Law on the use of State emblems and signs
PREAMBLE
This Law sets out the restrictions on the use of State emblems and signs in
order to avoid any improper use that could cause confusion in the public mind
or adversely affect the institutions represented by such emblems. It was the
Paris Convention that established the need to protect State emblems and signs
from any unauthorised use. This Law does not define the precise form of each
of the State emblems or signs but indicates the authorities entitled to use them
and to authorise their use. These authorities are obliged to define the official
form of each State emblem or sign and to draw up, in the form of a book of
rules, the printing regulations governing the authorised use of each of them.
The Law includes an Annex that defines the traditional coat of arms and the
traditional flag of the Principality of Andorra. This definition implements Article
2.2 of the Constitution, which states that “the coat of arms and the flag are the
traditional ones”, and aims to clear up the confusion generally created by
interpreting the word “traditional” as “official”. Traditionally, various coats of
arms and flags have been used that differ in some way from the official coat of
arms and flag of the moment, but these different forms that the coat of arms
and flag of the Principality of Andorra have traditionally taken do not fall
outside the protection of this Law. It is the respective competent authority that
will establish the coat of arms and official flag in each case.
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Law on the use of State emblems and signs
Article 1. Definitions
1. For the purposes of this Law, the following definitions shall apply:
a) intergovernmental organisation: an intergovernmental international
organisation whose members include the Principality of Andorra or one or
more countries that are signatories to the Paris Convention for the
protection of Industrial Property.
b) competent authority: the authority of the country or of the
intergovernmental organisation that is entitled to use and authorise the
use of:
- the name
- the coats of arms
- the flags
- the other emblems
- the signs or stamps of control or warranty of that country or
intergovernmental organisation.
2. The official form of the flag, the name and its abbreviated form, the coat of
arms and other emblems of the Principality of Andorra must necessarily be
defined by law.
Article 2. Prohibited use
1. The use, either as a trademark for goods or services or as an element of
such trademark, of any of the names or signs indicated in sub-paragraphs a)
to d) below, and any imitation of the aforesaid names or signs, including part
thereof, is prohibited within the territory of Andorra, unless authorised by the
competent authority.
a) the name or the abbreviated form of the name, the coats of arms, the flag
and the other emblems of the Principality of Andorra, its institutions, its
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Law on the use of State emblems and signs
parishes, its quarters or its other administrative districts, and the official
signs and stamps of control and warranty of the Principality of Andorra.
b) the name of any State or an abbreviated form of this name, the coats of
arms, the flags and the other emblems of any State or the official signs
and stamps of control and warranty adopted by any State.
c) the name, the initials, the coats of arms, the flag or the other emblems of
any intergovernmental organisation.
d) the adjectives “State”, “national”, “governmental” “communal”, “official”,
when such use is likely to mislead the public.
2. Any commercial use of any of the names or signs indicated in paragraphs a)
and/or d) of section 1 of this Article, and any imitation of the aforesaid
names or signs, including part thereof, is prohibited within the territory of
Andorra, unless authorised by the competent authority. In no case may it be
authorised if such use is likely to mislead the public as to the origin of the
goods or service.
3. A State may only benefit from the protection established in sections 1 and 2
of this Article for its name or the abbreviated form of this name, its coats of
arms, its flags, other emblems of State, and its official signs and stamps of
control and warranty, if it guarantees equivalent protection in its own
territory with respect to the name and the abbreviated form of the name, the
coats of arms, the flag, other emblems, and the official signs and stamps of
control and warranty of the Principality of Andorra.
4. Any manufacture or marketing of the flag or coats of arms of the Principality
of Andorra, its parishes, its quarters or its other administrative districts,
without the authorisation of the competent authority, is prohibited within the
territory of Andorra.
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Law on the use of State emblems and signs
5. Any use of the name or of an abbreviated form of the name, the coats of
arms, the flag and other emblems of the Principality of Andorra, its
institutions, its parishes, its quarters or its other administrative districts by
any association or other non-profit organisation is prohibited within the
territory of Andorra unless authorised by the competent authority.
Article 3. Right to take legal action; procedural rules
1. The violation of any of the prohibitions established in Article 2 constitutes an
administrative infringement, and the Government shall, on its own initiative
or at the proposal of any competent authority of the Principality of Andorra,
after the relevant disciplinary proceedings, impose the following two
penalties on the perpetrator of such infringement:
a) a fine of 100.000 pesetas.
b) the obligation to withdraw from the public all physical supports on which
the signs infringing these prohibitions are reproduced, within a maximum
period of 15 days.
