Haut Commissariat à la protection des droits, des libertés et à la médiation

Summary

The Haut Commissariat à la protection des droits, des libertés et à la médiation was created by Ordonnance souveraine n° 4.524 of 30 October 2013 and recodified by Ordonnance souveraine n° 10.845 of 1 October 2024. It is Monaco's ombudsman body, mediating disputes between citizens and all public administrations, and functions as the principality's de facto OPCAT national preventive mechanism with authority to visit police-custody cells and the Maison d'Arrêt de Monaco. The High Commissioner is appointed by the Prince for a renewable four-year term (maximum two terms, i.e., eight years). Findings and recommendations are purely advisory; the body has no power to initiate or impose discipline on police officers. Access to police records is cooperative rather than statutory, and the body has no subpoena power. Composition is all-civilian by design — the High Commissioner is a civilian appointed for their legal or human-rights expertise. The institution publishes periodic activity reports independently without pre-publication review by the executive.