SUPREME COURT OF SPAIN SUPREME COURT 1 Queen´s Courtyard at the Supreme Court. SUPREME Cover2 picture,COURT the Waiting Hall (Salón de Pasos Perdidos). SUPREME COURT 3 Welcome to the Supreme Court ith jurisdiction throughout Spain, the Supreme Court is the uppermost tier Wof our judicial structure and the highest judicial body in all areas except for matters pertaining to constitutional safeguards. Without forgetting more distant historical precedents such as the Royal and Su- preme Council of Castile, established by the Catholic Monarchs, we can say with pride that our Supreme Court came to life as an aspiration of freedom and moder- nity in the Cádiz Constitution of 1812 (“There shall be a Court of Justice at the court which shall be called the Supreme Court of Justice”,Article 259). At a particularly diffi cult time for Spain, with Napoleon’s troops all over the country, the 1812 Constitution marked the reaffi rmation of national sovereignty and a renewed atmosphere of liberalism that was to spread throughout the outda- ted institutional structure of the time, with the Supreme Court playing a decisive role in its regeneration. Over the last 200 years the Supreme Court has risen up as a bastion in defence of freedom and is now the utmost guarantee for the defence of the rule of law from a jurisdictional perspective. Unlike many of the countries around us where there are ordinary and administrative jurisdictions, the Spanish Supreme Court is a single body as there is only one jurisdiction. In addition to the President and Vice-Presi- dent it is made up of the presidents of the fi ve Chambers and seventy-four judges, divided into fi ve chambers: the First, for Civil matters; the Second, for Criminal SUPREME 4 COURT matters; the Third, for Contentious Administrative matters; the Fourth, for Labour matters; and the Fifth, for Military matters. The Supreme Court deals with a multitude of issues. For example, it is respon- sible for deciding on cassation appeals, appeals for judicial review and other ex- traordinary appeals, for proceedings against members of higher State bodies, for monitoring the legality of the acts and provisions of the General Council for the Judiciary and fi nally for proceedings concerning declarations outlawing political parties. However, Spain’s highest court takes on duties not shared with other judicial bodies, ensuring unity of interpretation in the legal system through case law, the refl ection of an unwavering endeavour to defend legality and achieve the legal sta- bility required by a country whose democracy has the highest standards of quality. In carrying out such a crucial mission, the Supreme Court bestows real and effec- tive legal protection on each and every one of the appeals it hears, offering concrete solutions to satisfy the general interest from a positive right perspective. Indeed, cassation appeal, as the main procedural means of access to the Supreme Court, has a distinctive personality in Spain, clearly defi ned by protection of the rights and interests of litigants (litigationis ius) but at the same time by the role of harmo- nising interpretation and application of the Law (ius constitutionis), which has ul- timately led to the identifi cation of a genuine “Spanish model of cassation appeal”. In addition, the Supreme Court can be seen as a driving force of extraordinary value in the legal system since its case law, far from being considered an untoucha- ble relic, evolves and acquires more streamlined and adaptable nuances as requi- red by society at any given time. Supreme Court judgments have an extraordinary impact and are of outstanding educational value, clarifying an important number of issues such as care and custody of children, criminal liability of legal persons, limits on the discretion of public authorities, comprehensive protection of the en- vironment or the ultimate defi nition of the social rights of workers. I invite you all to discover the Supreme Court of the Kingdom of Spain, where tradition and modernity, solemnity and proximity, experience and enthusiasm, past and present come together in an unbreakable bond to defi ne clearly the iden- tity of the Supreme Court in the 21st Century. On behalf of all of us who have the privilege of working in this magnifi cent building, the Palacio de las Salesas Reales, where the Supreme Court has been based since 1875, I welcome you. Carlos Lesmes Serrano President of the Supreme Court and the General Council of the Judiciary SUPREME COURT 5 The Supreme Court What is the Supreme Court? he Supreme Court is based in Ma- The Supreme Court represents the Tdrid and is a unique jurisdictional highest tier of the appeals system body in Spain with jurisdiction throug- and as such is ultimately responsi- hout national territory, constituting ble for the unity of interpretation of the highest court in all areas (Civil, case law in Spain. Criminal, Contentious Administrative and Social), except for matters pertai- The Court’s powers include deci- ning to constitutional guarantees and ding cassation appeals, appeals for rights, for which the Constitutional judicial review and other extraor- Court has jurisdiction. dinary appeals, trying members of It was created in 1812 by the Cádiz Government, the Congress of De- Cortes, or Assembly, (Decree of the puties, the Senate and other higher Cortes of 17 April 1812) to exercise the State bodies and proceedings con- powers established by Article 261 of cerning declarations outlawing po- the Cádiz Constitution. litical parties. “The Supreme Court, with jurisdiction throughout Spain, is the highest judicial body in all areas, except for matters pertaining to constitutional guarantees” (Article 123.1 of the Spanish Constitution). SUPREME 6 COURT Vault of the offi cial chamber of the President of the Supreme Court, also known as “the Rotunda”, deco- rated with the depiction of “the necklace of Justice” by painter José Garnelo. SUPREME COURT 7 SUPREME Plenary8 COURT Sessions courtroom. The Supreme Court Composition of the Supreme Court he Supreme Court is composed, The Supreme Court has two main Taccording to the Law on Judicial bodies to carry out its duties: the Tech- Bodies and Districts, of the President nical Offi ce and the Governing Cham- of the Supreme Court, who is also ber Registrar’s Offi ce. President of the General Council for •President of the Supreme Court the Judiciary, the Vice-President, the and the General Council for the Judi- Presidents of the fi ve Chambers and ciary: Carlos Lesmes Serrano seventy-four Justices. •Vice-President of the Supreme Court: Ángel Juanes Peces The rules on operation and alloca- tion of cases for the various Chambers •First Chamber (for Civil Matters): of the Court are approved annually President and 9 justices by the Governing Chamber. The Go- •Second Chamber (for Criminal verning Chamber is composed of the Matters): President and 14 justices President and Vice-President and the •Third Chamber (for Contentious Presidents of the fi ve Chambers, who Administrative Matters): President are ex offi cio members, and fi ve Jus- and 33 justices tices elected every fi ve years by their •Fourth Chamber (for Social Mat- peers. The Registrar of the Governing ters): President and 11 justices Chamber of the Supreme Court acts •Fifth Chamber (for Military Mat- as registrar for the sessions. ters): President and 7 justices SUPREME COURT 9 History History of the Supreme Court lthough the earliest precedent 20 June 1812. The political instability Ais the Council of Castile created of the times caused the Court to be during the Reconquista, the founda- abolished and restored on several oc- tions for the current Supreme Court casions until 1834, since when it has were laid down by the Cádiz Cons- been operating without interruption. titution of 1812 which refl ected the After moving permanently to Ma- infl uence of French philosophers and drid, the Supreme Court, which at the latest theories of public law on or- one time was called Supreme Court ganising and balancing the branches of Spain and the Indies, was located of government. until 1875 at the Palacio de los Con- sejos (Palace of the Councils), which The declaration of the Commission currently houses the Council of State. responsible for drafting the constitu- tion explained the reason for its crea- That year it was transferred to the tion: “As the Constitution delegates Palacio de las Salesas, a former Royal the power to implement laws to the Salesian convent which had become Courts, for there to be a system it is state property in 1870 during the ec- essential to establish a central autho- clesiastical confi scations carried out by Finance Minister Pascual Madoz. rity which brings together all the branches of judicial power. A Supre- On 2 November 1875 the Supreme me Court of Justice is therefore esta- Court began operating at its current blished at the court to embody this location, which it shared until 1992 common centre”. with other Madrid judicial bodies such as the former Territorial Court. Once the Constitution was adopted, The Palacio de las Salesas was only the Supreme Court, under the name vacated for ten years for restoration Supreme Court of Justice, took up its after a fi re destroyed the building on fi rst seat at Tavira House in Cádiz, on 4 May 1915. “Supreme Court of Justice and Supreme Court of Spain and the Indies are some of the names it has had over its history” SUPREME 10 COURT SUPREME Civil Chamber courtroom. COURT 11 Main facade of the Supreme Court Palace from the Villa de París Square. SUPREME 12 COURT SUPREME COURT 13 Judges Judicial structure ur Judicial Administration is Provincial Courts have jurisdiction Ostructured into levels or instan- within their respective provinces.