The Superior Tribunal of Justice of Cantabria is the highest expression of the Judiciary in the autonomic community. It was constituted in Mai the 23rd, 1989, as an integrated institution of the judiciary structure. The Superior Tribunals of Justice have their origin in the platform foreseen in the article 26 of the Organic Law of the Judiciary.

As the highest institution of the Judiciary in the Autonomic Community, it performs governmental functions through the Government Chamber.

As tribunal of justice, it performs jurisdiction in the three Divisions of Justice.

• Civil and Criminal Division
• Contentious Administrative Division
• Social Affairs Division

The Civil and Criminal Division of the Superior Tribunal of Justice in Cantabria deals with the criminal affairs against citizens and the proceedings, and verdicts of the opened lawsuits against judges, magistrates and members of the Crown Prosecution Service due to offences or misdemeanours committed during the exercise of their position, as long as this attribution does not correspond to the Supreme Tribunal.

Furthermore, it deals with the remedies of appeal against resolutions dictated in first instance by the County Court and the questions of competence between criminal  jurisdictional entities with headquarters in the region that does not have any other superior entity in common.

This division is located in the ancient convent of the Judicial Buildings of Las Salesas in Santander.

Furthermor,  the Division of Contentious – Administrative affairs of the Superior Tribunal of Justice is the body in charge of supervising the public administrations in Cantabria. It deals with appeals related to actions of the local bodies and the Autonomic Community, appeals promoted against resolutions of the divisions for Contentious matters, competency matters between these divisions and the appeals to the Supreme Court for the unification of doctrine or in the interest of the Law.

To conclude the Social Affairs Division of the Superior Tribunal of Justice in Cantabria is in charge of the processes affecting the interests of the employees and employers on a higher level than the Social Affairs Courts.  Among its competences there are appeals for reversal against resolutions dictated by the judges of the Social Affairs division of the region and the judges of Trade Affairs concerning labour subject or in incidents during job competitions affecting the employees, as well as competency matters between the Social Affairs courts of the region.

As the rest of the divisions of the Superior Tribunal of Justice, it is located in the ancient convent of the Judicial Buildings of Las Salesas in Santander.

The Government Chamber is the entity of internal government of courts and tribunals from the region. Its main objective is the organization of the daily functioning of courts and tribunals in the autonomic community.

The Government Chamber of the Superior Tribunal of Justice in Cantabria is integrated by eight members and has representative personality, as half of them are elected democratically by judges and magistrates of the autonomic community. Three of them have the category of magistrate and the fourth, the category of judge.

The Chamber has four ex officio members, which means that they are members according to their original position: the president of the Superior Tribunal of Justice in Cantabria who is also president of the Government Chamber, the presidents of the Contentious-administrative Division and the Social Affairs Division, and the president of the Provincial Audience.

The secretary of such governmental entity is the secretary of the Government of the Superior Tribunal of Justice in Cantabria.

The Government Chamber of the Superior Tribunal of Justice in Cantabria gathers every fifteen days to deal with the affairs of internal organization attributed by the Organic Law of the Judiciary.

It has wide competencies to organize the way courts and tribunals work, under its responsibility. Among such functions are:

• Assuring that the positions of judges and magistrates of such judiciary divisions are properly filled.
• Analyzing complains made by citizens in relation to the administration of Justice.
• Revising sanctions established by judges to participants in the judiciary processes
• Suggesting inspection visits to the president.
• Maintaining institutional relations with other public administrations in order to improve the running of the administration of Justice.
• Implementing studies and proposals addressed to the General Council of the Judiciary and the expository annual memory about the running of the Tribunal, which will contain the indication of the measures considered necessary for the correction of the observed deficiencies.
• Suggesting the General Council of the Judiciary the adoption of measures considered appropriate to improve the Administration of Justice according to the respective jurisdictional entities.
• Receiving oath or promise of the magistrates who integrate the respective tribunals and give them the possession.
• Promoting before the competent entity the demand of the disciplinary responsibilities made by court secretaries, from the staff to the service of the Administration of Justice or any one who offers his services permanently or occasionally there.
• Issuing the appointments of Judges of Peace.