The Provincial Courts in Spain

A provincial court is the second instance in a judicial proceeding in Spain. The Provincial Courts are essentially courts of justice with a provincial territorial scope and headquarters in the provincial capital, from which they take their name (although there are cases in which part of the sections of the Provincial Court are located in a city other than the capital).

These judicial bodies are functionally structured in sections (criminal, contentious-administrative, social, prison surveillance, minors, etc.), each of which is made up of three or four magistrates.

The Provincial Courts mainly know and deal with the following matters:

– Of the appeals against resolutions issued by the Courts of First Instance of the province and by the Commercial Courts, once the latter come into operation.

– Of the causes for crime, with the exception of those that the Law attributes to the knowledge of the Criminal Courts or other Courts.