OSCE/ODIHR NeedsAssessment Mission Report Early Parliamentary Elections Principality of Andorra(2011-04-03)

I. COMPLAINTS AND APPEALS

Complaints and appeals areregulated in the election law, ensuring a right to judicial review for all aspectsof the election process. The Electoral Board is the body of first instance formost election-related complaints, including candidate registration, campaigningand the use of the media. It is required by law to respond within a tightdeadline. Exceptions to the role of the Electoral Board as the first instancecomplaint body include complaints regarding voter registration, which are madeto local councils, complaints on election day, which are made to the pollingstation, and complaints about the results that are made directly to the courts.Decisions of the Electoral Board and the local councils can be appealed to theAdministrative Chamber of the High Court of Justice. Should any aspects of thecomplaint relate to fundamental rights and freedoms, the decision of the HighCourt of Justice can be further appealed to the Constitutional Court.

Officefor Democratic Institutions and Human Rights,

http://www.osce.org/odihr/elections/76277 as retrieved on2013-11-09.

Qualified Law 28/2007, ofNovember 22, amending Qualified Law on the Electoral System and Referendum (2007-11-22)

ChapterThree. Candidatures

Article 24. Appeals beforethe Electoral Commission

1. The candidates and legalrepresentatives of the candidatures may appeal to the Electoral Commissionagainst a motivated rejection or proclamation of candidatures, within oneworking day from the date of publication of the rejection or proclamationsthereof.

2. The Electoral Commissionshall immediately demand the records to the corresponding local council or tothe Government, which shall submit them within one working day aftercommunicating this circumstance to the legal representatives of the othercandidatures, who shall have another working day to make statements before theElectoral Commission.

3. The decision of theElectoral Commission shall be issued within one working day from the conclusion of this period.Against it there shall be the right to appeal before the Administrative Sectionof the Higher Court of Justice, regulated by this law.

Article 28. Competences ofthe Electoral Commission

1. The Electoral Commissionshall have the following responsibilities:

b) Determine any complaintor consultation submitted by interested parties in the development of theelection process and related to the specific competences of the ElectionCommission.

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2. Public authorities,candidatures or their candidates or proxies, election administrators, heads ofmedia, and voters, all of them having a legitimate interest, as assessed by theCommission, shall be entitled to submit consultations, complaints or appealsbefore the Electoral Commission, according to the present law.

3. The Electoral Commissionwill adopt its decisions in the form of recommendations, resolutions or generalprovisions, which shall be published in the Official Gazette of thePrincipality of  Andorra. Decisions shallbe motivated to the extent necessary.

The resolutions andprovisions shall be mandatory for all authorities and citizens and immediatelyexecutive, allowing the Commission to adopt all the necessary provisionalmeasures that may be necessary in emergency cases.

…

6. There shall be a right to appeal against theprovisions and resolutions of the Electoral Commission to the AdministrativeChamber of the Higher Court of Justice, within twenty four hours following thenotification of the decision. The same day in which the appeal is presented, theChamber will submit it to the parties and to the Attorney-General’s Office, sothat they may formulate responses.

The Higher Court of Justice shall pronouncewithin the period of fortyeight hours, its understanding in compliance withrespect to constitutional requirements.

Legislationline.org,

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