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The Supreme Court Rendered Its Verdict On Monaco Iconic Project

The Supreme Court rendered its verdict this week in the case between Caroli Immo and the Minister of State. The decision not to go ahead with the major building and iconic cultural project on the Esplanade des Pêcheurs requires a substantial indemnity be paid by the Principality. 

The decision of the Supreme Court has been awaited with great interest. This last Thursday morning, soon after 11 am, Didier Ribes, the “vice-president of the jurisdiction” read in a public hearing the verdict in the case of the company Caroli Immoversus the Minister of State (the de facto head of government of the Principality.)

The moment had significance for Monaco’s public finances, as the project was one of the major strategic developments planned by the Principality. The Italian developer Caroli, had been chosen to undertake this mega real estate and cultural project on the Esplanade des Pêcheurs, which had been contracted to by the State. The head of the Principality’s government, Serge Telle, assessing the impact that this project might pose on the running of future Grand Prix races decided to reflect further rather than start the project.

Caroli Immo then applied to the Supreme Court, the highest jurisdiction of the Principality, claiming compensation of up to 800 million euros, to which was added the sum of 180 million requested by Franck Goddio, the founding president of the European Institute of Underwater Archeology, which, for its part, was to build the Centre for Man and the Sea. Total potential bill for the State if the judgement went against them: €980M! That is almost a billion euros and would obviously make a material dent in the Principality’s finances.

A Decision Below the Maximum Amount Claimed Is Rendered 

The Supreme Court has rendered its decision: the State must pay to the company Caroli Immo the sum of € 136,990,000, with interest since the filing of the request, in 2018. The total estimated amount reported (estimated by lawyers ) is 150M € – an indemnity which is calculated to compensate for the damage caused to Caroli

Franck Goddio’s application, on the other hand, was declared inadmissible by the Monaco high court. This decision of the Supreme Court, will be an additional weight on public finances: this year 2020 has also been impacted by the coronavirus. Thedecision of the Supreme Court is final.

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