MONACO Law and Practice Contributed by: Stephan Pastor, Emeline Elbaz-Mondeux, Daniel Goldenbaum and Xavier Widawski, CMS Monaco
1. General 1.1 General Characteristics of the Legal System Although as a sovereign state the Principality of Monaco has created its own legal system, this is somewhat influenced by the French legal sys- tem and is widely based on Roman law and the Napoleonic Code. In this respect, some impor- tant parts of Monegasque law are inspired by French law. Monegasque civil procedures follow an adver- sarial model and are conducted mostly through written submissions. Monegasque criminal procedures follow an inquisitorial model in the investigative phase and an adversarial process in the phase of judgment. They are mostly oral and supported by written submissions. 1.2 Court System Monaco is both a city and a state, and the judi- cial courts are concentrated in the Palais de Jus- tice de Monaco . In terms of judicial organisation, Monaco has three levels of civil jurisdiction, as follows. The first degree comprises: • the Justice of the Peace, which deals with claims of up to EUR10,000; • the First Instance Tribunal, which is compe- tent to rule on civil and commercial litigation and on certain areas of administrative dis- putes involving the state or public organisms, for claims over EUR10,000; • the Employment Tribunal, which is competent for disputes related to employment contracts; and
• the Commercial Lease Arbitral Commission and the Rents Arbitral Commission. The second degree comprises the Court of Appeal, which has general jurisdiction over appeals. The Court of Revision acts as a cassation juris- diction; its role is to ensure that the decisions of lower-degree jurisdictions apply the law cor- rectly. Although not a third-degree jurisdiction, owing to the particular judicial organisation in Monaco, the Court of Revision becomes a third- degree jurisdiction when, after having set aside a decision of a lower jurisdiction, the Court refers the relevant case to itself (composed differently) to retry it definitively both in fact and in law. 1.3 Court Filings and Proceedings Proceedings are mostly open to the public, except where the law finds that the debates must be in chambers (Article 849 of the Code of Civil Procedure) and mainly for cases heard by a single judge such as the conciliating judge (first part of divorce proceedings) or the guardianship judge ( juge tutélaire ), who deals with minors or majors under protection. The court filings and submissions, even in public hearings, go to the opponent and the judge(s). They are not publicly accessible. 1.4 Legal Representation in Court Before the First Instance Tribunal, the Court of Appeal and the Court of Revision, the parties are represented by an avocat-défenseur registered at the Monaco Bar. Foreign lawyers cannot conduct proceedings under their own name before the Monegasque courts; however, they can be represented by an avocat-défenseur and follow the Monegasque
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