Silva de Lapuerta became Head Abogado del Estado of the State Legal Service for Cases before the Court of Justice of the European Communities and Deputy Director-General of the Community and International Legal Assistance Department at the Ministry of Justice; a member of the Commission think tank on the future of the Community judicial system; the Head of the Spanish delegation in the ‘Friends of the Presidency' Group with regard to the reform of the Community judicial system in the Treaty of Nice and of the Council of the European Union ad hoc working party on the European Court of Justice.
Silva de Lapuerta has been a judge at the European Court of Justice since 7 October 2003.
During her time at the CJEU, Silva de Lapuerta notably signed a 2018 ruling that said Ireland had the right to refuse to hand over an alleged drug dealer to Poland if its judiciary determined that the accused would not receive a fair trial there.
In a 2021 preliminary injunction, Silva de Lapuerata ordered Poland to cease extraction activities at the Turów Coal Mine near the Czech and German borders for the duration of a lawsuit filed by the Czech Republic challenging the mine's permit.
In 2003, Silva de Lapuerta was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit.