The Supreme Court ('', TS'') is the

highest court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

in the

Kingdom of Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. The court has

original jurisdiction In common law legal systems, original jurisdiction of a court is the power to hear a case for the first time, as opposed to appellate jurisdiction, when a higher court has the power to review a lower court's decision. India In India, the S ...

over cases against high-ranking officials of the Kingdom and over cases regarding the legalization of political parties. It also has ultimate

appellate jurisdiction An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear a case upon appeal from a trial court or other lower tribunal. Appellat ...

over all cases. The Court has the power of

judicial review Judicial review is a process under which a government's executive, legislative, or administrative actions are subject to review by the judiciary. In a judicial review, a court may invalidate laws, acts, or governmental actions that are in ...

, except for the judicial revision on constitutional matters, reserved to the

Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ru ...

. The Court was originally established pursuant to Title V of the

Constitution of 1812 The Political Constitution of the Spanish Monarchy (), also known as the Constitution of Cádiz () and nicknamed ''La Pepa'', was the first Constitution of Spain and one of the earliest codified constitutions in world history. The Constitution w ...

to replace the System of Councils in all matters that affected justice, and it is currently regulated by Title VI of the Constitution of 1978. As set in the Judiciary Organic Act of 1985, the Court consists of the President of the Supreme Court (who also chairs the

General Council of the Judiciary The General Council of the Judiciary (, CGPJ) is the national council of the judiciary of Spain. It is the constitutional body that governs all the Judiciary of Spain, such as courts, and judges, as it is established by the Spanish Constitut ...

), the

Vice President A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

, the Chairpersons of the Court's Chambers and an undetermined number of Magistrates (79 as of 2025). Each Magistrate of the Supreme Court is nominated by the

and appointed by the

Monarch A monarch () is a head of stateWebster's II New College Dictionary. "Monarch". Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest ...

for a

lifetime tenure A life tenure or service during good behaviour is a term of office that lasts for the office holder's lifetime, unless the office holder decides personally to resign or is removed from office because of misbehaving in office or due to extraordina ...

up to the age of 70, when they must retire (unless they request a 2-year extension). The Court meets in its Palace, built by Antonio Ruiz de Salces on the site of the old

Convent of the Salesas Reales The Convent of the Salesas Reales is an 18th-century architectural complex in central Madrid, Spain. Formerly a convent, specifically the convent of the Visitación de Nuestra Señora (Visitation (Christianity), Visitation of Our Lady), it was cons ...

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

. The security of the buildings and personnel of the Supreme Court is entrusted to the Supreme Court Special Commissariat, a unit of the

National Police Corps The National Police Corps (, CNP; ; also known simply as the National Police, ) is the national civilian police, police force of Spain. The CNP is mainly responsible for policing urban areas, whilst rural policing is generally the responsibil ...

Powers

The Supreme Court is the court of last resort and can provide finality in all legal issues. It can exercise original jurisdiction over matters of great importance but usually functions as an

appellate court An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear a case upon appeal from a trial court or other lower tribunal. Appel ...

able to investigate procedural irregularities arising from actions in the national courts or Provincial courts. It can order ordinary and extraordinary remedies against decisions of lower courts according to the provisions of

Spanish law The Law of Spain is the legislation in force in the Kingdom of Spain, which is understood to mean Spanish territory, Spanish waters, consulates and embassies, and ships flying the Spanish flag in democratically elected institutions. Characterist ...

. The Supreme Court is responsible for processing substantial complaints of wrongdoing against prominent persons such as

government Ministers A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ' prime minister', ' p ...

, Senators,

Deputies A legislator, or lawmaker, is a person who writes and passes laws, especially someone who is a member of a legislature. Legislators are often elected by the people, but they can be appointed, or hereditary. Legislatures may be supra-nati ...

and members of the various regional parliaments, senior

judges A judge is an official who presides over a court. Judge or Judges may also refer to: Roles *Judge, an alternative name for an adjudicator in a competition in theatre, music, sport, etc. *Judge, an alternative name/aviator call sign for a membe ...

, including the President and judges of the

, the highest tribunal in the country – regarding constitutional matters –. It also processes formal applications by the procurator (public prosecutor) to outlaw political parties, Generally, there is no avenue of appeal against a Supreme Court decision although, in criminal matters, the Crown may exercise the prerogative of mercy to invalidate sentences imposed or ratified by the Supreme Court, constitutionally, such appeals are resolved by the

Council of Ministers Council of Ministers is a traditional name given to the supreme Executive (government), executive organ in some governments. It is usually equivalent to the term Cabinet (government), cabinet. The term Council of State is a similar name that also m ...

and then formalized by the monarch, as head of state. Supreme Court decisions may, exceptionally, be overruled by the Constitutional Court if there has been an infringement of rights and freedoms of citizens embodied in the

Spanish Constitution of 1978 The Spanish Constitution () is the supreme law of the Kingdom of Spain. It was enacted after its approval in 1978 in a constitutional referendum; it represents the culmination of the Spanish transition to democracy. The current version was a ...

