PARLIAMENT OF CATALONIA

The 'Parliament of Catalonia' is one of the most important institutions in Catalonia.
It represents the people of Catalonia, and is at present formed by 135 deputies, who are elected by universal suffrage. The Parliament building is located in the Ciutadella park.

Contents

History

Reference

External links

History

The first representative and legislative bodies in Catalonia were the
Sanctuary and Truce Assemblies (''assemblees de pau i treva''), of
which the earliest record dates from 1027. These were originally
ad hoc, local meetings convened by the Church—Oliba,
Bishop of Vic (died 1046) was a notable instigator—but
progressively became subsumed into the court of the
Counts of Barcelona. The first Catalan
legal code, the ''Usatges de Barcelona'', was promulgated by
Count Ramon Berenguer I based on the decisions of these Assemblies.
Although the Counts of Barcelona, Kings of Aragón from 1137,
had greatly extended the territory under their control, their financial and
military power was quite limited, partly because of their
former status as vassals of the Carolingian Kings. Their personal
resources were particularly insufficient in periods of
economic crisis or military expansion, of which they were many
from the twelfth to the fifteenth centuries. The need to secure
troops and revenue led to the steady expansion of the royal court and a
formalisation of its procedures. It came to be referred to as the
''Corts general de Catalunya'' or ''Corts catalanes'', and was doted with formal
procedures—effectively a written constitution—by King
Peter II the Great in 1283.
The ''Corts catalanes'' were composed of three "arms" (''braços''),
representing the Church, the feudal nobles and the citizens of
Royal towns such as Barcelona or Girona.
Inhabitants of feudal towns (e.g. Cardona) were not represented, except
by their overlords. The main function of the ''Corts'' was
legislative, either in approving laws proposed by the King
(''constitucions'') or at their own initiative (''capítols de cort'').
Although the ''Corts'' met at irregular intervals—as
often as the Crown needed to find new resources—they also
formally approved the acts of the King between their sessions
(known as ''pragmàtiques'') and, from 1359, established a
permanent delegation to oversee the Crown (forerunner of the
Generalitat de Catalunya). The ''Corts catalanes'' were
abolished by the Nueva Planta decrees in 1715.
There were several attempts in the early twentieth century to
institute an autonomous system of representation for Catalonia.
The Mancomunitat de Catalunya (1914–25) was an
assembly of the provincial delegations of Barcelona,
Girona, Lleida and Tarragona,
abolished by Primo de Rivera. After an abortive declaration of
a Catalan Republic in 1931, a separate Parliament of Catalonia was
established under the first Statute of Autonomy
and elected in 1932. This Parliament was suspended between 1934 and 1936, and
abolished by Francisco Franco in 1938. The first legislature of
the current Parliament of Catalonia was elected in 1980.

Reference

★ Parlament de Catalunya - Història

External links

★ Official website (multilingual, mostly in Catalan)