Consell General d'Andorra - Andorra la Vella, Andorra - Capitol Buildings on Waymarking.com

The General Council is the unicameral parliament of Andorra. It is sometimes referred to as the General Council of the Valleys (Catalan: Consell General de les Valls) because it was the historical name and to distinguish it from similarly named bodies in the Val d'Aran and in France.

Although in Andorra the meetings of the leading men from the villages were a remote tradition, it was in 1419 that the Consell General was created, also known at that time as the Consell de la Terra (Council of Earth) when representatives from the parishes met together to deal with matters affecting the valleys as a whole and their relationships.

Since then the institution has gone through many developments in its functioning and since 1993 it has been a parliament within a constitutional state which is defined as a political regime of unique characteristics, the parliamentary co-principality: with the Head of State in the form of two co-princes, the President of the French Republic and the Bishop of Urgell. The Consell General is the legislative power; the Government is the executive arm; and the judiciary is totally independent, with the Council of Justice as its governing organ, together with the Constitutional Court.

At present there are 28 members of parliament, organised in parliamentary groups whose presidents form the Board of Presidents. The regulation, which is of the rank of law, stipulates the existence of eight permanent legislative committees. Members of parliament also take part in international parliamentary assemblies, such as the Council of Europe, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE-PA), the Inter Parliamentary Union and the Francophone Parliamentary Assembly.

When the 1993 Constitution was drawn up it was provided that the members of parliament could be 28 or 42. The Casa de la Vall building, a monument of the country, was no longer suited to further enlargement. For this reason and for the new parliamentary requirements, not to mention technological needs, the decision was taken to construct a new building which could accommodate the 42 parliamentarians envisaged in the text and all the activities required by the new juridical arrangements.

Andorra new parliament building opened in 2011 and was inaugurated on 12 June 2014 by the Co-Princes of Andorra, Joan Enric Vives Sicilia, Bishop of Urgell and François Hollande, President of France.

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Type of Capitol: National Address: Carrer de la Vall s/n Andorra la Vella , Andorra AD 500 Dates of Construction: 2011 Hours: Call +376 877 877 Capitol Web Site: [Web Link] Historical Monuments/Memorials: 1278 Monument to the 7th centenary of the “Pariatges” 1580 Busquets family shield on the door of the old building 1702 Traditional shield on the door of the old building 1866 Monument to the first centenary of the New Reform 1993 Monument to the men and women of Andorra who launched the Constitution Major Renovations: Not listed

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