The high court of Navarra has its immediate roots in the old territorial courts that appeared with the Constitution of 1812, a legal text that is the cornerstone of the legal architecture of Spain.  The “Magna Carta” that sprang from the courts of Cádiz granted territorial courts competence for civil and criminal lawsuits in the territory under their authority.  

For the first time, foundations were put in place that would enable judges to carry out their duties independently. Judges had the exclusive duty of judging and enforcement of the judgment, and the Courts or the King were prevented from exercising jurisdictional duties, as well as the legal authority to dismiss pending law suits or initiate expired trials.   

It was not until 1835 that the Ordenanzas de las Audiencias (ordinances of the courts) came into existence. These essential documents divided the courts into three distinct chambers with different jurisdictional powers: two civil courts and one criminal court. 

This judicial organization was respected by substantive law of the judiciary of 1870 and essentially remains unchanged today, aside from the jurisdictions that have been incorporated over time and the evolution of society.

The high court of Navarre was created in accordance with Article 59 of substantive law 13/1982 of 10th August, regarding reintegration and improvement of the regional regime of Navarre.

Like the other high courts of Spain, it was established 23rd May 1989.

The high courts, with their present structure and territorial demarcation, spring from the plan created in article 26 of substantive law of the judiciary of 1985. They were established 23 May 1989. The old territorial courts now became a thing of the past, giving rise to a judicial model that included the autonomous map and was adapted to the requirements of the 1978 Constitution. The high court takes the name of the autonomous community.    

The high court of Navarra is currently divided into three courts, one for each jurisdictional order: civil and criminal, employment and contentious administrative. It is the maximum judicial organ of the autonomous community.
The high court of Navarre was created in accordance with Article 59 of substantive law 13/1982 of 10th August, regarding reintegration and improvement of the regional regime of Navarre.

The new territorial and jurisdictional model resulted in the disappearance of the territorial court of Navarre, which grouped together the provinces of Navarre and Guipúzcoa, as well as the creation of the civil and criminal court and the employment tribunal, with new jurisdictional capacities attributed to them. 

The high court is located in the Pamplona courthouse.

The Pamplona courthouse is located at Calle San Roque No. 10, in the San Juan de Pamplona neighbourhood. It has excellent communication with the road Variante de Pamplona facilitating arrival by car from neighbouring municipalities.
In its vicinity are a prison, a pedestrian square, a large public parking lot and all necessary public services: taxi stand, city bus stop, a variety of businesses, hotels, hostels, inns, etc.  

Construction of the building, designed by architects Manuel Sagastume and Ángel Farinós, was completed in 1996.

The building has some 16,292 square metres of useful space, distributed in two structures: one facing Calle de San Roque, where the main entrance is located, and the other facing Calle Monasterio de Irache, where a separate door to the duty court is located. 

The garage, archives, warehouses, installation rooms and jail are in the basement.
On the ground floor are the following services: Information Service, Chief Judge, Instituto Navarro de Medicina Legal (Navarre Institute of Legal Medicine), two family courts, subpoena and execution service (Spanish acronym, SCACE), legal representative syndicate, maintenance and security services, and two courtrooms, one especially for weddings.  

On the first floor are three employment tribunals, a commercial court, a parole board court, archive services, a press room and six courtrooms (one of which is for jury trials). 

On the second floor are the provincial court (with three sections), a court of violence against women, a juvenile court, the civil and juvenile prosecutor’s office, the fourth criminal court, a computer room, the robe room for lawyers, and three courtrooms.
On the third floor are the prosecutor’s office, three criminal courts, four magistrate’s courts and two courtrooms.

On the fourth floor are three contentious administrative courts, six first instance courts and three courtrooms.

The fifth and sixth floors contain the high court, a meeting room for institutional visits, a room for acts of protocolization, the library and a courtroom.