– articles 14 to 29 and 30.2, regarding ''Fundamental Rights''– or by decisions emanating from the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The court hears applications alleging that a co ...

since Spain is a signatory to the

European Convention on Human Rights The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is a Supranational law, supranational convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Draf ...

Constitutional Status

The Supreme Court is the head one of the three branches of the Spanish government, alongside the legislature and the

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

* The legislature formulates

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

s, * The executive (actually the

led by the

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

), proposes laws and regulations and enforces those actions that the legislature endorses via administrative orders which can be reinforced by

police action In security studies and international relations, a police action is a military action undertaken without a formal declaration of war. In the 21st century, the term has been largely supplanted by " counter-insurgency". Since World War II, formal ...

armed force A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily Weapon, armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable ...

. * The Supreme Court and the rest of national judicial institutions provide remedies where that enforcement is found to be

unjust Injustice is a quality relating to unfairness or undeserved outcomes. The term may be applied in reference to a particular event or situation, or to a larger status quo. In Western philosophy and jurisprudence, injustice is very commonly—but ...

or disproportional against the standard set by either law, as defined by the legislature or the

or the

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

provisions currently in force To ensure its independence, the Supreme Court has the prerogative to enforce its actions under the principle of obedience to final judicial decisions enshrined in the Constitution. Also, most of its resolutions are reliable since they are solutions to appeal against the considered decisions of lower courts. The Supreme Court is the only entity that can order the detention of members of its own judiciary or the legislature or executive authorities and then

impeach Impeachment is a process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In Euro ...

them according to the additional

civil Civil may refer to: *Civility, orderly behavior and politeness *Civic virtue, the cultivation of habits important for the success of a society *Civil (journalism) ''The Colorado Sun'' is an online news outlet based in Denver, Colorado. It lau ...

and

criminal In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definiti ...

obligations, which, by law, it must discharge diligently in the performance of their official duties.

Peer review Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work (:wiktionary:peer#Etymology 2, peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the ...

is provided by the

, a panel of senior Supreme Court judges that

monitors Monitor or monitor may refer to: Places * Monitor, Alberta * Monitor, Indiana, town in the United States * Monitor, Kentucky * Monitor, Oregon, unincorporated community in the United States * Monitor, Washington * Monitor, Logan County, West ...

the Supreme Court practice and operation, but the decisions of this Council are advisory and may be annulled by

due process Due process of law is application by the state of all legal rules and principles pertaining to a case so all legal rights that are owed to a person are respected. Due process balances the power of law of the land and protects the individual p ...

in a Supreme Court action.

Composition

Size of the court

Neither the

or the current

Spanish Constitution The Spanish Constitution () is the supreme law of the Kingdom of Spain. It was enacted after its approval in 1978 in a constitutional referendum; it represents the culmination of the Spanish transition to democracy. The current version was a ...

specify the number of justices. The Supreme Court of Justice Act of 1814 established a high court consisting of 16 "ministers" distributed in three chambers. This act hardly took effect due to the restoration of absolutism in 1814, although it was in force between 1820 and 1823. In 1834, it was restored with the name of Supreme Court of Spain and Indies and it was established the same composition. In 1864, the Court was divided into two chambers and the number of magistrates grows up to 25. In 1868, it was created the Third Chamber to know the issues related to the public administrations (administrative law). In 1870 the number of magistrates grow again to 33 distributed in four chambers; one for civil cases, two for criminal cases and one for administrative cases. Between 1875 and 1904 the administrative jurisdiction was transferred to the

Council of State A council of state is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head ...

. In 1931, the

Republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

divided the Court into six chambers: First Chamber for Civil Law, Second Chamber of Criminal Law, Third and Fourth Chambers for Administrative Law, Fifth Chamber for Laboral Law and Sixth Chamber for Military Law, and the number of magistrates was up to 40. In the current democratic period, the Court is divided into five chambers and neither the Constitution or the Organic Judiciary Act specifies the number of magistrates. According to 2017 data, the Court was composed by 79 magistrates.

Nomination and appointment

The Constitution does not regulate the form of appointment of the magistrates although it does regulate the procedure of appointment of the President of the Court. According to Section 123, the President is nominated by the

and appointed by the

. The Judiciary Organic Act of 1985 copy this procedure of appointment but specifies that the Royal Decree must be countersigned by the

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

. To be a candidate for Magistrate of the Supreme Court the law establishes two options: * Justices from the category of Magistrate, with at least ten years in the category of Magistrate and fifteen in the judicial career. * Legal experts of recognized prestige and with fifteen years of a legal career.

Military members of the Fifth Chamber

The Organic Law on the military jurisdiction provides that half of the members of the Fifth chamber will be selected from general officers of the Military Legal Corps. These members are appointed by the General council of the judiciary from a list proposed by the Ministry of Defence. Upon nomination to the Supreme Court, military members are retired from the armed forces and will act only on the capacity of Supreme Court Justices.

