When is Constitution Day?
Constitution Day is a public holiday in the Principality of Andorra observed on March 14th each year.
Dia de la Constitució commemorates the constitutional referendum that was held in the sixth-smallest nation in Europe on this day in 1993.
History of Constitution Day
Andorra is located in the high mountains of the Pyrenees between France and Spain.
Andorra’s independence is claimed to have begun in 803 AD when Charlemagne, created the nation as a buffer region to frustrate the advance of the Islamic Moors into France. His son Louis I (the Pious), granted the inhabitants a charter of liberties for their resistance to the Moors.
Since the 13th century, Andorra was ruled jointly by two 'princes' - the leader of France and the Spanish Bishop of Urgell.
The first Constitution of Andorra, the supreme law of the Principality, was approved by 74.2% of voters in a referendum on March 14th 1993.
Containing 107 articles, it recognizes the principles of international law with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights integrated directly into the country’s legal system. It makes all people equal before the law, forbids torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading punishments, and explicitly forbids the death penalty.
The co-princes remain Andorra's heads of state, but the roles are honorary.
Did you know?
Andorra is not a member of the European Union, but the euro is its official currency.
