Generalitat of Catalonia
The Generalitat de Catalunya (in Catalan Generalitat de Catalunya, in Aranese Generalitat de Catalonha) is the institutional system in which The Spanish autonomous community of Catalonia is politically organized. It is made up of the Parliament, the Executive Council or Government, the Presidency of the Generalitat, and by the other institutions that the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006 and the laws establish.
History
Diputación del General
The Generalitat of Catalonia owes its origin to the Catalan Courts, which during the reign of Jaime I the Conqueror met summoned by the king as representatives of the Arms or estates: ecclesiastical, military nobility and the royal or " of royal villas".
Under the reign of Peter the Great, the Catalan Courts took institutional form. The king was obliged to hold General Courts annually. The Cortes exercised advisory and also legislative functions through the so-called "three arms": the ecclesiastical, the military and the popular or royal chamber.
The first step towards the institution of the Generalitat took place in the Cortes held in 1289 in Monzón, when a Diputación del General was designated, a temporary commission to collect the "service" or tribute that was granted to the king. This tax was popularly known as generality, a name that was exported to France where the generalités or fiscal districts were created. Over time, the unofficial name of the Generalitat ended up supplanting the official name of Diputación del General.
In the Cortes of 1358-1359 held in Barcelona, Villafranca del Panadés and Cervera, the Cortes appointed twelve deputies with executive powers in fiscal matters, as well as some "audientes de cuentas" who controlled the administration under the authority of what is considered the first president of the Generalitat, Berenguer de Cruïlles.
In the interregnum caused by the death of Martín el Humano, the Generalitat assumed political responsibilities. The system of election of the deputies was object of constant discussion. In the Cortes of 1455, and to avoid oligarchic nepotism, the system of insaculation was introduced: the outgoing deputies elected twelve candidates among whom one was chosen at random.
Although the Generalitat occupied a secondary place in the War of Succession, it was liquidated by the Nueva Planta Decree of 1716.
Carlist Restoration
The Carlist pretender Carlos VII called for a revolt on April 15, 1872 and was followed in Catalonia, where he had the collaboration of Ramón Cabrera. One of the reasons that pushed Catalonia to join the revolt was the promise of restitution of the Catalan privileges and the restoration of the Generalitat of Catalonia, both abolished in 1714 by Felipe V. In 1872 the Carlist pretender promoted the fight in Catalonia by sending his brother Alfonso Carlos de Borbón. The Catalan Carlist troops commanded by Rafael Tristany took Vic, Manresa and Olot in the face of the impotence and despair of the Madrid government. These conquests offered the Carlists control of a vast part of all of inland Catalonia while forces loyal to the Madrid government had little capacity to secure the coastal cities.
The first symbolic act of restoring Catalonia's own constitutional institutions was the oath of privileges. Subsequently, and in faith to restore the constitutional institutions of Catalonia abolished after 1714, the Carlists officially restored the General Council of Catalonia on October 1, 1874. In General Rafael Tristany was declared President, who swore the privileges to Olot and he would be followed later by Francisco Savalls. The restitution of the General Deputation of Catalonia was achieved thanks to the decree that the Carlist pretender Carlos VII had signed on July 26, 1874 where he confirmed the promise of restoration of the old liberties of Catalonia. The headquarters of the Provincial Council was provisionally established in San Juan de las Abadesas, the town from which the Official Gazette of the Principality of Catalonia was published from December 1874 to March 1875.
The decree establishing the Provincial Council of Catalonia signed in Estella-Lizarra by Charles VII consisted of twenty articles that clearly forged the pillars of the recovery of Catalan liberties. Thus, the sixth article declared the Provincial Council as the competent body to impose taxes and collect them. The seventh article authorized it to be able to make loans. Article eight empowered the Provincial Council to appoint and replace mayors and municipal corporations. The ninth article authorized him to appoint officials. The tenth create police forces and take care of the army. The twelfth placed the postal and telegraph service under the authority of the Diputación de Catalunya. The thirteenth confirmed the Provincial Council to seek public instruction. The fourteenth urged the Provincial Council to create in the minimum space of time the Royal Court of Catalonia with two chambers and three magistracies each. According to historian Jaume Grau «the Carlist restoration returned to Catalonia Taxes, Justice, Municipalities, Police, Army, Education, Officials, a whole series of powers that Catalonia today has not yet recovered. No one can deny that one of the main motivations that drove the Catalan Carlists was the recovery of the liberties lost in 1714».
The struggle continued until Alfonso XII was proclaimed King of Spain in Madrid, because after the battle of Montejurra on February 17, 1876, the Carlist pretender Carlos VII had to go to France and shortly after Alfonso XII entered Pamplona. The repeal of Felipe V's Nueva Planta Decrees and the restoration of the Generalitat of Catalonia came to an end and the historical period known as the Bourbon Restoration (1874-1931) was consolidated.
