Designed on the audiencias of Aragon and Catalonia, initially it heard civil and criminal cases brought by those exempt from ecclesial and baronial courts.
It also handled cases of alleged embezzlement, bribery or unlawful detention in the lower courts, and those of widows, students and the poor who submitted complaints within a certain period.
During the Savoyard period, in 1795, the Consiglio di Stato ("Council of State") was formed in order to process supplications to the viceroy and the Reale Udienza.
On 3 October 1848, it was transformed into the Magistrate of Appeals (Magistrato d'Appello) divided into three classes, two sitting at Cagliari and one at Sassari.
The edict came into effect on 1 January 1849 and with it was abolished the Magistrato della Reale Governazione ("Magistrate of Royal Government"), which had sat at Sassari.