MONACO Law and Practice Contributed by: Stephan Pastor, Emeline Elbaz-Mondeux and Xavier Widawski, CMS Monaco
7.5 Expert Testimony The court can seek expert testimony upon request from a party or on its own initiative – for example, in the event of a legal dispute over the value of company shares. 7.6 Extent to Which Hearings Are Open to the Public In principle, hearings are open to the public (see 1.3 Court Filings and Proceedings for the exceptions). However, transcripts of hearings remain confidential unless requested by a lawyer representing a party involved in the proceedings. 7.7 Level of Intervention by a Judge The judge sets the calendar, and ensures that no party uses delaying tactics and that the debates are led respectfully. At the pleadings hearing, they may ask some questions for further clarification, though Monegasque judges do not typically intervene much. 7.8 General Timeframes for Proceedings Proceedings on the merits usually take ten to 20 months in first instance (likewise for appeals), and six months before a court of revision. Of course, these delays can be considerably length- ened depending on the number of parties, the com- plexity of the dispute and the parties’ strategy. Court approval is not required to settle a lawsuit. 8.2 Settlement of Lawsuits and Confidentiality The settlement of a lawsuit can remain confidential. 8.3 Enforcement of Settlement Agreements For the enforcement of settlement agreements, the President of the Court of First Instance may, upon request, be asked to approve the agreement in order to make it enforceable. The President shall rule on the request submitted to them without debate, unless they deem it necessary to hear the parties. They may not modify the terms of the agreement. 8. Settlement 8.1 Court Approval
8.4 Setting Aside Settlement Agreements As a settlement is a contract, it may be set aside if contractual conditions of validity are not met (ie, incapacity, fraud, illegality, etc). Also, the settlement agreement must provide for reciprocal concessions as a condition of validity. If the conditions for the validity of the settlement agree- ment are not met, the settlement could be declared null and void by a judge and therefore be set aside. 9. Damages and Judgment 9.1 Awards Available to the Successful Litigant The party who succumbs is usually required to pay its • Some of the lawyer’s fees. In practice, parties ask for a lump sum, though Monegasque judges often reduce the amount – thus this very rarely covers the entire lawyer’s fees. Depending on the stakes, in practice this is between EUR5,000 and EUR50,000. The judge may also decide to order each party to bear its own costs and expenses for the proceedings. 9.2 Rules Regarding Damages There are no punitive damages in Monaco. The limit for damages lies with the integral indemnification of the injured party. A party cannot be awarded more money than the equivalent of its total prejudice, as defined by the court. 9.3 Pre-Judgment and Post-Judgment Interest The judgment may order the payment and accrued interests. In this case, the judge decides on the start- ing point of interests (the receipt of a formal notice prior to the judicial procedure, the summons, the judg- ment or a post-judgment date). opponent the following. • Court costs ( dépens ).
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