MONACO Law and Practice Contributed by: Stephan Pastor, Emeline Elbaz-Mondeux, Daniel Goldenbaum and Xavier Widawski, CMS Monaco
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 state- ment 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 par- ties 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 con- tribution to the opponent’s legal fees, which is less than the costs incurred by the other party. In certain cases, additional sums in the form of damages may be required based on the Mon- egasque equivalent 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 shall take into account fairness ( équi- té ) and the economic situation of the losing party
Please note that, once an appeal has been lodged, the respondent in appeal can file for an appeal themself in mere written form. 10.4 Issues Considered by the Appeal Court at an Appeal An appeal can target the entire first-instance decision or be limited to parts of it. It consists of an examination of the first-instance judgment in so far as the appellant submits to the court only the parts of the judgment that they criticise. The appeal procedure is a new trial, with writing issued back and forth; when the judge finds that the case is ready, a final hearing is scheduled and the parties’ lawyers give the oral arguments. Parties may submit new pleas in law, new docu- ments or new evidence in support of the claims submitted to the first judge. However, they may not raise new claims, unless relating to compen- sation or if 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.
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