The capital of each province will house one or more Courts of Criminal Matters. Courts of Criminal Matters with jurisdiction over one or more administrative areas within the same province may be established, in accordance with the stipulations of the legislation on jurisdictional boundaries and judicial bodies, which will determine the city in which they are based. Courts of Criminal Matters will take their name from the city in which they are based (Article 89 bis of the Organic Law on the Judiciary).

Courts of Criminal Matters will be responsible for hearing and passing judgment on proceedings for offences for which the Law sets out a prison term of five years, or a fine of any amount, or any other sentence, whether single, joint or alternating, provided their term does not exceed ten years; as well as for misdemeanours, whether incidental or otherwise, that are attributable to the perpetrators of such offences or to others, when committing the misdemeanour or the evidence thereof are related to the former (article 14.3, Law of Criminal Procedure).

In order to facilitate the hearing of cases examined by the Courts for Violence against Women, and in view of the number of existing cases, one or more Courts in each province should become specialised, in accordance with the provisions of article 98 of this Organic Law on the Judiciary.

Courts of Criminal Matters are also charged with enforcing the judgments handed down in criminal proceedings for serious offences and less serious offences by Examining Magistrate's Courts and with recognising and enforcing rulings that impose financial penalties issued by the competent authorities of other Member States of the European Union, where they are to be served on Spanish territory, and autonomous confiscation proceedings for crimes they are responsible for hearing.