ANDORRA: National Laws

Summary: General overview of Andorra's national legal provisions on children's rights, including guidance on how to conduct further research.

National laws on children's rights

Status of the CRC in national law
Article 3(4) of the Constitution of Andorra provides that ratified treaties and international agreements, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child, take effect in the legal system from the moment they are published in the Official Gazette, and cannot be amended or repealed by law. The Convention, therefore, takes precedence over domestic law and is enforceable in Andorran courts.

Constitution: Title II of the Constitution contains a number of rights provisions that apply to children as to any other person, but also two articles that make specific reference to the rights of children:

• Art. 13(3) provides that all children are equal before the law, regardless of their parentage
• Art. 20(3) grants parents the right to decide on the type of education they desire for their children, and to determine the moral or religious instruction of their children in accordance with their own convictions

Legislation: Andorra does not have a consolidated Children's Act; rather, legislation relating to children's rights is found throughout numerous Qualified Acts, Ordinary Acts, and Regulations. Relevant legislation includes, but is by no means limited to:

• The Criminal Code (amended by Act 9/2005)
• The Qualified Act on Juvenile Justice 1999
• The Qualified Act on Justice 1999
• The Law on Adoption and Other Forms of Protection for Abandoned Children 1996
• The Qualified Act on Immigration 2002
• The Qualified Act on Nationality (amended by Qualified Act 10/2004)
• The Qualified Act on Incapacity and the Tutelary Agencies 2004
• The Qualified Act on Marriage 1995 (amended 2004)
• The Education Act 1989
• The Law Regulating Leave for Maternity or Adoption 2000
• The Regulations for Child-Care in Private Homes 2001

Legal Research:
The Consell Generall (General Council or Parliament) publishes its legislation in Catalan (http://www.consell.ad/micg/webconsell.nsf/0/5560F8712FC73AABC1256B56002F780B); corresponding pages in English and French are under construction. The Constitution is available through the World Intellectual Property Organisation in French, Spanish, Catalan and English (http://www.wipo.int/wipolex/en/details.jsp?id=6905). The Butlletí Oficial (Official Gazette) is also available online in Catalan (http://www.bopa.ad/bopa.nsf/home?OpenFrameSet) including domestic legislation and case law. The World Law Guide provides links to a selection of legislation in Catalan and English (http://www.lexadin.nl/wlg/legis/nofr/eur/lxweand.htm). In addition, the U.S. Law Library of Congress (http://www.loc.gov/law/help/guide/nations/andorra.php) and the the World Legal Information Institute (http://www.worldlii.org/ad/) have also assembled links to relevant legal and governmental resources.

Case Law
CRC Jurisprudence
Please contact CRIN if you are aware of any cases in national courts that reference the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Case Law Research
The case law of the Tribunal Superior de la Justiçia is published on the website of the Consell Superior de la Justiçia in Catalan (http://www.justicia.ad/web/php/index.php). The Butlletí Oficial (Official Gazette) also includes case law resources (http://www.bopa.ad/bopa.nsf/home?OpenFrameSet).

Compliance with the CRC
In its Concluding Observations of 2002, the Committee on the Rights of the Child was welcoming of the Andorran State's steps to "modernise its traditional legal system" in particular by adopting new laws on adoption, amending the Penal Code and regulating maternity leave. The Committee also noted the State's plans to carry out a review of legislation relevant to children, and encouraged the State to ensure that all legislation is brought into compliance with the Convention and its rights-based approach. In several areas, the Committee identified a general absence of relevant legislation and judicial and administrative practice. In this regard, the Committee noted a general failure to implement the Convention rights on non-discrimination, the right to life, survival and development of the child, and respect for the views of the child.

In depth analysis
The 2002 Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child identified a number of specific areas of national law that fell short of the principles and provisions of the Convention. The Committee welcomed the reforms to the juvenile justice system instituted by the Qualified Law on Justice, but expressed concern that children aged between 16 and 18 years were treated as adults by the criminal justice system. The Committee recommended that the coverage of the Act be extended to all children under 18 years of age at the time the relevant offence was committed. The State passed legislation in this regard in 2005, but the reforms are yet to be examined by the Committee.

The report also raised concerns over the limited prohibition on corporal punishment that was in force in the State. While the practice had been outlawed in schools, there was no comparable prohibition on such violence in the home. In the corresponding recommendations, the Committee urged the State to institute a prohibition on corporal punishment of children in all settings, including the home, as part of its efforts to combat the physical abuse of children.

The Committee also noted the minimum age for marriage (16 years) could be lowered to 14 upon the approval of a judge, and urged the State to increase this age.

Current legal reform projects
As of 2011, the Andorran State had expressed its intention to institute new regulations on day-care facilities for children.