Politics of San Marino

The council is a unicameral legislature which has 60 members with elections occurring every 5 years under a majoritarian representation system in a sole national constituency.

The practice of dual heads of state, according to the principle of Collegiality, as well as the frequent re-election of same, are derived directly from the customs of the Roman Republic.

The council is equivalent to the Roman Senate; the Captains Regent, to the consuls of ancient Rome.The Congress of State is the government of the country and wields the executive power.

The law identifies 10 sectors of the public administration for which the secretaries are politically responsible: The Captains Regents participate to the Congress with coordination powers, but no voting right.

Because tourism accounts for more than 50% of the economic sector, the government relies not only on taxes and customs for revenue, but also on the sale of coins and postage stamps to collectors throughout the world.

In addition, the Italian Government pays San Marino an annual budget subsidy provided under the terms of the Basic Treaty with Italy.

[citation needed] The only native judges are the Justices of the Peace, who handle only civil cases where sums involved do not exceed €15,000.

The main issues confronting the current government include economic and administrative problems related to San Marino's status as a close financial and trading partner with Italy while at the same time remaining separated from the European Union (EU).

San Marino participates in the following organizations: Council of Europe, ECE, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, OPCW, OSCE, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, UNWTO.