Same-sex relationships are recognised in the microstate of

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

. On 4 December 2019, the National Council passed a bill establishing cohabitation agreements, offering both same-sex and opposite-sex couples limited rights and benefits in the areas of inheritance and property. The law took effect on 27 June 2020.

Cohabitation agreements

The legislative process leading to the recognition of same-sex couples started in the early 2010s. In November 2010, an interview mentioned that Jean-Charles Gardetto, a member of the National Council and lawyer, was preparing a draft bill intending to legally define

cohabitation Cohabitation is an arrangement where people who are not married, usually couples, live together. They are often involved in a romantic or sexually intimate relationship on a long-term or permanent basis. Such arrangements have become increas ...

, either for heterosexual or for homosexual couples. On 18 June 2013, the opposition

Union Monégasque Union Monégasque () is a centrist political party in the Principality of Monaco. Union Monégasque was formed in 2013 and is led by Jean-François Robillon. In the most recent elections on February 11, 2018 it won 16.2 percent of the vote and 1 ...

party submitted a bill to Parliament to establish gender-neutral cohabitation agreements. The bill was immediately sent to the Women and Family Rights Commission for consideration. In July 2015, the commission's president said that debate on the bill would begin in late 2015. Originally submitted as ''pacte de vie commune'', the bill was amended to establish a "cohabitation agreement" (french: contrat de vie commune, )., The bill's rapporteur, Jean-Louis Grinda, submitted his report on 7 September 2016. It noted that the Monegasque administration already recognises

concubinage Concubinage is an interpersonal and sexual relationship between a man and a woman in which the couple does not want, or cannot enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarded as similar but mutually exclusive. Concubin ...

since 2008, and that the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that ...

considers non-recognition of same-sex relationships to be contrary to the

European Convention on Human Rights The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is an international convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by ...

as per ''

Oliari and Others v Italy ''Oliari and Others v. Italy'' (Application nos. 18766/11 and 36030/11) is a case decided in 2015 by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in which the Court established a positive obligation upon member states to provide legal recognition fo ...

''. On 27 October 2016, the National Council unanimously approved a resolution mandating the

Council of Government The Council of Government of Monaco is the Prince's governing body. It consists of six members: Minister of State, who chairs the council, and the five members (four counsellors and one delegate); he also has voting rights, and has control of ...

to draft a bill recognizing same-sex unions. On 27 April 2017, the Council responded positively to the proposal, and said it would introduce a draft law by April 2018 following the February 2018 elections. The cohabitation agreement bill was introduced to the National Council on 16 April 2018. Under the bill, cohabiting same-sex and opposite-sex couples would be considered on par with siblings for inheritance tax but not at the same level as married couples. The agreement, which is open to siblings and parents and children as well, also provides an enumerated set of

property Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property may have the right to consume, alter, share, r ...

and

social security Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifical ...

rights, and reciprocal obligations. The ''contrat'' is signed in front of a notary and then deposited at a public registry. The agreement provides some but not all of the rights of

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

. For example, a foreign partner is not eligible for Monegasque citizenship, and both partners cannot share the same surname. On 4 December 2019, the National Council approved the bill in a unanimous 22–0 vote. The legislation was signed into law by Prince Albert II on 17 December 2019, published in the official journal on 27 December and took effect six months later (i.e. 27 June 2020). Several lawmakers criticized the "hypocritical" opposition of

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

officials, notably from the Archbishop of Monaco, Bernard Barsi, who had written to all deputies urging them to vote against the bill, noting that the law concerned solely civil matters and not

religious Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatur ...

ones. Many deputies called the law "long overdue", and president of the National Council Stéphane Valeri called it "great news for all couples".

Same-sex marriage

Same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

is not recognized in Monaco. The Civil Code of Monaco does not explicitly ban same-sex marriages, but article 116 requires "the man" and "the woman" to be at least 18 years of

age Age or AGE may refer to: Time and its effects * Age, the amount of time someone or something has been alive or has existed ** East Asian age reckoning, an Asian system of marking age starting at 1 * Ageing or aging, the process of becoming older ...

to marry. The

Constitution of Monaco The Constitution of Monaco, first adopted in 1911 after the Monégasque Revolution and heavily revised by Prince Rainier III on 17 December 1962, outlines three branches of government, including several administrative offices and a number of coun ...

does not restrict marriage to opposite-sex couples.

Public opinion

According to a survey conducted in 2007 by the Union pour Monaco (UPM) party before the 2007 municipal elections, 51% of the respondents (only native Monegasque inhabitants asked) agreed that living in a registered partnership should be accepted. Monegasques being a minority in Monaco, the survey is not representative of the entire public's opinion.

Notes

References

External links