MONACO Trends and Developments Contributed by: Donald Manasse, Donald Manasse Law Offices
Legislative updates Monaco continues to modernise its domestic laws to align with European civil rights standards. In Decem - ber 2019, the National Council passed Law No 1.481, creating the Contrat de vie commune (cohabitation contract), which took effect in June 2020. While this contract provided same-sex and opposite-sex cohab - iting couples with basic recognition regarding property rights, mutual assistance and estate tax equivalence upon death, some gaps remain regarding full social security benefits and survivor pensions. Current leg - islative efforts are focused on drafting a full Civil Union ( Union Civile ) framework. This law aims to formalise civil unions into a distinct legal status, granting admin - istrative, tax and social protections to civil union cou - ples, similar to those afforded by traditional marriage. Monaco’s Code of Private International Law (Law No 1.448, known as the CDIP) reaches its ten-year milestone in 2027. Because Monaco hosts an interna - tional resident base with cross-border family assets, local courts ( Tribunal de Première Instance and Cour d ’ Appel ) regularly hear complex multi-jurisdictional cases. Major decisions are expected on high-value multi-jurisdictional litigation, which will provide a more precise judicial definition of a “sufficient nexus” to the foreign jurisdiction when it asserts jurisdiction, and also rule on the effect in Monaco of foreign injunctions and worldwide freezing orders when they appear to contrast with Monaco legal and ethical obligations, and whether these violate Monaco “public order”. The CDIP is also expected to be modified to make the application of the choice by foreigners of their law of nationality to govern their estates less complicated, eliminating the requirement to obtain a foreign pro - bate. The Court of Appeals has recently made foreign arbi - tration awards more easily enforceable in Monaco under the New York Convention by providing a prac - tical definition of what actually constitutes a commer - cial dispute. Monaco had restricted the enforcement of foreign arbitration awards to commercial disputes, and the lower court interpreted that restrictedly as being “between merchants”.
or non-compliant civil companies being officially dis - solved and struck off the local commercial registry ( Registre du Commerce et de l ’ Industrie , or RCI), with heavy fines levied against non-compliant company managers ( gérants ). Civil companies that do not maintain an active Monaco bank account or do not have a local resident adminis - trator must designate an approved local profession - al (such as a registered corporate service provider, chartered accountant or lawyer) to act as their official liaison with the government for UBO data. Manage - ment of companies must complete a detailed annual ten-page filing with the authorities, explicitly confirm - ing that the entity remains active (eg, holding specific real estate or portfolio assets), listing current directors and verifying that the UBO details remain up to date. Wealth migration trends and geopolitical shifts Monaco’s status as a stable safe haven has been amplified by global events. Conflict across the Mid - dle East, coupled with major fiscal restructuring across various European hubs, has led to a significant increase in family office relocations to the principality. A primary driver of this migration is the United King - dom’s overhaul and abolition of its traditional non- domiciled (“non-dom”) tax regime, combined with increased wealth taxation proposals in other major EU jurisdictions. Ultra-wealthy families seeking long-term tax clarity, physical safety and stable wealth planning infrastructure are choosing Monaco as their primary residence. This influx of ultra-high net worth individuals directly impacts the local property market, which continues to post some of the highest per-square-metre prices in the world. Obtaining a Monégasque residency card requires proof of suitable accommodation matching the size of the applicant’s family. Because Monaco’s land area is strictly limited, supply cannot expand to meet demand. This constraint results in high pricing in both the sales and luxury rental markets, and drives ongoing urban renewal projects (such as the offshore land extension project, Mareterra) to deliver large, high-end family units.
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