Draft law No. 273 amending certain provisions of the Civil Code relating to divorce and legal separation (séparation de corps)

Draft law no. 273 amending certain provisions of the Civil Code relating to divorce and legal separation (41 articles) was tabled in public session on 6 November 2025 and referred to the Committee on Women's Rights, Family and Equality.

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SUMMARY

Objectives of the reform

The reform aims to modernise Monegasque civil law on divorce and legal separation, bringing it into line with societal changes giving greater weight to the autonomy of the spouses' wishes and the availability of rights, speeding up and simplifying procedures, and drawing inspiration from the practices of other States taking into account the interests of foreign residents:

• to enhance the judicial and legal attractiveness of the Principality,
• while ensuring effective protection of the rights of spouses (including vulnerable spouses, such as those suffering from cognitive impairment) and the interests of children, as well as respect for public order and morality.

Key points of the reform

• Legalisation of prenuptial agreements concluded in Monaco: inspired by Anglo-American nuptial agreements (pre-nup, mid-nup, post-nup), these would allow spouses to organise the consequences of the dissolution of their marriage, particularly in terms of maintenance, financial matters and property.
• Revision of divorce cases: divorce would still be possible at the request of one spouse, or both spouses together, without consideration of fault and without the need for a period of separate residence (objective divorce).
• Protection of the vulnerable spouse in accordance with Monaco's international commitments.
• Revitalisation of the legal interest of legal separation by increasing the powers of the judge.

NB: a (parliamentary) draft law adopted by Parliament (Conseil National) is forwarded to the government, which has the option of turning it into a bill or suspending the legislative procedure.

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IN DETAIL

Draft law No. 273 proposes reforms to divorce and legal separation governed by Title VI of Book I (Persons) of the Civil Code.

→ Revision of divorce cases

New provisions: Articles 197 and 198 of the Civil Code

• Draft law No. 273 only provides for objective divorce without consideration of fault and the requirement for a period of separate residence: 1° at the request of one of the spouses, six months after the marriage was celebrated. However, this period would not be necessary to file a petition when there is a proven risk to the life, physical integrity, freedom or moral integrity of the petitioning spouse or the children of both spouses or of one of the spouses; or 2° at the request of both spouses once a period of six months has elapsed since the marriage was celebrated. According to statistics, divorce by mutual consent "already accounts for nearly 71% of applications".
• Divorce is thus defined as "the dissolution of a marriage pronounced by a court, at the request of the spouses or one of them, in the cases and according to the forms determined by these provisions".
• Subjective grounds for divorce would therefore be abolished: divorce on the grounds of fault, illness of the spouse, criminal conviction, or irretrievable breakdown of the marriage.
• Currently, Monegasque law provides for divorce by mutual consent upon joint application (Article 199 of the Civil Code since Law No. 1.336 of 12 July 2007), divorce at the request of one of the spouses on the grounds of fault, breakdown of the marriage, criminal conviction, or illness of the spouse (Article 197 of the Civil Code), divorce at the request of one of the spouses when both spouses agree to the principle of ending the marriage regardless of the reasons for the breakdown (Article 198 of the Civil Code).
• The reform of divorce cases is motivated by the fact that "these grounds now appear to be inadequate. Some are based on a logic of intense confrontation between the spouses, such as divorce
  on the grounds of fault, while others, such as the breakdown of cohabitation, impose particularly restrictive conditions, particularly with regard to the constraints of finding accommodation in Monaco. In practice, these requirements often lead to lengthy, costly and stressful legal proceedings, which tend to exacerbate family conflict". The grounds for divorce on the basis of illness or criminal conviction "are based on subjective and moral conceptions of the relationship between spouses, which no longer correspond to the role of the will (unilateral or joint) that now dominates family conceptions, nor to the fear of judicial interference in the intimate sphere of marital relations. Divorce on the grounds of fault may also unnecessarily increase the intensity of family conflict, with each spouse seeking to convince the judge of their spouse's culpability, sometimes with little restraint."
• The explanatory memorandum also specifies, with regard to the removal of fault as grounds for divorce, that this "obviously does not preclude the possibility of bringing a case before a judge when acts of domestic violence have been committed, in order to obtain a restraining order against the violent spouse. (...) the victim may still request, prior to divorce proceedings, for example, on the basis of Article 24-1 of the Civil Code (...), authorisation to reside separately or the allocation of the use of the home." In addition, a petition for divorce may be filed by the spouse without having to "wait for the new legal period of six months from the date of the marriage, where there is a proven risk to his or her life, physical or moral integrity, or freedom".

→ Protection of vulnerable spouses

New provisions: Articles 200-2-1 to 200-2-3 of the Civil Code

• Drfat law No. 273 brings together all the rules relating to the divorce of vulnerable adults who are mentally ill or unable to express their wishes.
• It provides for the automatic appointment of a curator (curateur) by the President of the Court of First Instance to assist the vulnerable spouse (defendant or plaintiff) by ensuring that the effects of the divorce are acceptable to her or him, in the absence of organised guardianship or curatorship, or in the event of a conflict of interest where guardianship is exercised by the spouse.
• This development is linked to Monaco's international commitments under Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities of 13 December 2006.

