Andorra's General Council Finalizes Reforms to Standing Orders for Modern Parliament

Andorra's General Council working group concluded its final in-person meeting on Friday, finalizing proposed reforms to the chamber's standing orders after debating amendments from all parliamentary groups.

Councillors now have until early May to review the consensus text, with plans to register the definitive version in the first half of the month for a full session vote. Approval in May would allow the changes to take effect ahead of the government's political orientation debate on 29 and 30 June, providing up to a week for negotiating agreement proposals rather than requiring an immediate post-debate vote.

Among the changes, inquiry committees will be renamed "investigation" committees. Refusing to appear, providing false testimony, or failing to supply required documents will be classified as offences with "important" penalties, detailed in the standing orders and implemented via amendments to the ongoing Penal Code reform. Concòrdia councillor Jordi Casadevall highlighted these updates during the meeting.

The reforms maintain the core structure of the 1993 regulations while targeting three main areas for a more modern parliamentary model: greater transparency in chamber operations and councillors' activities (excluding interest group rules, which await transparency law updates); improved operational safeguards, particularly councillors' rights to information and committee procedures; and clearer definitions of roles with enhanced oversight for council bodies.

This follows previous updates, including the 2019 comprehensive overhaul, 2020 pandemic measures, and the 2022 establishment of a permanent pensions committee. Parliamentary sources view the package as advancing efficiency to meet contemporary demands.