Court organization in Spain

The structure of the Spanish judicial system is in the basic law Judiciary regulated (LOPJ) dissolved in about its function, the German Gerichtsverfassungsgesetz corresponds.

Single judges and collegial courts

A distinction is made between the dishes in

• juzgados : Arbitration bodies that have only a single judge ( juez ) and
• the collegiate courts , whose judges are called magistrados . These are:
  • at the national level the Tribunal Supremo ("Supreme Court", divided into five senates ( salas )) and the Audiencia Nacional (divided into four senates, some of which are in turn divided into chambers ( secciones )), both with their seat in Madrid
  • At the level of the autonomous communities, the 17 Tribunales Superiores de Justicia (each divided into three Senates)
  • At the provincial level, the 50 Audiencias Provinciales (apart from a few smaller provinces divided into chambers of three to five judges)

Branches of law and rules of procedure

The branches of jurisdiction are civil, criminal, administrative and social jurisdiction. For social justice belongs in contrast to Germany, the labor courts . There is also no separate financial jurisdiction , this is assigned to administrative jurisdiction .

As in German law, there are separate procedural rules for each branch of the court:

• Civil jurisdiction: Ley de Enjuiciamiento Civil (corresponds to the code of civil procedure )
• Criminal jurisdiction: Ley de Enjuiciamiento Penal (corresponds to the Code of Criminal Procedure ) and Ley Orgánica reguladora de la responsabilidad penal de los menores (corresponds to the Juvenile Court Act )
• Administrative jurisdiction: Ley reguladora de la Jurisdicción Contencioso-Administrativa (corresponds to the Administrative Court Code and the Tax Court Act )
• Social justice : Ley de Procedimiento Laboral (corresponds to the Labor Court Act and the Social Court Act ); a reform project ( Ley reguladora de la Jurisdicción Social ) is in the legislative process

In addition to these four branches of law, there is also the military criminal jurisdiction (to which the 5th Senate of the Tribunal Supremo belongs) and the Constitutional Court ( Tribunal Constitucional ), which like the German Federal Constitutional Court cannot be assigned to any of the branches of the court.

Territorial division

The territorial structure is as follows:

• national level: Tribunal Supremo , Audencia Nacional and several Juzgados Centrales
• Autonomous community level: Tribunales Superiores de Justicia
• Provincial level: Audencias Provinciales and various Juzgados
• Judicial districts ( Partidos Judiciales ): There are one or more Juzgados des Instrucción ("investigative courts"; criminal jurisdiction) and Juzgados de Primera Instancia ("courts of first instance"; civil jurisdiction), each of which has its seat in the main town of the Partido Judicial . In smaller judicial districts they are often grouped together to form Juzgados de Primera Instancia e Instrucción .
• A judge of the peace ( Juzgado de Paz ) resides in municipalities that are not the main town of a judicial district, but which are not professional judges .

In contrast to Germany, where all courts - with the exception of the federal courts - are regional courts , i.e. are sponsored by the federal states, in Spain all courts are sponsored by the (central) state and not by the autonomous communities (regions that but are not states either). However, the regions are partly responsible for the administration of justice .

Summary

In summary, the following scheme results:

	Civil jurisdiction jurisdicción civil	Criminal jurisdiction jurisdicción penal	Administrative jurisdiction jurisdicción de lo contencioso-administrativo	Social justice juridicción social
national	TRIBUNAL SUPREMO
	Sala I (10 judges)	Sala II (15 judges)	Sala III (33 judges)	Sala IV (13 judges)
		AUDIENCIA NACIONAL
		Sala de Apelación (3 judges) Sala de lo Penal (17 judges in 4 secciones )	Sala de lo Contencioso-Administrativo (40 judges in 8 secciones )	Sala de lo Social (3 judges)
		Juzgado Central de lo Penal ("Central Criminal Court") Juzgados Centrales de Instrucción ("Central Investigative Courts ") Juzgado Central de Menores ("Central Juvenile Court") Juzgado Central de Vigilancia Penitenciaria ("Central Criminal Enforcement Court ")	Juzgados Centrales de lo Contencioso-Administrativo ("Central Administrative Courts")
Autonomous Communities	TRIBUNALES SUPERIORES DE JUSTICIA
	Salas de lo Penal y Civil		Salas de lo Contencioso-Administrativo	Salas de lo Social
Provinces	AUDIENCIAS PROVINCIALES (partly divided into secciones )
	Juzgados Mercantiles ("commercial court"; also bankruptcy court)	Juzgados de lo Penal ("Criminal Courts") Juzgados de Menores ("Juvenile Courts") Juzgados de Vigilancia Penitenciaria ("Penal Enforcement Court ")	Juzgados de lo Contencioso-Administrativo ("Administrative Courts")	Juzgados de lo Social ("Social Courts")
Partidos Judiciales	Juzgados de Primera Instancia	Juzgados de Instrucción Juzgados de Violencia sobre la Mujer
Communities	Juzgados de Paz

The assignment of the judges' posts to the various branches of the courts and courts is as follows (as of January 1, 2019):

