MONACO Law and Practice Contributed by: Stephan Pastor, Emeline Elbaz-Mondeux and Xavier Widawski, CMS Monaco
is scheduled, and the parties’ lawyers give the oral arguments. Parties may submit new pleas in law, new documents or new evidence in support of the claims submitted to the first judge. However, they may not raise new claims, unless relating to compensation or unless the new claim constitutes a defence to the main claim. Additional interest, arrears, rents and other accruals can also be claimed. 10.5 Court-Imposed Conditions on Granting an Appeal The court cannot impose any conditions on granting an appeal. 10.6 Powers of the Appellate Court After an Appeal Hearing After hearing an appeal, and if the appealed judgment has not provided a final solution to the dispute (eg, if the judgment is not upheld), the appellate court may directly evoke the case if it is ready for trial or, if it is not, at the request of the parties. 11. Costs 11.1 Responsibility for Paying the Costs of Litigation In principle, each party bears the costs of its own defence (lawyers, translators, bailiffs, etc). However, the losing party shall bear the statement of costs of the opponent, as validated by the court’s clerk – namely: • stamp, registration and court fees; • cost of the procedural documents and the fees set out in the tariff; • cost of a copy of the judgment; • witness and expert fees; • travel and subsistence expenses of the parties and the costs of documents produced by the parties, where they were produced solely for the purposes of the proceedings; and • proportionate duty (around 0.4% of the amount at stake, if possible to determine – otherwise, a sum declared by the lawyer).
In addition, the losing party may be ordered to pay to the other party a sum representing a contribution to the opponent’s legal fees, which is lower than the costs incurred by the other party. In certain cases, additional sums in the form of damag- es may be required based on the Monegasque equiva- lent of tort law (eg, in the case of undue resistance). Persons in receipt of legal aid may be required to bear all or part of the cost of litigation if they are the losing party. 11.2 Factors Considered When Awarding Costs The judge takes into account fairness ( équité ) and the economic situation of the losing party when awarding costs as well as a contribution to the opponent’s legal fees. In consideration of these factors, they may also decide to not award such contribution. 11.3 Interest Awarded on Costs See 11.2 Factors Considered When Awarding Costs . 12. Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) 12.1 Views of ADR Within the Country For most civil and commercial matters, alternative dis- pute resolution (ADR) is not established nor required by procedural texts. For example, there is no obligation to seek an amicable solution before initiating a dispute. In practice, lawyers are key players in the amicable res- olution of disputes. As part of their mandate and in the interests of their clients, they can negotiate to reach a settlement agreement. Communications between Mon- egasque lawyers are covered by legal privilege, which facilitates the smooth running of negotiations. Note that in specific areas ADR attempts may be man- datory. For example, in collective labour disputes, a conciliation procedure is mandatory. Please note that in divorce proceedings the mandatory conciliation phase (the first step for a divorce) is overseen by a judge. Law No 1,573 of 8 April 2025, on the modernisation of company law, established a conciliation procedure for
765 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook