MONACO Law and Practice Contributed by: Stephan Pastor, Emeline Elbaz-Mondeux and Xavier Widawski, CMS Monaco
sory measures, even if Monegasque courts are not competent on the merits; and • for any enforcement of a foreign judgment. Also, in labour law, an employee residing in Monaco or working in Monaco can always bring a case before the courts of Monaco. The same principle applies to consumers, who may, in the event of a dispute, take the matter before the courts of Monaco. 3.4 Initial Complaint The initial complaint is drafted in the form of a writ- ten summons ( assignation ), which is a legal brief that contains the following. • The identity and the address of the claimant and of the defendant(s). • An indication of the court that is to hear the claim. • The date and time of the appearance. • The subject matter of the claim and a summary of its legal grounds. • An indication of the documents on which the application is based. A list of the exhibits and their numbers must accompany the writ of summons. • An indication that the parties must reiterate, in summary submissions, the claims and pleas pre- sented or relied on in their successive submissions. • An indication of the procedure for appearing before the Court of First Instance, and an indication that, if the defendant fails to appear, they are liable to have judgment given against them, based solely on the information submitted to the proceedings by the plaintiff. This summons is served on the opponent by a bailiff, who issues a statement mentioning the means of ser- vice of the document. A party is permitted to amend the document after it has been filed – notably, to bring an incidental claim, provided it is sufficiently connected to the main claim. 3.5 Rules of Service The plaintiff is responsible for service on the oppo- nent. The plaintiff appoints a bailiff (who is a public officer) who carries out the service of the summons on the opponent:
• they can receive the document in person, or through a proxy; • if they are not at their domicile and if nobody can receive the document, but if their address is confirmed, the bailiff then files the documents at the city hall and leaves a registered notice letter informing them that they can pick up the summons there; or • if they are nowhere to be found, and if their address cannot be confirmed, the service is then made on the Prosecutor General. A party can be sued outside Monaco; in such case, the summons is translated into the language of the recipient’s country and the bailiff serves the court summons to the Prosecutor General, who will liaise with the competent services in the country of destina- tion for service on the opponent. 3.6 Failure to Respond The judge verifies the validity of the service made on the opponent; if they do not show up, the judge may ask the claimant to carry out the service again. Once the judge is convinced that the service is valid, they will render a decision by default, solely on the arguments raised by the claimant. 3.7 Representative or Collective Actions Monegasque law does not have a framework for class actions. 3.8 Requirements for Cost Estimate There are no legal requirements per se. However, the provisions of contractual law on good faith and trans- parency regarding clients who must express informed consent require that, before contracting, the client be made aware (at minimum) of the conditions for bill- ing and of an estimate for the overall costs, even if in litigation matters it is more difficult to anticipate the opponent’s moves and the corresponding final costs for the client.
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