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MONACO LAW REVIEW | DECEMBER 2025 | DOCTRINE
The governing principle is that of “general and absolute”
secrecy (Article 3.4 of the National Regulations). It extends to
all staff members of the notarial offi ce, and the notary must
ensure that they are aware of it and comply with it.
These rules are transposable, word for word, into Monegasque
law. Thus, Monegasque notaries naturally fall within the
category of “persons who, by virtue of their position or profession,
are entrusted with confi dential information” within the meaning
of Article 308 of the Monegasque Criminal Code2, and are
liable, in the event of a breach of such secrecy and pursuant
to that provision, to “imprisonment for a term of six months to
one year and to the fi ne prescribed under paragraph 3 of Article 26,
or to either of those penalties alone”.
Monegasque notaries are therefore subject to professional
secrecy under the same conditions as French notaries.
Since professional secrecy is regarded in both French and
Monegasque case law as single and intangible in nature, it is,
for notaries in the Principality, general and absolute, subject
to the conditions laid down in the Criminal Code or in any
other legislative or regulatory provisions.
The foundations of this professional secrecy are twofold.
First, there is the client’s private interest, as the client must
be certain that the information disclosed to the notary in
order for the latter to fulfi l his or her mission will remain
confi dential.
Second, there is the public interest, which requires that the
secrecy entrusted to the notary be inviolable; otherwise, the
notarial profession would be weakened, and clients might
refrain from confi ding information that they wish to keep
confi dential.
For this reason, the professional secrecy of the notary is a
matter of public policy.
It covers:
- the entirety of notarial activity, and not only the authentic
instruments themselves;
- all documents held within the notarial offi ce, including
correspondence between the notary and the client, emails,
accounting records and supporting documents;
- the notary’s diary, which may contain information concerning
the identity of the parties and the nature of ongoing transactions;
- and it extends to all oral communications, such as telephone
conversations and consultations;
- correspondence exchanged between notaries in the Principality
is likewise protected by professional secrecy as soon as it
relates to the activity of the notaries concerned.
However, despite the principle of a general and absolute
professional secrecy, exceptions have multiplied, with
the protection of the public interest prevailing over the
protection of purely private interests.
Accordingly, the notary may be required or directed by
public authorities, pursuant to the applicable statutory
provisions, to disclose instruments or to provide testimony.
Only the most signifi cant derogating provisions will be
considered here.
I. The Powers of the
Tax Administration
Pursuant to Article 3 of Sovereign Ordinance No. 3.085 of
25 September 1945 on the rights and duties of offi cials of the
Tax Services, the notary is required, “upon formal demand, to
disclose [the authentic instruments which he drafts or receives
for deposit] to offi cers of the Department of Tax Services holding
at least the rank of inspector”, with the exception of wills and
other acts of gratuitous transfer upon death while the testators
are still alive. This applies whether such offi cers act on their
own initiative or upon a request submitted by the French tax
administration, under Article 20 of the Franco-Monegasque
Tax Convention of 18 May 1963, made enforceable by
Sovereign Ordinance No. 3.037 of 19 August 1963.
In practice, the professional secrecy of the notary is
therefore almost non-existent vis-à-vis the Monegasque tax
administration and, through it, the French tax administration,
all the more so as any refusal to disclose constitutes an offence
punishable by a fi ne of €10,000 to €50,000.
II. The Powers of the
Investigating Judge
Under Article 87 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, “The
investigating judge shall take all measures which he or she
considers useful for establishing the truth.
Except with regard to the interrogation of the accused, the judge
may delegate to offi cers of the criminal investigation police any
investigative acts that he or she specifi es.”
Case law holds that the powers conferred on the judge by
this provision “are, in principle, subject to no restriction”.
It follows that the professional secrecy of the notary cannot
be invoked against the investigating judge, nor against
offi cers of the criminal investigation police acting pursuant
to a commission rogatoire (an investigative order issued by
the investigating judge) issued by the judge.
2 | See also Cass. crim., 7 April 1870 : Bull. crim. 1870, No. 83; S. 1870, 1. 277.
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