Update of the State public procurement Framework (Sovereign Order No. 7.264 and Ministerial Order No. 2022-708, as amended in June 2026)

Sovereign Order No. 11.976 of 18 June 2026 and Ministerial Order No. 2026-335 of 18 June 2026 (JDM No. 8805 of 26 June 2026) amend Sovereign Order No. 7.264 of 20 December 2018 governing State public procurement, and Article 24 of Ministerial Order No. 2022-708 of 12 December 2022, which lays down the procedures governing the award of public building and civil engineering works contracts by the State.

These two instruments implement the Principality of Monaco 2026–2028 Anti-Corruption Strategy, in line with the enhanced transparency requirements recommended by the Council of Europe Group of States against Corruption (GRECO), and inspired from the fundamental principles of public procurement enshrined in the United Nations Convention against Corruption of 31 October 2003 (not ratified by Monaco).

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IN DETAIL

→ Extension of transparency requirements to companies majority-owned by the State:

• Public procurement contracts (marchés publics) falling within the scope of Sovereign Order No. 7.264 now include "contracts for pecuniary consideration concluded between the State and one or more economic operators, including where such operators are companies in which the State holds a majority shareholding, to meet its requirements for works, supplies or services" (amendment to Article 1 of Sovereign Order No. 7.264).

→ Strengthened publication requirements and procedural time limits at the procurement stage

• For public supply and service contracts with an estimated value exceeding EUR 200,000 (exclusive of VAT): candidates may be pre-selected only following publication of a notice in the Journal de Monaco or on another internet publication platform capable of publishing such notices (amendment to Article 17 and new Article 25-1 of Sovereign Order No. 7.264).
• The information to be included in procurement notices has been expanded: In all cases where publication is required, the notice must specify the contract title and subject matter, the procurement procedure, the deadline for submission of applications or tenders, the contracting authority, the pre-selection criteria and the relevant contact details (amendment to the fourth paragraph of Article 28 of Sovereign Order No. 7.264).
• New statutory time limits have also been introduced to provide greater procedural certainty: The minimum period for the submission of tenders, or of applications and tenders where submitted together, is twenty-seven days from the date on which the contract notice or invitation to tender is issued. Where intermediate or final tenders are requested, the applicable time limit must be specified in the procurement documents issued by the State. The minimum period for the submission of applications is fifteen days from the date of dispatch of the contract notice. In cases of duly established urgency, these time limits may be reduced and adapted to the circumstances (new paragraphs 6 to 9 of Article 28 of Sovereign Order No. 7.264).

→ Improved transparency during the procurement procedure:

• The previous practice of opening applications and tenders in the presence of participating economic operators has been abolished: The opening session is no longer open to candidates participating in the procurement procedure (new Article 30-1 of Sovereign Order No. 7.264).
• Introductoon of the principle that the objective contract award criteria [relating to the subject matter of the contract or to its conditions of performance] must either be weighted or ranked in descending order of importance. (new paragraph of Article 32 of Sovereign Order No. 7.264 and amendment to Article 24 of Ministerial Order No. 2022-708).
• Requirement to systematically communicate the reasons for rejecting unsuccessful applications or tenders. Within thirty days of signature of the contract, the State must notify all unsuccessful tenderers, by any appropriate means, of the rejection of their application or tender. The notification must state the reasons for the decision, including the score awarded, and identify the successful tenderer (amendment to Article 35 of Sovereign Order No. 7.264).
• Obligation to publish a contract award notice for every contract exceeding EUR 200,000 (exclusive of VAT): Within thirty days of signature of the contract, the State must publish, in the Journal de Monaco or on another internet publication platform capable of publishing such notices, a notice indicating the successful tenderer, the value of the successful tender and the relevant contact details (new Article 35-1 of Sovereign Order No. 7.264).
• Unsuccessful bidders are granted an express right of access to certain information relating to the procurement procedure: Within thirty days of receiving notification of the rejection decision, any unsuccessful undertaking may request disclosure of the list of candidates that participated in the procedure and the amounts of the tenders submitted (new Article 36-1 of Sovereign Order No. 7.264).