	Civil justice	Criminal justice	Administrative jurisdiction	Social justice
Tribunal Supremo	10	15th	33	13
Audiencia Nacional		20th	40	3
Juzgado Central de lo Penal		1
Juzgado Central de Menores		1
Juzgados Centrales de Instrucción		6th
Juzgado Central de Vigilancia Penitenciaria		0
Juzgados Centrales de lo Contencioso-Administrativo			12
Tribunales Superiores de Justicia	69		257	175
Audiencias Provinciales	938 of them 395 in pure civil chambers and 447 in pure criminal chambers
Juzgados Mercantiles	70
Juzgados de lo Penal		389
Juzgados de Menores		81
Juzgados de Vigilancia Penitenciaria		51
Juzgados de lo Contencioso-Administrativo			229
Juzgados de lo Social				354
Juzgados de Primera Instancia e Instrucción	1069
Juzgados de Primera Instancia	851
Juzgados de Instrucción		499
Juzgados de Violencia sobre la Mujer		106

There are also the following posts for judges who do not belong to a panel:

• at the Tribunal Supremo: six judges from the "Technical Cabinet for Information and Documentation" ( Gabinete Técnico de Información y Documentación )
• at the Tribunales Superiores de Justicia: 217 Jueces de adscripción territorial , which act as “representative judges” on the territory of the respective Autonomous Community when vacancies arise
• in some major jurisdictions There are 28 judges who exclusively with matters of the civil register ( Registro Civil in charge)
• In each of the eight largest judicial districts there is a dean judge ( Juez Decano ) who is exclusively entrusted with management and coordination tasks; In the other judicial districts, the functions of dean judge are performed by one of the district judges in addition to his other duties

The President of the Audiencia Nacional also mainly performs management and coordination tasks, but he is also the “Honorary President” ( presidente nato ) of all senates of the court.

The eight judges of the 5th Senate of the Tribunal Supremo (military jurisdiction) also belong to the judicial career, while the judges of the subordinate military courts are officers of the armed forces.

No post has been created for the Central Enforcement Court ( Juzgado Central de Vigilancia Penitenciaria ). The functions of this court are carried out by the Juez Central de Menores .

Instance move

Compared to German law, for example, the organization of the courts appears complicated, but Spanish law also has a maximum of three instances (first instance, appeals / appeals body, revision instance). While on the appeal of appeal ( apelación is checked) the contested decision in law and (if limited in individual process orders) factual (second trial court ), which leads Revision ( casación ) only to a review in legal terms or in the presence serious procedural error.

Responsibilities in detail

The Juzgados de Paz decide in the first instance on minor civil law disputes (amount in dispute up to 90 euros) and on criminal penalties in the law for certain minor offenses.

The Juzgados de Primera Instancia are otherwise responsible for the vast majority of civil law disputes in the first instance, namely for all that are not expressly assigned to another court by law. They also decide in the second instance on appeals against the decisions of the Juzgados de Paz .

Unlike in Germany, for example, criminal investigations are not directed by the public prosecutor ( Fiscalía ) but by the investigating judge ( Juzgado de Instrucción ). In addition, the Juzgados de Instrucción are primarily responsible for punishing minor offenses ( faltas ), in particular those for which the law only provides for fines of up to 60 daily rates.

With a change in the law in 2004, the Juzgados de Violencia sobre la Mujer were created. They lead the investigation in cases of violence by men against their wives, former wives or partners. In these cases, they are primarily responsible for prosecuting minor offenses ( faltas ). In addition, if these prerequisites are met, they also conduct the family law proceedings pending between the parties, i.e. they also act as civil courts in this respect. In smaller judicial districts, in which the number of cases does not make it necessary to set up a separate Juzgado de Violencia sobre la Mujer , responsibilities can be transferred to a Juzgado de Instrucción . This is currently the case (as of January 1, 2011) in 355 judicial districts (with 106 independent Juzgados de Violencia sobre la Mujer ).

The Juzgados Mercantiles are first-instance responsible for civil proceedings under civil competition, corporate law, transport and maritime law, as well as bankruptcy proceedings.

The Juzgados de lo Penal are responsible for criminal cases that are not assigned to other courts if they concern offenses for which the law provides for a fine or imprisonment of up to five years. The Juzgados de Menores are responsible for criminal cases against young people (14 to 17 years old).

The Juzgados de lo Contecioso-Administrativo are mainly responsible for administrative disputes against municipalities, provinces and authorities of the lower administrative level of the Autonomous Communities and the State, as well as for fine proceedings.

The Juzgados de lo Social are first instance responsible for the vast majority of labor and social court proceedings, namely for all that are not expressly assigned to other courts by law.

The Audiencias Provinciales are primarily an appeal and complaint body. In the areas of civil and criminal law, the Audiencias Provinciales decide on these appeals against the decisions of the juzgados in their province. Furthermore, the Audiencias Provinciales are primarily responsible for criminal matters if the law provides for imprisonment of more than five years for the offense.

