Cortes Gerais

General Courts
Cortes Gerais
Type
Type
Bicameral
(1826-1910)
Unicameral
(1822-1836)
Houses Champer of Peers
Chamber of Deputies
History
Founded 1822
Disbanded 1910
Leadership
First President of the Chamber of Peers
Nuno Caetano Álvares Pereira de Melo, 6th Duke of Cadaval
Last President of the Chamber of Peers
Gonçalo Pereira da Silva de Sousa e Menezes, 3rd Count of Bertiandos
First President of the Chamber of Deputies
Father Francisco de São Luís Saraiva
Last President of the Chamber of Deputies
José Capelo Franco Frazão, 1st Count of Penha Garcia
Seats 90 Peers of the Realm
148 Deputies of the Nation
Meeting place
São Bento Palace
Lisbon, Kingdom of Portugal
Not to be confused with Portuguese Cortes or Cortes Generales.

The Cortes Gerais (Portuguese:General Courts) were the legislature of the Kingdom of Portugal, during the Constitutional Monarchy period.[1]The Cortes were established by provision of the 1822 Portuguese Constitutional Charter as a unicameral parliament.[1] However the Constitutional Charter of 1826 reformed the Cortes as a bicameral legislature, with the Chamber of Most Worthy Peers of the Kingdom as its upper house and the Chamber of the Lords Deputies of the Portuguese Nation as its lower house.[1]

The name of the legislature originates from the traditional Portuguese Cortes, the parliament convening the three estates during the absolute monarchy.

History

The uniform of Peers of the Realm while the Chamber of Most Worthy Peers was in session; 1860.

References

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