2. In the event of a repeat infringement, the penalty laid down in section 1.a) of
this Article shall be tripled.
3. All penalties imposed by the Government pursuant to section 1 of this Article
may be appealed in accordance with the provisions of the Administrative
Code.
4. If the penalties laid down in section 1 of this Article are not imposed at the
initiative of the Government, a foreign competent authority that considers its
rights to have been infringed may take such legal action as may be available
to it.
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Law on the use of State emblems and signs
Article 4. Competent authorities of the Principality of Andorra
1. The following are the competent authorities for using:
a) the name “Co-Princes” and the emblems of the Co-Princes: each of the
Co-Princes;
b) the name “General Council”: the General Council;
c) the flag, the name, the abbreviated form of the name, the coat of arms
and other emblems of the Principality of Andorra: the Co-Princes, the
General Council, the Government, the Constitutional Court, the High
Council of Justice, the communes and the quarters;
d) the name “Government of Andorra”: the Government;
e) the names “parish” and “Commune”, the adjective “communal”, and the
name and the coat of arms of each parish: the respective Commune;
f) the name and the coat of arms of each Quarter: the respective Quarter;
g) the stamps and/or signs of control and warranty: the Co-Princes, the
General Council, the Government, the Constitutional Court, the High
Council of Justice, the communes and the quarters;
h) the adjectives “State” and “national”: the General Council and the
Government;
i) the adjective “governmental”: the Government.
j) the adjective “official”: the Co-Princes, the General Council, the
Government, the Constitutional Court, the High Council of Justice, the
communes and the quarters.
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Law on the use of State emblems and signs
2. The following are competent to authorise the use of:
a) the name “Co-Prince” and the emblems of the Co-Princes: each Co-
Prince;
b) the name “General Council”: the General Council;
c) the flag, the name, the abbreviated form of the name, the coat of arms
and other emblems of the Principality of Andorra: the Government;
d) the name “Government of Andorra”: the Government;
e) the name “Constitutional Court”: the Constitutional Court;
f) the name “High Council of Justice: the High Council of Justice;
g) the names “parish” and “Commune”, the adjective “Communal”, the name
and the coat of arms of each parish: the respective Commune;
h) the name and coat of arms of each Quarter: the respective Quarter;
i) the stamps and/or signs of control and warranty: the Co-Princes, the
General Council, the Government, the Constitutional Court, the High
Council of Justice, the communes and the quarters;
j) the adjectives “State”, “national”, “governmental” and “official”: the
Government.
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Law on the use of State emblems and signs
Derogatory provision
This Law derogates all previous provisions that conflict with the contents
hereof.
First transitional provision
Each competent authority shall define the official form of its respective sign,
shall draw up a book of printing rules and, where necessary, three-dimensional
rules for the correct reproduction and application thereof, and shall, within a
maximum period of six months, draw up the regulations governing the
procedure for authorising the use of its respective names and/or signs.
Second transitional provision
For as long as there is no Law defining the official form of the coat of arms and
the flag, their characteristics are those indicated in the Annex hereto, which
defines the traditional coat of arms and flag.
Final provision
This Law shall come into force on the date of its publication in the Official
Gazette of the Principality of Andorra (Butlletí Oficial del Principat d’Andorra).
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Law on the use of State emblems and signs
ANNEX
1. Traditional coat of arms of Andorra
The coat of arms of the Principality of Andorra has traditionally been formed of
four houses, two for each of the two Co-Princes.
The four traditional houses are:
a) the Bishop’s house, represented by a gold mitre and crosier on a red
field;
b) the house of Catalonia;
c) the house of Foix;
d) the house of Bearn.
The coat of arms may be accompanied by the motto “Virtus Unita Fortior”.
The coat of arms may be surrounded by an aureole or a parchment or crowned
with the lordly emblems (crown, helmet).
At certain times in the history of Andorra the colours have been altered, one of
the four houses on the coat of arms disappeared, and the elements of one
house even became separated, such as, for example, when the mitre and
crosier were placed in two different quadrants.
2. Traditional flag of Andorra
The flag of the Principality of Andorra has traditionally been formed of three
equal adjacent vertical stripes: the first, beside the flagpole, is blue, the
second, in the middle, is yellow, and the third is red.
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Law on the use of State emblems and signs
The coat of arms of the Principality of Andorra is placed in the centre of the
flag, on the yellow stripe; however, it may be omitted, particularly when the flag
is reproduced in certain small-scale or specific formats, such as tapes, where it
may be represented solely by three adjacent stripes in blue, yellow and red.
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