General Courts
An assembly of the king and the three braços or estates (ecclesiastical, military and royal) representing the majority of the Catalan people. Although the Courts had met in extraordinary circumstances since 1217, it was not until after 1283 that this body began to approve and consent to the formulation of laws. Each Braç met separately, appointing two tractadors, representatives, who negotiated with the king’s representatives. At sessions, the braços presented their complaints and, once issues had been resolved, approved the funding that the monarch was to receive. Laws enacted by the Courts were based on agreements between the king and the braços and received the name of General Constitutions of Catalonia. They included the constitutions (laws proposed by the king), the chapters of the Court (proposed by the braços) and the acts of court (acts agreed by consensus). When the sessions of the Courts ended, the agreements were made public and published, and took on the status of laws that the king could not revoke.