Andorra Democrats Submit Bill to Reform Arbitration Law After Court Ruling

The Democratic parliamentary group has submitted a qualified bill to amend Andorra's 2018 Law on Collective Conflict Measures, addressing a Constitutional Court ruling from March 13.

The court's decision declared three subsections of Article 6 unconstitutional, ruling that mandatory arbitration with binding awards—lacking sufficient judicial review—violated the right to jurisdiction under Article 10.1 of the Constitution. The underlying case stemmed from a labour dispute between Coopalsa and its works council.

Key reforms shift general arbitration to a voluntary process requiring consent from both parties, while retaining binding awards alongside strengthened judicial oversight. Mandatory arbitration would be limited to exceptional cases, such as strikes threatening strictly essential services or severe national crises, and would need a reasoned, proportionate government resolution.

For strikes disrupting essential public services or indispensable activities, the government would implement measures to ensure minimum service continuity and protect public interests.

The bill also updates the Arbitration Law to permit collective disputes to proceed through arbitral institutions.

Democrats leader Jordi Jordana stated that the changes "guarantee a balance between effective conflict resolution mechanisms, protection of the public interest, and respect for fundamental rights under the Constitution, particularly access to courts and collective bargaining."

Supported by the parliamentary majority, the proposal has entered procedure and is likely to pass in forthcoming sessions, with debate set to begin shortly.