A
comarca (meaning
shire or
county,
Spanish and
Portuguese plural
comarcas,
Catalan plural
comarques) is a traditional region or local
administrative division found in parts of
Spain,
Portugal,
Panama,
Nicaragua, and
Brazil.
The comarca is also known in Aragonese as redolada, and as bisbarra in Galician.
The comarca in Spain and Portugal
The term
comarca is used in several regions of the
Iberian Peninsula.
- In Catalonia and Aragon, the comarca exists as a local government area, and has a representative comarcal council.
- In the Valencian Community, the comarca exists only as a traditional region with no administrative competences. They are legally referred as homologated territorial demarcations instead of as comarques.
- In Galicia the comarca or bisbarra are traditional divisions of the land and enjoy limited official recognition, but have no administrative relevance. However, the Galician government is attempting to transform the bisbarras into territorial administrative tiers, forming up a new regional network allegedly more balanced and efficient. Galician comarcas also have a comarcal council.
- In Portugal the comarca exists as a regional sub-division, but has no administrative or official use beyond the merely referential.
In other places, such as Extremadura, the comarca may be simply a loosely-defined region.
Because of the comarca's long-standing use, it is sometimes used as the basis for the promotion of tourism, with emphasis on local cultural tradition and history.
Panama
In Panama, the
comarca indígena is an administrative region for an area with a substantial
Indian population. Three
comarcas exist as equivalent to a province, with two smaller
comarcas subordinate to a province and considered equivalent to a
corregimiento (municipality).
Brazil
In Brazil, the
comarca is a territorial division in the
judicial system. It indicates the area covered by a lower level
court. It may correspond to a
municipality, or group together several small municipalities under one court.
See also
External links