Republican period
On April 17, 1931, three days after the proclamation of the Catalan Republic, the Generalitat of Catalonia was restored —in name and as a symbol only— as the provisional governing body for Catalonia, until its definitive establishment as a self-governing body of the autonomous region by the law of September 15 when the 1932 Statute of Autonomy was promulgated. After the failed proclamation of the Catalan State in October 1934, the Generalitat was suspended and was not restored until the triumph of the Popular Front in February 1936. In 1939, after the triumph of the rebel faction, headed by General Franco, it was dissolved. Although it was reconstituted in exile throughout the dictatorship (1940-1977), with the return to democracy it was restored.
Democratic Period
With the death of Franco, and the arrival of democracy in Spain, the Generalitat was provisionally reestablished on September 29, 1977, now as the executive branch of Catalonia. The first president of the reestablished Generalitat was Josep Tarradellas (October 17, 1977), who was also a member of the Generalitat in exile. After the entry into force of the new Spanish Constitution (December 29, 1978) and the promulgation of the new Statute of autonomy of Catalonia (December 18, 1979), the Generalitat was definitively established.
Tarradellas would be followed as presidents of the Generalitat by Jordi Pujol (April 24, 1980-December 20, 2003), Pasqual Maragall (December 20, 2003-November 28, 2006), José Montilla (December 28, November 2006-December 18, 2010), Artur Mas (December 18, 2010-January 10, 2016) and Carles Puigdemont (January 10, 2016-October 28, 2017).
Between October 28, 2017 and May 17, 2018, and as a consequence of the intervention of the Generalitat by the Government of Spain, the functions of President of the Generalitat were assumed by the President of the Government, Mariano Rajoy (who, in turn, delegated powers to Vice President Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría). As a result of the elections held in December 2017, Joaquim Torra was elected President of the Generalitat and took office on May 17, 2018. On September 28, 2020 Joaquim Torra was disqualified by a Supreme Court ruling that confirmed the Judgment of the Superior Court of Justice of Catalonia, losing his status as President. According to the aforementioned Supreme Court Judgment, Joaquim Torra "repeatedly and stubbornly disobeyed the orders of the Central Electoral Board”.
Institutions
The institutions of the Generalitat of Catalonia are regulated in Title II of the Statute of Autonomy currently in force.
Parliament
The Parliament of Catalonia represents the people of Catalonia. It exercises legislative power, approves the budgets of the Generalitat and controls and promotes political and government action. It also exercises the other powers that are attributed to it by the legal system and especially by the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia.
President of the Generalitat
The president of the Generalitat of Catalonia holds the highest representation of the Generalitat and the ordinary representation of the State in Catalonia. He directs and coordinates the action of the Executive Council or Government. It is based in the Palace of the Generalitat of Catalonia, in the city of Barcelona. His appointment corresponds to the king.
Government
The Executive Council or Government of Catalonia is the highest collegiate body that directs the policy and administration of the Generalitat of Catalonia. It is also the holder of the executive function and regulatory power.
There are territorial delegations of the Government of the Generalitat in Barcelona, Girona, Lérida, Tarragona, Tierras del Ebro (Tortosa), Central Catalonia (Manresa), Alto Pyrenees and Aran (Tremp), and El Panadés (Villafranca del Panadés).
In September 2019, the creation of the Delegations of the Government of the Generalitat of Catalonia in the United Kingdom and Ireland (London) was approved; in Switzerland (Geneva); in Germany (Berlin); Paris France); Italy (Rome) and in the United States of America (Washington city).
Council of Statutory Guarantees
The Council of Statutory Guarantees of Catalonia is a consultative body that rules, in the cases established by law, on the adaptation to the Statute of Autonomy of projects or bills submitted for debate and approval by the Parliament of Catalonia. It also ensures, in its actions, the observation and compliance with the Constitution and the Statute of Catalonia.
Trust Trustee
The Grievance Trustee (Síndic de Greuges) has the function of protecting and defending the rights and freedoms recognized by the Constitution and the Statute. To this end, it supervises the activity of the Administration of the Generalitat, that of the related public or private organizations that depend on it, that of the private companies that manage public services or carry out activities of general or universal interest or equivalent activities in concert. or indirect and that of people with a contractual relationship with public administrations. Likewise, it supervises the activity of the local Administration of Catalonia and that of the related public or private organizations that depend on it. It can also extend its control to the State Administration in Catalonia, under the terms established in the cooperation agreements with the Ombudsman.
Account Audit Office
The Audit Office is the external supervisory body for the accounts, economic management and efficiency control of the Generalitat, local authorities and the rest of the public sector in Catalonia. It depends organically on Parliament, exercises its functions by delegation thereof and with full organisational, functional and budgetary autonomy, in accordance with the laws.
Audiovisual Council of Catalonia
The Audiovisual Council of Catalonia (CAC) is the independent regulatory authority in the field of public and private audiovisual communication. The Council acts independently of the Government in the exercise of its functions. The criteria for the election of its members and their specific areas of action are defined by a law of Parliament.
Delegations abroad
The Generalitat has a representation in Madrid and Brussels, open under the protection of articles 193 and 194 of the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, the other fourteen open in the period between 2006 and October 2017 being suspended, moment in which, after the application of article 155 of the Spanish Constitution, they were suspended and extinguished. The Brussels office was maintained as it is a permanent representation entity of Spain in the European Union approved by the Constitutional Court and where all Spanish regions count equally.
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