Formal Sitting to Mark the New Session of the Courts and Tribunals

Rentrée tribunaux 2019 - © Government Communication Department/Charly Gallo

The traditional Formal Sitting to mark the new session of the return of the Courts and Tribunals took place on Tuesday 1 October at the Courthouse, in the presence of H.S.H. the Sovereign Prince, accompanied by the Minister of State, the Archbishop of Monaco, the President of the National Council and many dignitaries. It was preceded by a celebration of the Mass of the Holy Spirit in Monaco Cathedral.

This formal sitting, which was also attended by Laurent Anselmi, Secretary of Justice, marks the start of the 2019/2020 judicial year.

As announced in a press release by the Prince's Palace of 24 September, Laurent Anselmi will become Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation in the Prince's Government as from 21 October. Robert Gelli, who is currently Public Prosecutor at the Court of Appeal of Aix-en-Provence, will succeed him as head of the Principality's judicial services.

In the same press release, the Sovereign expressed the wish that "all the cases under investigation be completed in the best possible conditions." Investigations will thus be strengthened with the creation of a third chamber and the arrival, around 15 October 2019, of two new judges, one of whom is a specialist in financial affairs. A new Deputy Public Prosecutor will also join the staff of the Public Prosecution Department; this will be a useful addition.

The opening speech, on the subject of "How Bankruptcy is Dealt With under Monegasque Law," was given by François-Xavier Lucas, Advisor at the Court of Revision.

Following this speech, Brigitte Grinda-Gambarini, First President of the Court of Appeal, gave an account of the judicial activity of the year and then concluded by recalling that "judges move on, whether due to leave of absence, retirement, the end of secondment or non-renewal, but the cases remain, with defendants, victims, accused parties and lawyers, whose mission is to ensure respect for the rights of the defence, to help reveal the truth and also to obtain this contribution from all those involved in the trial." She recalled the words of H.S.H. the Sovereign Prince at the time of His accession, when He stated that He "trusted the moral rigour and impartiality of the entire judiciary, away from the influence and temptations of the media."

Finally, a tribute was paid to the work of Laurent Anselmi by both Brigitte Grinda-Gambarini, who expressed her "wishes for success and fulfilment in the important mission that will be entrusted to him in the service of the higher interests of the State," and by Sylvie Petit-Leclair, who, in her conclusions, stated in particular that, "You have brought a breath of modernity to Monegasque justice by placing the revision of the Code of Civil Procedure and the Code of Criminal Procedure on the agenda. "