In the Principality of Monaco (“Monaco” or “the Principality”), the concept of parental responsibility is defined as “parental authority” in Article 300 of the Civil Code, which states: “Until majority or emancipation, children are placed under the authority of their father and mother, who have the right and duty of custody, supervision and education, to protect their safety, health and morality, and to enable their development, with due respect for their person. Each parent contributes to the maintenance and education of the children in proportion to his or her resources, those of the other parent and the needs of the child. This obligation does not cease automatically when the child reaches the age of majority.”

However, if one parent is momentarily unable to exercise this right (in the case of absence, geographical distance, or incapacity), parental responsibility is momentarily attributed in its entirety to the other parent. The parent unable to exercise parental responsibility still remains entitled to oversee the child’s welfare.

Under exceptional circumstances (such as a criminal conviction), parents can have their right to parental responsibility itself partially or totally withdrawn by the judge.

The mere birth of a child confers parental responsibility for the child on the birth mother. If the father acknowledges the child, parental authority is exercised jointly by the father and mother.

However, when parentage is established with regard to one of the parents more than two years after the birth of a child whose parentage has already been established in terms of the other, the latter remains the only one vested with parental authority.

Parental authority may nevertheless be exercised jointly in the event of either:

• a joint declaration by the father and mother before the guardianship judge; or
• a decision by a court.

To obtain parental responsibility, the father must acknowledge the child.

The declaration of birth is made to the civil registrar within five days of the birth. The father and/or the mother can also acknowledge their child before the birth – either by declaration to the civil registrar or by a notarised deed. Antenatal acknowledgement produces the same effects as acknowledgement on the day the child is born.

See 1.7 Adoption.

In Monaco, unmarried and married parents have the same rights concerning their children. This is because the Monégasque Civil Code defines these rights by using the terms “mother” and “father” rather than “spouses”.

Same-sex couples are not permitted to marry but they can enter into a civil partnership contract. The issue of the recognition of marriages between persons of the same sex performed abroad is pending before the courts. There may also be a legislative reform of the civil partnership contract to offer more rights to the civil partners.

Given that the Civil Code defines the parents as a “mother” and a “father”, the laws regarding parental authority will not be applicable to same sex parents. However, in January 2023, the first instance court authorised the homologation of an agreement setting out the terms and conditions for the exercise of parental authority by a same-sex couple.

Law No 1,470 of 17 June 2019 recently amended the statutory provisions on adoption.

Full Adoption

Full adoption (adoption plénière) completely severs the adoptee from their biological family and creates a new parentage situation with the adoptive parents. The adoptee is granted the same status than a biological child and the adoption cannot be revoked.

The request for full adoption can only be filed jointly by a couple who have been married for more than five years. One of the two must be more than 26 years of age. Full adoption is not available to single people or cohabiting couples.

The adoptee must have lived with the family for at least one year before reaching 15 years of age. If the adoptee is over the age of 13, their consent is required. The adoptee’s biological parents’ consent is also necessary.

The adoptive parent must be at least 16 years older than the adoptee. If the adoptee is the child of the adopter’s spouse, there must be at least ten years’ difference in age between the adoptive parent and the adoptee.

Simple Adoption

In a simple adoption (adoption simple), the adoptee maintains all their rights within their biological family – although the adoptive parents exercise parental authority. A simple adoption can be judicially revoked on serious grounds.

Simple adoption is open to married couples or a single person over 26 years of age. Simple adoptions are not available to cohabitating couples.

As is the case for full adoption, the adoptive parent must be at least 16 years older than the adoptee (ten years if the adoptee is the child of the adopter’s spouse). Consent from the adoptee’s biological parents is also required, as is consent from the adoptee if the latter is more than 13 years old.

International Adoptions

Monégasque courts have jurisdiction to order an adoption if the adopter(s) or adopted person are Monégasque nationals or their domicile is situated in Monaco. Conditions for the consent and representation of the adopted person are governed by their national law. In contrast, the conditions and effects of adoption are governed by the national law of the adopter. For an adoption by both spouses, the adoption is governed by the law applicable to the personal effects of the marriage.

The adoption cannot be granted if it is prohibited by the national law of one of the spouses. Adoptions of foreign nationals can never be granted if the adoptee’s national law prohibits adoption. The adoption duly granted abroad, however, is fully effective in Monaco – provided it is not contrary to public policy.

Both parents must consent to the child’s relocation abroad – given that, in principle, the parents share parental responsibility.

In order to remove a child from the jurisdiction against the other parent’s wishes, the parent must obtain the permission of the guardianship judge.

The size of the Principality makes this question irrelevant.

Unless other parent has had their parental rights removed, it is illegal to take the child out of the jurisdiction without the consent of the other parent.

Monaco has ratified the Convention of 25 October 1980 on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (the “1980 Hague Convention”) (see 3.3 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction). In practice, when a child is abducted from a parent who has custody of the child in Monaco and is taken to another signatory country, that parent must notify the Directorate of Judicial Services immediately by any available means. This is usually done through the lawyer filing a petition with the authority. If the applicant is not using the services of a lawyer, they will have to complete and submit a form available on the government website.

When the geographical location of the abducted child is known, the parent or the lawyer should notify the central authority of the country in which the child is located as soon as possible. The Directorate of Judicial Services will then contact the competent services in the country where the child is located to organise – with the help of the local authorities – the child’s return.

When a child is abducted from a parent who has custody of the child in Monaco and is taken to a country that is not a signatory to the 1980 Hague Convention, parents may refer the matter to the Prosecutor General and to the Directorate of Judicial Services.

Monaco strictly applies the principles of the 1980 Hague Convention, even though it is not widely applied in the Principality, owing to the small number of cases. There is no data provided by the central authority about the number of 1980 Hague Convention cases in Mexico each year, nor their outcome.

If the applicant is from a country that is not a signatory to the 1980 Hague Convention, the procedure to return the child to the non-signatory country will be different because the procedure provided for in the 1980 Hague Convention cannot be followed.

If the applicant has a court order granting them custody of the child, and the child has been abducted by the other parent, the applicant must follow a procedure in Monaco that is known as an “exequatur”. This is because a foreign court decision cannot be enforced in Monaco unless it has first been recognised by the Monaco courts via exequatur proceedings.

As soon as the foreign decision is recognised it becomes enforceable and the Monaco police can be vested with the authority to recover the child. Then, either the parent comes to Monaco to take the child or an agreement is put in place between the two countries in order for the child to be handed over to its parent in the non-signatory country.

The cost of the procedure, if legal aid is not sought, will depend on the fees of the lawyer appointed. The timescale will depend on the difficulty of the case and whether the child has been located.

As to whether free legal advice is made available to the parent of the abducted child pursuant to Articles 7(g) and 25 of the 1980 Hague Convention, there is no such thing as free legal advice in Mexico. However, a legal aid system exists and allows individuals with insufficient resources to exercise their rights in court. It applies to all legal matters. Legal aid is granted to those whose income fall below EUR20,000 per year.

This section does not apply to Monaco, as the Principality is a signatory to the 1980 Hague Convention.