Legislative Overwiew 2023

99 AVOCATS ASSOCIÉS is pleased to propose a retrospective of the laws published (excluding budget laws) in Monaco in 2023.

The past year confirms the trend towards sustained legislative production (constant volume despite a drop in the number of laws, some of which are major reforms), a significant proportion of which is in line with the Principality's international commitments (Council of Europe, United Nations).

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Contents

• MONEYVAL
• State tax revenue
• State compensation for victims of serious offences
• Donation of leave
• Paternity leave
• Monegasque Supplementary Pension Fund (CRMC)
• Veterinary profession
• Twin of the Sovereign Cloud of Monaco in Luxembourg
• Disposal of property requiring withdrawal from the public domain

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Summary

¤ MONEYVAL

Law no. 1.549 of 6 July 2023 adapting legislative provisions to combat money laundering, terrorist financing and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (Part I) (JDM no. 8651 of 14 July 2023)

• Restructuring of SICCFIN into an independent administrative authority called the "Monegasque Financial Security Authority" (AMSF), with the power to impose sanctions on those subject to its jurisdiction (which now includes notaries and bailiffs), along with a new supervision and sanction system applicable to lawyers.
• Penalty procedures have been reviewed, and the amount of financial penalties has been adjusted depending on whether or not they are imposed on financial institutions.
• The wording of the criminal penalties incurred by natural and legal persons in the event of failure to comply with Law no. 1.362 has also been revised, and the quantum of those penalties has been increased.
• Adaptation of the obligations relating to beneficial owners (including the new obligation to appoint a "person responsible for basic information and information on beneficial owners"), with an extension to foundations, associations and federations of associations.
• Introduction of a mechanism for ongoing monitoring of the good repute of directors, shareholders, partners and beneficial owners of reporting entities.
• The period for which information must be retained after a customer relationship has been terminated, dissolved or wound up has been extended to 10 years.

More information on Law no. 1.549

Law no. 1.550 of 10 August 2023 adapting legislative provisions to combat money laundering, terrorist financing and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (Part II) (JDM no. 8655 of 11 August 2023)

• Increased and extended access by the competent Monegasque authorities to satisfactory, accurate and up-to-date "basic information" on beneficial owners and on the control of legal persons, with an overhaul of the legal regimes for registers.
• New requirements for associations and federations to keep accounts and put in place mechanisms to ensure that their partners, donors and the final beneficiaries of their donations are not involved in terrorist financing.
• Power of supervision and administrative sanctions for companies by the Economic Development Directorate (DDE) and for foundations and associations by the Department of the Interior.
• Reinforcement of the deterrent effect of administrative and criminal penalties.

More information on Law no. 1.550

Law no. 1.553 of 7 December 2023 adapting legislative provisions to combat money laundering, the financing of terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (Part III) (JDM no. 8673 of 15 December 2023)

• Enhancing the effectiveness of criminal proceedings (improving procedural deadlines, strengthening judicial oversight, extending the jurisdiction of the Monegasque courts, strengthening the powers of the authorities with regard to requisitions and undercover operations and controlled deliveries, improving the system for seizures and reforming the regime applicable to the protection of seized assets, creating preventive oversight, substantially amending the ordinary law extradition regime).
• Strengthening the deterrent effect of the criminal justice system (clarification of the regime and effects of the arrest warrant, obstruction of justice, definition and penalties for the offences of money laundering, terrorist financing, financing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, new offence of failure to justify resources, amendments relating to the Bulletin intended to be filed in the criminal record, in relation to the offence of "criminal negligence").

More information on Law no. 1.553

¤ State tax revenue

Law no. 1.548 of 6 July 2023 containing various tax provisions (JDM no. 8651 of 14 July 2023)

• Increase in the amount of fixed registration duty to €50 (the same for all the deeds concerned). For deeds increasing the share capital of commercial companies, this fixed duty replaces the 1% registration duty and the 0.50% stamp duty.
• Increase in the amount of proportional duties (in particular on transfers of property and property rights) taking into account the transparency (4.75%) or opacity (10%) of the entity.
• Real estate transactions subject to VAT will benefit from an exemption of half of the applicable registration duties (instead of total exemption).
• Creation of a tourist contribution.