Tenure

The tenure of the Magistrates of the Supreme Court is regulated in Section 386 of the Judiciary Organic Act and it establishes a life tenure. However, the law also established that the magistrates must retire at the age of 70. However, the law allows the magistrates to ask the General Council of the Judiciary an extension of their tenure until the age of 72. The Magistrates can freely retire since the age of 65. Outside of these cases, magistrates shall be forcedly retired when there is a permanent disability for the exercise of their functions. The forced retire can be requested by the

Prosecution Ministry The Prosecution Ministry () or Public Prosecutor's Office is a constitutional body ( Part VIbr>§ 124 which has full autonomy within the judiciary of Spain. It is entrusted with defending the rule of law, the rights of the citizens, and publi ...

or the magistrate itself to the Governing Council of the Supreme Court or to the Governing Council of a specific chamber. After this, the Governing Council shall send the request to the GCJ and the Council shall approve the retire.

Organization

Chambers

The Supreme Court is divided into five ordinary chambers, each dealing with a specific areas of Spanish law that may affect ordinary citizens, and four special chambers dealing with state issues. The five ordinary chambers are: * First Chamber, for Civil Law ** The President of the First Chamber is Francisco Marín Castán * Second Chamber, for

Criminal Law Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It proscribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and Well-being, welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal l ...

** The President of the Second Chamber is Manuel Marchena Gómez * Third Chamber, for Contentious-Administrative Law ** The President of the Third Chamber is Luis María Díez-Picazo Giménez * Fourth Chamber, for

Labour Law Labour laws (also spelled as labor laws), labour code or employment laws are those that mediate the relationship between workers, employing entities, trade unions, and the government. Collective labour law relates to the tripartite relationship be ...

** The President of the Fourth Chamber is Jesús Gullón Rodríguez * Fifth Chamber, for

Military Law Military justice (or military law) is the body of laws and procedures governing members of the armed forces. Many nation-states have separate and distinct bodies of law that govern the conduct of members of their armed forces. Some states us ...

** The President of the Fifth Chamber is Ángel Calderón Cerezo The four special chambers are: * Special Chamber under Article 61 of the Organic Law on the Judiciary ** Deals with the process of outlawing political parties, the investigation, and correction of a judicial error on reporting and accountability in the exercise of judicial functions and other legal processes of particular importance. The tribunal is composed of the Chief Justice, sitting with the serving presidents of the five Chambers, and one independent senior judge. * Court for Conflicts of Jurisdiction ** Resolves conflicts and deficiencies arising between the jurisdictional responsibilities of a

civil court Civil law may refer to: * Civil law (common law), the part of law that concerns private citizens and legal persons * Civil law (legal system), or continental law, a legal system originating in continental Europe and based on Roman law ** Private la ...

, the

Courts Martial A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the arme ...

Administrative court An administrative court is a type of specialized court on administrative law, particularly disputes concerning the exercise of public power. Their role is to ascertain that official acts are consistent with the law. Such courts are usually co ...

s. It is composed of the Chief Justice, two Judges of the Third Chamber, and three permanent directors of the

Spanish Council of State The Council of State (), is the supreme consultative council of the Spanish Government. The current Council of State was established in 1980 according to the article 107 of the Constitution of 1978. The institution of the Council of State, under ...

. * Chamber for Conflicts of Jurisdiction ** Resolves conflicts and deficiencies arising between the ordinary civil courts and organs of military justice. The Chief Justice, two Judges of the Board for the relevant civil court (within the ordinary civil jurisdictional competence of Chambers 1-4) plus two judges from the military chamber (Fifth Chamber). * Chamber for Conflicts of Competence ** Resolves conflicts of jurisdiction arising between members of different judicial branches such as overlaps or lacunas between different courts or where claims or denials of competence by different Chambers are incompatible. The Chief Justice and one Judge drew of each of the Boards supervising jurisdictions where conflict has arisen.

Governing bodies

Subordinate to the

, the Supreme Court's governing bodies are responsible for hearing and resolving administrative issues that may arise: * The Office of The Chief Justice (Presidente del Tribunal Supremo). * The Administration Division of the Supreme Court, comprising the Chief Justice, the Presidents of each of its divisions and a number of additional judges specified by the Spanish General Law of Judicial Power.

Management bodies

* The Office of Chief Justice (Presidente del Tribunal Supremo), * The Technical Documentation and Information service * The Department of Archives, Library, and Information * The Department of Computer Science * An external relations unit that maintains a General Register of external administrative and technical specialist services that may provide expert assistance.

List of presidents of the Supreme Court

References

External links

Court Notices (in Spanish)
{{Authority control * *

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Judiciary of Spain 1812 establishments in Spain Courts and tribunals established in 1812