Autonomous vehicles law and regulation in Monaco

Sovereign Order n° 7.489 of 27 May 2019 on the Circulation of autonomous vehicles on public roads allows the circulation for experimental purposes of vehicles with partial or total delegation of driving on a road open to public traffic, subject to obtaining an authorisation issued by the Minister of State.

Such circulation may only be authorised for vehicles used to carry out or set up a public-passenger transport service, by an operator who has concluded a contract with the State for this purpose, or by the beneficiary of a public-service delegation.

Ministerial Order No. 2019-512 sets out the conditions for obtaining this authorisation. The application file must specify the level of automation.

There is no legal regime governing the use of AVs by consumers on public roads in Monaco.

Specifically, in regard to AVs SAE Levels 3-5, there is currently no legal framework in the Principality.

The regime on liability in the case of an accident caused by a vehicle in automated driving mode has not been enacted yet.

Liability for damages caused in the event of a traffic accident derives from the general regime of tortious liability. 

The Monegasque tortious liability regime is governed by article 1229 of the Civil Code, which provides that: “Any act of man that causes damage to another person obliges the person through whose fault it occurred to make reparation for it”.

There is currently no obligation for mandatory insurance for AVs.

However, we note that an insurance certificate covering the experimentation of delegated driving vehicles is mandatory pursuant to Ministerial Order No. 2019-512.

Moreover, Ordinance No. 2.617 of 23/08/1961 establishes compulsory insurance for the circulation of land motor vehicles. 

We can then assume that autonomous vehicles, regardless of their SAE level, would be subject to this compulsory insurance obligation.

There is no general liability based on warranty claims against the manufacturer as no legal regime covers AVs in Monaco. 

In our opinion, it may be possible to apply the regime set out in the Monegasque Civil Code on the guarantee against hidden defects likely to compromise the use of the thing sold.

Moreover, a legislative proposal is being drafted for a special system of liability for defective products to be borne by producers/manufacturers in the event that the product is the cause of personal injury or material damage.