Judicial System in Spain

Anatomy of the System

The Judicial system in Spain administers civil law through the judges and magistrates in the name of the King of Spain. The Judicial system in Spain comprises the Supreme Court, which is the court of last resort except for matters related to constitutional issues. The other courts which are part of the judicial system in Spain include the National court of Spain (Audiencia Nacional de Espana), the High Courts, Audiencia Provincial, Military courts, Municipal courts and Courts with single judges. The Courts with single judges are the courts of first instance of the judicial system in Spain.

The different types of these basic courts include but are not limited to Criminal courts, Civil courts, Social courts, Peace courts and Juvenile courts. Apart from these, there is a Constitutional Court in Spain which is not a part of the judicial system in Spain. The General Council of Judiciary in Spain is responsible for looking after the governance and administration of the judicial system in Spain. The members of the General Council of Judiciary elect the president of the Supreme Court. The twenty members of the General Council of Judiciary are elected by the Congress of Deputies and Senate.

Supreme Court of Spain

The Supreme Court of Spain located in Madrid is the highest order court of the judicial system in Spain. The Supreme Court provides final judgment on all types of legal matters except those related to the constitution. The judgments delivered by the Supreme Court cannot be challenged further. The Supreme Court has five chambers: a criminal chamber, a civil chamber, a social chamber, a military chamber and a legal administration chamber. The Supreme Court has a board of judges that is headed by a President. The President of the Supreme Court also presides over the General Council of Judiciary in Spain.

National Court of Spain (Audiencia Nacional de Espana)

The National Court of Spain is the high court at the national level, which hears legal matters related to different types of issues at national level. This court of the judicial system in Spain is located in Madrid. The National Court has only three chambers: one chamber is reserved for highly serious criminal matters that include crimes like terrorist activities, crime against Spain´s monarchy, currency counterfeiting and similar other transgressions. The second chamber admits legal matters related to ministers of the state and other administrative matters, while the third chamber is reserved to provide judgments over social disputes.

High Courts of Spain

The High Courts of the judicial system in Spain are the highest level judicial courts at the autonomous community level in Spain. Each of these High Courts has three chambers: one that admits civil and criminal matters, second chamber admits matters related to administration and third chamber admits matters related to social issues.