ARTICLE
1 August 2024

Protecting Victims Of Domestic Violence In Monaco

CP
CMS Pasquier Ciulla Marquet Pastor & Svara

Contributor

CMS Monaco is a leading law firm, providing local and international clients with a one-stop shop service for all their legal challenges, both in counselling and litigation. The firm was created in 2009 and is strongly anchored in the Monegasque market and well familiar with its dynamic economy. In 2017 the firm joined CMS, an organisation of independent law firms, composed of 80+ offices in 45+ countries, with over 6,000 lawyers worldwide, making it the only law firm in Monaco with such significant international reach. Today CMS Monaco is composed of 80+ professionals, including five partners (Avocats Associés Monégasques) and over 50 associates, experts in Monegasque law. The firm is structured around seven practice groups: Private Clients, Business Law, Real Estate & Construction, Employment, Banking & Finance, Tax and Criminal law. The teams regularly work together on complex cross-practice cases with high stakes for a large variety of Monegasque and international clients, such as companies of various sect
This procedure enables the victim to obtain a ban on the perpetrator from entering in contact with her/him and appearing and residing in specific places.
Monaco Family and Matrimonial

The Monaco lawmaker wanted to set up an effective and responsive system for protecting victims of domestic violence, enabling the President of the Court of First Instance to issue a protection order within twenty-four hours of the case being referred to them.

This procedure enables the victim to obtain a ban on the perpetrator from entering in contact with her/him and appearing and residing in specific places.

It also allows the victim to be authorized to live separately from her/his spouse, and to be granted with the exclusive use of the accommodation. The judge may also precise on who will bear the cost of it.

This being an ex parte procedure, the Judge is extremely cautious in reviewing the protection requests, to avoid any abusive evictions from the matrimonial home.

The Judge must indeed make sure that the measure is proportionate, meaning that victim must be protected without being detrimental to the presumed perpetrator, since the latter is presumed innocent pending the penal decision.

In accordance with case law, a detailed medical certificate and the lodging of a criminal complaint were previously required for a protection order to be granted, one having to corroborate the other.

However, in a recent decision, Monaco Court of Appeal laid down new prerequisites for the protection order to be granted, considering, even though the victim had conclusive medical evidence and did actually lodge a complaint, that:

  • No minute of the hearing had been brought to the debate
  • The victim did lodge the complaint two days after the medical certificate was issued
  • The medical certificate did not include a description of the violence complained of by the victim
  • No statement was brought to the debate, although the facts took place in public

By doing so, it seems that Monaco Court has established new and particularly restrictive conditions that are contrary to the spirit of the Law of July 20th, 2011 on the fight against and prevention of specific forms of violence that inserted the article no. 24-1 of the Civil Code, advocating for immediate protection of the victims.

Indeed, the bill recalled that "Domestic violence constitutes a very serious and unacceptable breach to Human rights, freedom, safety and dignity. Usually perpetrated in secrecy, it is our duty, both individual and collective, to break the silence and to implement all the necessary means to eradicate this plague that knows no geographic or age boundaries and that concerns all types of family relationships and all types of social classes (...)".

The Protection Order procedure has nothing to do with bringing the alleged perpetrator to trial but to prevent the recurrence of the alleged facts of violence.

For the time being, this case law is isolated. Therefore, the decisions to come will be determining.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.

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