The Tribunales Superiores de Justicia are responsible for revision proceedings in the field of civil law, insofar as the legal remedy for the violation of regional special or formal law (which exists in some areas of Spain e.g. in inheritance law) is important, and in the first instance for official liability claims which are asserted against the Prime Ministers, members of government and parliamentarians of the respective Autonomous Community. As criminal courts, they are called upon to decide on appeals against first-instance decisions of the Audiencias Provinciales ; they are also responsible in the first instance for criminal matters assigned to them by the respective statutes of autonomy of the regions (these are usually criminal proceedings against members of the regional parliaments) and for Criminal proceedings directed against judges and public prosecutors, insofar as the offense was committed while exercising their office. In the area of ​​administrative jurisdiction, the Tribunales Superiores de Justicia are primarily competent in proceedings against authorities at the higher administrative level of the Autonomous Communities. In the second instance they decide on appeals against decisions of the Juzgados de lo Contencioso-Administrativo . In addition, the administrative law senates are also responsible for the revision procedure in special constellations if the interpretation of the norms of the laws of the autonomous communities are important for the decision. Finally, the social senates are primarily responsible for matters relating to collective labor law, insofar as their effects do not exceed the territory of the autonomous community, and in the second instance for appeals against decisions of the Juzgados de lo Social .

At the national level there are six “Central Investigative Judges ” ( Jueces Centrales de Instrucción ). These conduct the preliminary proceedings in cases in which the indictment is brought before the criminal senate of the Audencia Nacional or the Juzgado Central de lo Penal . One of them is the internationally known judge Baltasar Garzón , who has been temporarily suspended since May 2011 .

The Juez Central de lo Penal is responsible for criminal proceedings in the areas of offense that the law assigns to the criminal senate of the Audencia Nacional , but in which the law provides for a prison sentence of no more than five years (i.e. in less serious cases of serious crime).

The Juez Central de Menores is responsible for criminal proceedings against minors for terrorism offenses (Articles 571 to 580 of the Código Penal ).

The Juzgados Centrales de lo Contencioso-Administrativo are primarily responsible in the first instance for questions relating to the civil service law of state employees , proceedings against corporations and organs with legal personality under the responsibility of the state and for administrative offenses ( sanciones administrativos ), if the corresponding decision is issued by the central state administration has been.

The Audiencia Nacional is primarily responsible: in the field of criminal law, primarily for proceedings relating to state security offenses and cases of serious organized crime, unless the Juez Central de lo Penal is responsible (i.e. if the offense is threatened with imprisonment from five years) ; in the field of administrative law, primarily for proceedings against decisions of the ministries, unless the jurisdiction of other courts is provided; in the field of social law for matters of collective labor law, insofar as they result in effects that extend beyond the territory of more than one Autonomous Community. The Audencia Nacional appeals / complaints authority against the decisions of the Juzgados Centrales .

The Tribunal Supremo is - similar to the Federal Court of Justice - a purely revision instance. Only in a few exceptional cases (such as party prohibition proceedings) does it act as a court of fact.

Reform project

There are reform efforts with regard to the Juzgados . At the moment, the different juzgados are often housed in the same building, but from a purely organizational point of view, they are separate dishes. In the Partido Judicial Madrid, for example, there are currently 101 Juzgados de Primera Instancia ( i.e. individual civil courts of first instance). A preliminary draft for the reform of the judicial organization provides for the Juzgados to be grouped organizationally into Tribunales de Instancia (“ Courts of Instance ”). These would then be comparable to the German local courts: Single judges decide in each case, but they are organized into one court.

In addition, the code of criminal procedure is to be reformed. The government passed a corresponding bill on July 22, 2011. According to this, the preliminary proceedings will no longer be led by the Jueces de Instrucción , but by the public prosecutor.

In 2011, the reform of the legal profession began in Spain .

Web links

• Text of the Ley Orgánica del Poder Judicial, current version (Spanish)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Consejo General del Poder Judicial: Situación de la demarcación y la planta judicial a 1 de enero de 2019. Retrieved on March 5, 2020 (Spanish, long loading time!). 
2. ↑ ACUERDO de 29 de mayo de 2003, de la Comisión Permanente del Consejo General del Poder Judicial, por el que se atribuye las funciones del Juzgado Central de Vigilancia Penitenciaria. (No longer available online.) Formerly in the original ; Retrieved August 3, 2011 (Spanish).  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.    
3. ↑ anteproyecto de Ley Orgánica por la que se modifica la Ley Orgánica 6/1985, de 1 de julio, del Poder Judicial, para la creación de los tribunales de Instancia. (PDF) (No longer available online.) Spanish Ministry of Justice, archived from the original on November 24, 2011 ; Retrieved August 3, 2011 (Spanish). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
4. ↑ anteproyecto de ley de Enjuiciamiento criminal. (PDF) (No longer available online.) Spanish Ministry of Justice, archived from the original on November 24, 2011 ; Retrieved August 3, 2011 (Spanish). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
5. ↑ Alexander Müller: Half a step towards Europe. The lawyer in Spain is being redefined. justament online, June 18, 2012, accessed on July 18, 2012 .