Community service (TIG): scheme and authorisation to accept sentenced persons

By Order no. 2024-27 of 20 August 2024 (JDM no. 8709 of 23 August 2024), the Secretary of State for Justice, Director of Judicial Services, authorised the Société Monégasque d'Assainissement (SMA) to take in people sentenced to community service (travail d'intérêt général "TIG"). The authorisation is valid for a period of 5 years.

Legal persons under private law entrusted with a public service mission and associations are authorised to receive persons sentenced to a TIG, under the conditions set out in Sovereign Order no. 8.926 of 23 November 2021, which governs:

• the terms and conditions for the authorisation of legal persons under private law entrusted with a public service mission and associations, by the Secretary of State for Justice, Director of Judicial Services, after obtaining the opinion of the public prosecutor, the sentence enforcement judge ("juge de l'application des peines") and, where applicable, the guardianship judge ("juge tutélaire") (minors aged at least 16).
• drawing up the list of community service orders that may be carried out, by the sentence enforcement judge, after consulting the public prosecutor and, where applicable, the guardianship judge.
• supervision of the performance of the community service, by the sentence enforcement judge and, in the case of minors, by the guardianship judge, either directly or through a probation officer; a manager from the organisation for which the community service is performed is appointed to supervise and monitor the work.
• the risk of an accident at work during the TIG is covered by the State Medical Benefits Department in accordance with the provisions of Sovereign Order no. 8.011 of 12 March 2020 relating to the granting of medical benefits to civil servants and employees of the State and the Commune.

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Community service ("travail d'intérêt général"-"TIG") introduced into the Monegasque Criminal Code from 1 May 2020

TIG was introduced into Monegasque law by Law no. 1.478 of 12 November 2019 amending certain provisions relating to penalties.

The sentence of TIG can be pronounced in "correctional" matters (article 8 of the Criminal Code - "CP"), and in "simple police matters" (article 9 CP).

• In correctional matters, where the offence ("délit") is punishable by a fine or imprisonment, the court may order, instead of imprisonment or a fine, that the convicted offender carry out an unpaid TIG for a legal entity governed by public law, a legal entity governed by private law entrusted with a public service mission or an association (article 26-3 CP).
• Similarly, in simple police matters, when an offence ("contravention") is punishable by the fine from €600 to €1,000, the court may order a TIG instead of the fine (article 29 bis CP).
• In addition, TIG can be an additional penalty for those guilty of "délit" or "contravention" punishable by the fine from €600 to €1,000 (article 37-2 CP).

Combining TIG with other penalties or obligations (article 26-8 CP):

• The TIG cannot be imposed concurrently with a prison sentence.
• However, it may be combined with fines and other penalties such as publication of the sentence, restitution, compensation, damages to injured parties and a treatment order.
• The court may also impose one or more of the obligations set out in article 182 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (such as not leaving the territorial limits of the Principality, refraining from driving all or certain vehicles, refraining from meeting certain people, etc.) for a period not exceeding 36 months.
• The TIG can also be ordered as part of a suspended sentence ("sursis") (articles 393 et seq. CP), as well as a suspended sentence with probation ("sursis avec liberté d'épreuve") (articles 396 et seq. CP).

Conditions for access to TIG:

• The accused must be at least 16 years old (article 26-4 CP).
• In principle, the accused must not already have been sentenced to community service during the preceding 3 years in the case of a "contravention" and the preceding 5 years in the case of a "délit". By way of derogation, if the accused was sentenced to TIG when he was a minor, the TIG can be imposed immediately if the offence was a "contravention" and after a period of 2 years if it was a "délit" (article 26-5 CP).
• If a TIG has already been ordered, it must have been completed in full, without the penalty for non-performance having been enforced (article 26-5 CP).

The court may not impose a community service without the consent of the accused. Where applicable, the opinion of the minor's legal representative and the adult's tutor, curator or agent is also sought, but is not binding on the court (article 26-6 CP).

In principle, the presence of the accused at the hearing is mandatory for the imposition of the TIG, unless there is a legitimate reason, in which case he or she is duly represented and has given his or her consent in writing (article 26-7 CP).

The duration and timeframe of the TIG:

• The duration of the community service may not exceed 240 hours (article 26-9 CP).
• In principle, the TIG must be completed within 18 months (starting from the date on which the sentence becomes final), unless the court sets a shorter period. This period may be extended to 24 months, at the request of the sentence enforcement judge ("juge de l'application des peines"), if there are difficulties in implementing the community service (article 26-10 CP).
• The period (and the sentence) ends as soon as the TIG has been completed in full.
• The time limit for performing the TIG is suspended if the offender is incarcerated or for serious family, medical, professional or social reasons, and also on the report of the referent of the organisation in which the community service is performed in the event of serious misconduct by the offender or immediate danger to the offender or others (article 26-11 CP).

Non-completion of TIG:

• If the offender fails to perform the TIG within the time limit set by the court, violates the TIG obligations or is unsuitable for any TIG, the court may impose a prison sentence, a fine (which may not exceed the maximum penalties for the offence for which the offender was convicted) or any alternative penalty to imprisonment or a fine (article 26-12 CP).

Determination and supervision of the TIG:

• The performance of the community service (and any obligations imposed) is supervised by the sentence enforcement judge ("juge de l'application des peines") in the case of an adult offender and, where applicable, by the guardianship judge ("juge tulélaire") in the case of a minor offender (article 26-13 CP).
  The person sentenced to a TIG is interviewed by the judge as soon as possible. On the basis of the information gathered during this interview, the judge determines, by order, the place, times and nature of the work to be performed (article 26-14 CP).
• Prior to performing the TIG, the convicted person undergoes a medical examination, and if he or she is unfit for work, making it impossible to perform any form of community service, the aforementioned judge carries out the sentence imposed by the sentencing court (article 26-15 CP).
• Obligations of the sentenced person (in addition to the performance of the TIG and any other obligations that may have been imposed): 1° respond to summonses; 2° provide proof of the reasons for any changes of employment or residence that prevent the performance of the community service; 3° obtain prior authorisation from the sentence enforcement judge or guardianship judge for any travel that would prevent the performance of the community service in accordance with the terms set; 4° receive visits from the judge and provide him/her with any documents or information relating to the performance of the sentence (article 26-16 CP).
• Measures that may be taken by the judge by way of an order, in the event of a breach of the TIG obligations: 1° summon the offender to attend a meeting in order to remind him or her of the consequences of failing to perform the community service; 2° order a new assignment for the offender; 3° order a new arrangement of the working time; 4° order the enforcement of the sentence imposed by the court (article 26-17 Criminal Code).
• If the offender fails to perform the TIG within the time limit set by the court, the enforcement judge will order the enforcement of the sentence imposed by the court pursuant to article 26-12 (see above) (article 26-18 CP).
• Orders made by the sentence enforcement judge or the guardianship judge are not subject to appeal (article 26-19 CP).
• Sovereign Order no. 8.926 of 23 November 2021 (see above) sets out the procedures for carrying out and monitoring TIGs.

Damage caused to third parties by the person sentenced to TIG:

• The State is liable for any damage caused to third parties by the offender during the course of the community service. The State is automatically subrogated to the victim's rights. Liability and recourse actions (by the State, which has made good the damage, against the person sentenced to a community service in order to obtain reimbursement of the sums paid to the victim to make good the damage) are brought before the Court of First Instance ("Tribunal de première instance") (article 26-21 CP).

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