The Magistrates’ Courts are served by lay Justices of the Peace, that is, persons not belonging to the legal profession, which is a situation different from the rest of the existing judicial organs in Spain.

They are unipersonal courts situated in those municipalities where there is no Court of First Instance and Preliminary Investigation. They assume competence of a lesser importance, both in civil and in penal matters.

They also offer a relevant service in the matter of judicial cooperation by facilitating communication between the other judicial organs and the citizens who are residents of the municipalities where the Magistrate’s Court is situated.

Justices of the Peace are elected by absolute majority of the Plenary of the Town Council, from among those persons who, fulfilling the legal requirements, have applied for it. They are appointed by the Board of Governors of the High Court of Justice for a period of four years. They are sworn in by the Judge of the Court of First Instance and Preliminary Investigation. They stop performing this function for the same reasons that professional Judges do, when it applies to them to do so.