How does the HCJ Valencian Community work?

The High Court of the Community of Valencia, the same as the other High Courts, is the maximum expression of the judiciary in the autonomous community.  It was established on 23 May 1989, replacing the territorial court as the constitutive body of the judicial framework.

The High Court of the Community of Valencia (TSJCV, Spanish acronym) currently consists of three chambers:

 

Civil and Criminal Chamber.

As a civil chamber, it assumes:

  • Civil suits against the president and members of the Government of Valencia or members of the courts of Valencia. The civil chamber also hears lawsuits brought against all or the majority of the magistrates of a provincial court or any of its sections.
  • Motions to vacate and extraordinary appeal for review of the decisions of judicial organs with civil jurisdiction in the autonomous community, provided that the appeal is founded on the violation of the rules of Civil Charter Law of Valencia. 

As a criminal chamber, it assumes:

  • Lawsuits against cities that hold a royal charter
  • Appeals against jury court rulings
  • Decisions regarding questions of competence among the different criminal courts

 

Administrative Chamber

The prosecutorial chamber of the public administrations of the Community of Valencia. Settles:

  • Appeals lodged against acts or provisions of local entities and the administrations of the autonomous communities, provided that their hearing is not attributed to the administrative courts.
  • Appeals against and reviews of rulings and decisions issued by the administrative courts.
  • Motions to vacate for unification of doctrine and in the interest of the law in cases envisaged in regulatory law of jurisdiction for suits under administrative law. 


Social Chamber
Hears:

  • Proceedings regarding controversies that affect the interest of workers and employers in a higher sphere than that of a social court and a lower sphere than that of the autonomous community.
  • Appeals against decisions issued by social courts of the autonomous community.
  • Questions of competence that may arise among the different social courts of the autonomous community.

The high court of Valencia is situated in the law courts, in the Glorieta, a building erected in the 18th century for the customs authorities of Valencia and later converted into the Royal Tobacco Factory. Subsequently transferred to the Ministry of Justice, it did not become the law courts until the 20th century. The transformation of the building to accommodate the then provincial court began in 1914 and was completed eight years later, under the supervision of the architect Vicente Rodríguez Martín.