50 Years of the Declaration of Civil Rights

At centre, an open lawbook bearing the commemorative inscription "I DIRITTI DELLA PERSONA UMANA SONO INVIOLABILI" (The rights of the human person are inviolable). Above: outlines of the Palazzo Pubblico and the Statua della Libertà. The issuing state "SAN MARINO", the "R" of the Rome mint, the year "2024" and the initials "E.F. INC." of designer Emanuele Ferretti complete the design.

In 1974, San Marino adopted a declaration that marked a fundamental break in the small state's history with older legal traditions, some dating back to the Middle Ages: the Declaration of Citizens' Rights and the Fundamental Principles of the Legal System. For the first time, it explicitly codified the inviolability of the rights of the human person as a binding principle of the state, thereby laying the normative framework for modern San Marino. The state, with around 34,000 inhabitants in the Apennines — one of the oldest republics in the world — already had democratic institutions by this point, including the Consiglio Grande e Generale as parliament and the Capitani Reggenti as collective head of state, but lacked an explicit, comprehensive catalogue of fundamental rights in the modern sense.

The significance of the 1974 declaration lies not only in the reform moment of the time but in its enduring role as the legal foundation of San Marino's understanding of statehood. It defines the relationship between state and individual and remains to this day a point of reference for legislation and jurisprudence in San Marino. The document emerged at a time when many European democracies were modernising their constitutions and strengthening fundamental rights norms — San Marino thereby positioned itself as an active part of this continental development. To mark the 50th anniversary of the declaration, San Marino issued a commemorative coin in 2024 recalling this constitutional milestone.