The National Criminal Court consists of:
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six criminal instruction courts;
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three courts: Criminal, Contentious-administrative, and Social;
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also attached to the National Criminal Court there are ten central courts for contentious matters, a central criminal court, and a minors’ court.
The chairman of the National Criminal Court enjoys the consideration of Chamber president of the Supreme Court, and he is the ex officio president of all its Chambers.
Among his attributions he is vested with the power to call and preside over the Governing Chamber’s deliberations, set the Chamber’s order of the day, submit whatever proposals he considers appropriate, authorize agreements, oversee the fulfilment of the measures adopted by the governing body, supply the reports requested by the General Council of the Judiciary, and, all in all, exercise all the powers aimed at the proper running of the Court (see article 63.2 of the Organic Law of the Judiciary).
At the present time, the magistrate Ángel Juanes (Toledo /1947) holds this post, after having left the Military Chamber of the Supreme Court.
At the beginning of his legal career, his first appointments were in the Instruction Courts in the towns of Don Benito and Mérida, in Badajoz, between 1978 and 1980. After that he was appointed to the Court Nr 3 in San Sebastián, but he returned to Badajoz in 1983, to later be appointed as a magistrate at the Provincial Courts of Cáceres and Badajoz. In 1994 he was transferred to the Civil and Penal Chamber of the Superior Court of Justice of Extremadura, and from there to the Supreme Court at the end of 2003. The Chairmanship of the National Criminal Court became vacant following the appointment of Carlos Dívar to preside the Supreme Court and the General Council of the Judiciary.
Ángel Juanes took up his post as chairman of the National Criminal Court on the 29th of April, 2009.
