships and the elimination of criminal penalties for women who have an abortion.

Legal protections against labor exploitation are adequately enforced.