→ Legal separation (séparation de corps)

New provisions: Articles 197-3, 197-4, 206-7, 206-11 of the Civil Code :

• Draft law No. 273 aims to "revive legal interest" in legal separation by introducing its definition "in the introductory provisions that open the Title on divorce and legal separation, thus placing it on the same level as divorce and breaking with its current relegation to the end of the Chapter": "Legal separation is a loosening of the marital bond pronounced by a court. Without dissolving the marriage, legal separation ends the duty of cohabitation and results in a separation of property between the spouses for the future."
• Monegasque judges would have enhanced powers based on the principle of equity, "to enable them to correct any situations rendered unfair by the strict application of the laws on maintenance obligations". They could set aside the provisions relating to the duty of support if this would lead to a manifestly problematic decision. For example, the judge could, on the basis of fairness, dismiss a claim for maintenance in proceedings for legal separation brought by "the husband of a woman with deep religious convictions, who has been convicted of criminal offences, in particular for acts committed against his wife (...), and who has considerably greater resources than" him.
• The explanatory memorandum specifies the legislator's objective of "reaffirming the favour of Monegasque law" for legal separation, which is "absolutely necessary in a context of growing demand for divorce. The aim is to offer certain Monegasque or foreign nationals legal pluralism with regard to the dissolution of marriage, in particular to respond to religious considerations."
• The Civil Code maintains a bridge between legal separation and divorce: spouses "may, in any event, convert their application for divorce into an application for legal separation"; conversely, provision is made for "the conversion of legal separation into divorce".

→ Lawfulness of nuptial agreements

New provisions: Articles 191-1 to 196-3, 197-1 paragraph 3, 202-5 last paragraph, 203-1-1 to -3, 204-4, 204-5, 204-8 of the Civil Code

• The conclusion of a nuptial agreement (accord nuptial) in Monaco would make it possible to organise the consequences of the dissolution of the marriage, in particular in terms of maintenance, financial matters and property (e.g. compensatory allowance, liquidation and division of joint property interests, parental contribution to the maintenance of a child).
• The nuptial agreement is distinct from the marriage contract (contrat de mariage), which concerns the rules governing the ownership of the spouses' property and the spouses' powers over that property. It should also be distinguished from the current divorce agreement (convention de divorce) provided for in Article 202-5 of the Civil Code, which the nuptial agreement would replace (the limited scope of the divorce agreement may be included in a nuptial agreement with a broader material scope).
• The nuptial agreement could be drawn up privately or in the form of a notarised document before the marriage ceremony (like a marriage contract or prenuptial agreement), or during the marriage (like a mid-marriage agreement), or during divorce proceedings (like a divorce agreement and post-nuptial agreement).
• The prenuptial agreement would be subject to the following essential conditions of validity: — consent must be given by each spouse freely and in full knowledge of the facts, based on transparent financial information, in the presence of a solicitor for each spouse, and after a satisfactory period of negotiation; — the content of the agreement should be in accordance with public policy (ordre public), morality (bonnes mœurs) and the interests of any minor children.
• The explanatory memorandum specifies that "The conclusion of a marriage agreement must not provide an opportunity for the most astute, wealthiest or strongest spouse to impose their will" or, for example, include "clauses that are detrimental to the interests of the child" in terms of maintenance contributions.
• The explanatory memorandum also gives examples of breaches of public policy or morality: — "a substantial compensatory payment (prestation compensatoire), negotiated and agreed before or at the beginning of the marriage, when one of the spouses' businesses was flourishing. (...) which subsequently declined" and "the fulfilment of the obligations initially agreed would place the spouse in an economically untenable situation, depriving them of a minimum decent income." — "clauses that would prohibit one of the spouses from residing in a particular country, for example, or that would make the award of compensatory allowance conditional on such a private prohibition on residence". — "clauses that would make the allocation of property during the division of assets, or the right to compensatory allowance, conditional on the fulfilment of ’marital duties‘ during the marriage, for example by determining the frequency of sexual relations". — "stipulations based on grounds of discrimination between the sexes or between children". — "clauses which, for example, would make the husband's granting of compensatory allowance conditional on the right not to be faithful a certain number of times per year".
• The approval (homologation) of the nuptial agreement requested by the spouses (after verification of compliance with the essential conditions of validity, and conformity with the interests of the child, mentioned above) would make it enforceable. The Court could not modify the terms of the nuptial agreement. However, if a provision of the marriage contract is not in the best interests of the minor child, the approval may be only partial, with the Court of First Instance being able to give effect to the other provisions and rule in the context of a traditional judicial function, as required by the best interests of the child.
• The court's decision refusing to approve the nuptial agreement would be subject to appeal. However, no appeal could be lodged against the decision approving the agreement.
• If the nuptial agreement contract did not contain provisions governing the liquidation and division of joint property interests, or if it was incomplete, the court would order this and appoint a notary to proceed. Similarly, the compensatory allowance could be set by the court if the nuptial agreement did not contain provisions governing this effect of the divorce, or if it was incomplete.

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