A/HRC/14/9 own choosing had the right to a public defender. Public defenders were always available and, in the event of an impediment, provided the name of another defender to perform functions on their behalf. In both criminal and civil cases, whenever a party had insufficient economic resources, the right to defence was recognized and guaranteed through free legal assistance, which was also available in the second instance. A special commission, the Council of Twelve, was mandated to handle requests for such assistance. 66. In San Marino, nationality was regulated by the principle of ius sanguinis. Law No. 84 of 2004 had eliminated the unequal treatment accorded to children of San Marino fathers, on the one hand, and children of San Marino mothers, on the other, as far as the transmission of nationality was concerned. All San Marino women now transmitted their citizenship to their children at birth. Under the same law, children with only one parent of San Marino citizenship were required, within 12 months after reaching 18 years of age, to sign a declaration that they intended to keep their San Marino citizenship, without having to renounce their other citizenship(s). 67. As far as citizenship by means of naturalization was concerned, it could be acquired through an extraordinary law, provided that foreign citizens included in the population registry at the time of the law’s adoption had been residing in San Marino for at least 30 consecutive years, or 15 years if married to a San Marino citizen. In that case, renunciation of the citizenship of origin was required. Since 2000, the Parliament had been required to take a decision on naturalization every 10 years. 68. San Marino citizenship by means of naturalization was immediately acquired by a minor, provided that both parents had become naturalized citizens. If San Marino citizenship by means of naturalization had been acquired by only one parent and the other parent had kept his or her foreign citizenship, San Marino citizenship was granted to the minor when he or she had reached 18 years of age, provided that he or she resided in San Marino. 69. Finally, with regard to a general mobilization in the event of serious danger to the security of the State, the head of the delegation indicated that there were five military corps (two professional corps and three voluntary corps). The minimum recruitment age for all of them was 18 years. In San Marino, there was neither a compulsory military service nor a compulsory civil service. Article 3 of Law no. 15 of 1990, stipulating that San Marino citizens from 16 to 60 years of age must serve in the military, should be read in the light of article 4 of the same law, regulating the exceptional circumstances of the general mobilization. That provision was still in force. However, a draft set of comprehensive regulations for the military corps, which was still under discussion, would set the age limit at 18. San Marino had never resorted to compulsory recruiting or a general mobilization, even during the most serious crises. II. Conclusions and/or recommendations 70. The recommendations formulated during the interactive dialogue and listed below enjoy the support of San Marino: 1. To ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography (Slovenia, Spain, Morocco, Chile, Belarus); 2. To ratify the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (Palermo Protocol) (Belarus); 11