Andorra
Customary law is a leading source
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Andorra is a small mountain state with a Constitution of 1993 and two co-princes as heads of state: the President of France and the Bishop of Urgell. Its law grew from local custom, written down in the eighteenth century, and now draws on Catalan, Spanish, French and Roman law.
Updated October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
Where the law comes from
- The Constitution of 1993, the highest law
- Laws made by the General Council, the parliament
- Local custom, collected in the Manual Digest of 1748, and Roman law as a background
- Decisions of the Constitutional Court and the Superior Court of Justice
The main courts
- The Constitutional Court
- The Superior Court of Justice, which hears appeals
- The Court of Magistrates (Tribunal de Batlles) and the Criminal Court (Tribunal de Corts)
Becoming a lawyer
A law degree, often from Spain, France or elsewhere, and registration with the Andorran Bar.
What may surprise you
- It has two heads of state who are foreign: the President of France and a Catholic bishop.
- Its customary law was recorded in a book called the Manual Digest.
- Judges have often come from France and Spain.
Related systems
How this country is classified
The University of Ottawa’s JuriGlobe database lists Andorra as: Customary. It names the systems in order of importance.
The map colours a country by the first-named system, and shows both civil-law and common-law countries as “mixed”. It is a simplification, and real systems are rarely pure.
Other countries in the same family
Sources
Sources last reviewed: October 2026.
TheLawToKnow Tools’s Legal Families Atlas is an educational overview. It simplifies on purpose, and it is not legal advice. For a real legal question about Andorra, consult a lawyer qualified there. Report a mistake.