More information on Law no. 1.548

¤ State compensation for victims of serious offences

Law no. 1.555 of 14 December 2023 on compensation for victims of sexual offences, offences against children, domestic violence and other offences against the person (JDM no. 8675 of 29 December 2023)

• Law no. 1.555 of 14 December 2023 on compensation for victims of sexual offences, offences against children, domestic violence and other offences against the person (JDM no. 8675 of 29 December 2023)
• State compensation is available to natural persons who are victims of a crime or offence against the person, an act of terrorism or human trafficking, and who have been ordered to pay damages or an advance against the convicted person.
• The cumulative conditions for access to compensation : 1°) To have benefited from an enforceable decision of a Monegasque court, or an irrevocable decision of a foreign court in the case of a victim of Monegasque nationality, awarding damages or the payment of an advance in compensation for the loss suffered; 2°) not having succeeded in obtaining payment in full of the damages or the advance on costs and of the sums awarded in respect of the costs of the proceedings; 3°) having sent a formal notice to the convicted person to pay the damages or the advance on costs in full, to no avail.
• Applicable to sentences that become enforceable on or after 30 December 2023.

More information on Law no. 1.555

¤ Donation of leave

Law no. 1.547 of 22 June 2023 on donated leave (JDM no. 8649 of 30 June 2023)

• Employees may, at their request and in agreement with the employer, waive all or part of their unused leave entitlement for the benefit of another employee of the company (child suffering from a particularly serious illness, disability or accident; death of spouse or partner or of a child under 25; close relative suffering from a particularly serious loss of autonomy or having a disability), without the beneficiary being informed of his or her identity, definitively and without consideration.
• Only the transfer of the fifth week of paid leave is affected.

More information on Law no. 1.547

¤ Paternity leave

Law no. 1.552 of 7 December 2023 amending law no. 1.309 of 29 May 2006 on paternity leave granted to employees (JDM no. 8673 of 15 December 2023)

• Extension of the statutory period of paternity leave for private-sector employees to 21 consecutive calendar days in the event of a single birth (compared with 12 days previously), and to 28 consecutive calendar days in the event of multiple births or if the household already has at least 2 dependent children (compared with 19 days previously).

More information on Law no. 1.552

¤ Monegasque Supplementary Pension Fund (CRMC)

Law no. 1.544 of 20 April 2023 establishing a Monegasque Supplementary Pension Fund (JDM no. 8640 of 28 April 2023)

• Entitlement to a CMRC supplementary pension is subject to the condition that a basic pension entitlement has been opened with the Caisse Autonome des Retraites (CAR) and that it gives rise to the payment of a pension.
• The salaried activity must have been carried out in Monaco during periods (continuous or not) extending over a minimum of 10 years, and these periods of activity must include a minimum total period of actual work of 60 months.
• A bonus benefit is paid annually to people receiving a CAR and (French) Agirc Arrco pension who retired before 31 December 2023, to compensate for the difference between the value of the CMRC point and the value of the (French) Agirc-Arrco point.

More information on Law no. 1.544

¤ Veterinary profession

Law no. 1.556 of 14 December 2023 on the practice of veterinary medicine and surgery (JDM no. 8675 of 29 December 2023)

• Conditions for practising the profession of veterinary surgeon (relating to the person, the veterinary establishment, practising in a company).
• Rules governing the practice of the profession of veterinary surgeon, including professional ethics (obligations, prohibitions, relations with other veterinary surgeons and third parties, place of practice, communication on professional activity).
• Control of the practice of the veterinary profession.
• Administrative and criminal penalties.

¤ Twin of the Sovereign Cloud of Monaco in Luxembourg

Law no. 1.545 of 20 April 2023 approving the ratification of the Agreement between the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the Principality of Monaco concerning the hosting of data and information systems (JDM no. 8640 of 28 April 2023)

• The purpose of the bilateral agreement is to set up the "twin" (backup data centre hosted in Luxembourg) of Monaco's sovereign cloud, on which the Principality's digital services (smart city, e-administration, e-health, e-education, etc.) are based, and which can store both the State's data and that of Monegasque private players.
• The bilateral agreement guarantees the inviolability of the premises and immunity from execution attached to Monaco's assets.

More information on the Agreement ratified by Law no. 1.545

Law no. 1.546 of 20 April 2023 amending articles 7 and 8 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (JDM no. 8640 of 28 April 2023)

• Express jurisdiction of Monegasque courts to prosecute, judge and punish acts of technological crime committed to the detriment of data and information systems of a data centre located outside Monegasque territory (see above Law no. 1.545).

More information on Law no. 1.546

¤ Disposal of property requiring withdrawal from the public domain

Law no. 1.554 of 14 December 2023 on informing the Conseil National (Parliament) prior to the disposal of a property requiring it to be decommissioned from the public domain (JDM no. 8675 of 29 December 2023)

• Enumeration of the information to be provided by the Government to the Parliament as soon as it is known and before the vote on the law declaring the decommissioning of the public property concerned.
• Contracts with private operators must include profit-sharing and compensation clauses.
• Obligation to inform the Parliament of any substantial changes to the real estate operation after the vote on a decommissioning bill.

More information on Law no. 1.554

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