Preliminary title (articles 1-14)
Catalonia, as a nationality, exercises its self-government constituted as an autonomous community in accordance with the Constitution and with this Estatut, which is its basic institutional law.
- The Generalitat is the institutional system around which Catalonia's self-government is politically organised.
- The Generalitat consists of Parliament, the Presidency of the Generalitat, Government and the other institutions established in Chapter V of Title II.
- Municipalities, vegueries, comarques and other local government bodies that may be determined by law also constitute the institutional system of the Generalitat, being the bodies according to which the latter is territorially organised, without prejudice to their autonomy.
- The powers of the Generalitat emanate from the people of Catalonia and are exercised according to this Estatut and the Constitution.
- The relationship of the Generalitat with the State is based on the principle of mutual institutional loyalty, is regulated by the general principle according to which the Generalitat is State, by the principle of autonomy, by that of bilateralism and by that of multilateralism.
- Catalonia has its political and geographical space of reference in the Spanish State and the European Union, and it incorporates the values, principles and obligations implied by being a part thereof.
- The public authorities of Catalonia shall promote the full exercise of the freedoms and rights recognised by this Estatut, the Constitution, the European Union, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and those other international treaties and conventions which Spain has signed that recognise and guarantee fundamental rights and freedoms.
- The public authorities of Catalonia shall promote conditions in which individual and group freedom and equality are real and effective; they shall enable the participation of all people in political, economic, cultural and social life, and shall recognise the right of peoples to preserve and develop their identity.
- The public authorities of Catalonia shall promote the values of freedom, democracy, equality, pluralism, peace, justice, solidarity, social cohesion, gender equity and sustainable development.
The self-government of Catalonia is also based on the historical rights of the Catalan people, on its secular institutions, and on the Catalan legal tradition, which this Estatut incorporates and modernises under Article 2, Temporary Provision Two, and other precepts of the Constitution, from which derive recognition of the Generalitat's unique position in relation to civil law, language, culture, the projection of these in the area of education, and the institutional system by means of which the Generalitat is organised.
- Catalonia's own language is Catalan. As such, Catalan is the language of normal and preferential use in Public Administration bodies and in the public media of Catalonia, and is also the language of normal use for teaching and learning in the education system.
- Catalan is the official language of Catalonia, together with Castilian, the official language of the Spanish State. All persons have the right to use the two official languages and citizens of Catalonia have the right and the duty to know them. The public authorities of Catalonia shall establish the necessary measures to enable the exercise of these rights and the fulfilment of this duty. In keeping with the provisions of Article 32, there shall be no discrimination on the basis of use of either of the two languages.
- The Generalitat and the State shall undertake the necessary measures to obtain official status for Catalan within the European Union and its presence and use in international organisations and in international treaties of cultural or linguistic content.
- The Generalitat shall promote communication and cooperation with the other communities and territories that share a linguistic heritage with Catalonia. To this end, the Generalitat and the State may, as appropriate, sign agreements, treaties, and other collaboration instruments for the promotion and external dissemination of Catalan.
- The Occitan language, known as Aranese in Aran, is Aran's own language and is official in Catalonia, as established by this Estatut and by the laws of linguistic normalisation.
- Spanish citizens legally resident in Catalonia benefit from the political status of Catalans or citizens of Catalonia. Their political rights are exercised in accordance with this Estatut and the law.
- Spanish citizens resident abroad whose last legal place of residence was Catalonia also enjoy, as Catalans, the political rights defined by this Estatut; their descendants, who maintain this citizenship, shall also enjoy these rights, if they so request, in the manner determined by law.
- The flag, the holiday and the anthem are the national symbols of Catalonia, defined as a nationality by Article 1.
- The flag of Catalonia, which is the traditional flag with four red stripes on a yellow background, shall be present on public buildings and during official acts held in Catalonia.
- The holiday of Catalonia is the Diada of the Eleventh of September.
- The anthem of Catalonia is Els segadors.
- Parliament shall regulate the diverse expressions of the symbolic framework of Catalonia and shall define their order of protocol.
- Legal protection for the symbols of Catalonia shall be the same as that for other symbols of the State.
The territory of Catalonia is that which corresponds to the geographical and administrative limits of the Generalitat as of when this Estatut comes into force.
ARTICLE 10. THE CAPITAL
The capital of Catalonia is the city of Barcelona, which is the permanent seat of Parliament, of the Presidency of the Generalitat and of the Government, without prejudice to possible meetings of Parliament and Government in other locations in Catalonia, in accordance with the Parliament's Rules of Procedure and the law.
- The people of Aran exercise self-government through this Estatut, the Conselh Generau d'Aran and any other institutions of its own.
- The citizens of Catalonia and their political institutions recognise Aran as an Occitan entity, with cultural, historical, geographical and linguistic identity as defended by the Aranese people over the centuries. This Estatut recognises, protects and respects this uniqueness and recognises Aran as a unique territorial entity within Catalonia, subject to specific protection under a special legal system.
The Generalitat shall promote communication, cultural exchange and cooperation with any communities and territories, whether or not they belong to the Spanish State, which have historical, linguistic and cultural links with Catalonia. For this purpose, the Generalitat and the Spanish State, as appropriate, may sign agreements, treaties and other collaboration instruments in any field, which may include the creation of joint entities.
The Generalitat, within the terms established by law, shall foster social, economic and cultural links with Catalan communities outside Catalonia and shall provide them with any necessary assistance. To this end, the Generalitat, where appropriate, may establish cooperation agreements with public and private institutions in the territories and countries where these Catalan communities exist and may request the State to sign international treaties in this respect.
- The rules and resolutions of the Generalitat and the civil law of Catalonia are applicable within the territory of Catalonia, without prejudice to any exceptions that may be established in relation to each matter and to any situations that are to be governed by private status or by other extraterritorial rules.
- Foreign citizens who obtain Spanish nationality are subject to Catalan civil law while legally resident in Catalonia, unless they express a wish to the contrary.
