Judiciary of Spain

It has four Chambers, although it is composed of 3 jurisdictions, that cover: The Audiencia Nacional also has specialized courts dealing with criminal inquiries, penitentiary surveillance and juvenile cases.

They are assigned to every judicial district – a smaller division inside of a province which includes various municipalities –.

These courts are assigned to a municipality that is not the head of a judicial district and are presided over by a justice of the peace.

[8] Magistrates of the supreme court can be drafted in a contest of merits between prestigious jurists and lawyers with more than fifteen years of professional experience.

[10] Justices of the peace do not belong to the judiciary and are local people elected by the town council of the city where they were appointed.

Judges and magistrates are banned from membership of political parties and trade unions,[11] from issuing messages of congratulation or censuring public powers or official corporations, and from attending public meetings or rallies in their role as members of the judiciary.

The General Council is composed of 20 members, twelve of who must be judges and magistrates and the remaining eight other jurists (lawyers, professors etc.)

[13] Of the twelve judges, six are elected by the Congress of Deputies and six by the Senate by three fifths supermajority from a list of thirty-six candidates proposed by professional associations of judges and magistrates according to the size of their membership or any independent candidate who obtains the endorsement of two percent of their colleagues.