Spain's Supreme Court opens the jurists' track: one magistrate position for lawyers with more than 15 years of practice

The practice of law will count as an express merit for access to Spain's Supreme Court. The Official State Gazette (BOE) of 7 October published the call for one magistrate position in the court's Sala Primera (First Chamber) under the jurists' track, and its rules expressly value lawyers' professional track records, Abogacía Española reported on 19 October.

The call was approved by the plenary of the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) on 30 September. It allows legal professionals and other jurists of recognised prestige with more than 15 years of professional practice to compete, preferably in the field of civil law.

What the call values

The rules were drawn up under Regulation 1/2025, on the provision of positions filled by discretionary appointment in judicial bodies, approved in December 2025. That regulation specifies the criteria for assessing lawyers' professional experience and expressly recognises:

• The effective time of practice of the profession.
• The breadth and quality of the legal knowledge acquired over the career.
• The technical relevance of the written work produced during the professional track record.

Specifically, the rules state that procedural briefs, reports and other professional work will be assessed for their complexity, the depth of legal analysis, the originality of their arguments and their possible doctrinal or case-law impact. Teaching, specialised training and scientific production in the legal field will also be taken into account.

A long-standing demand of the profession made real

During the processing of Regulation 1/2025, Abogacía Española argued in its submissions that the effective practice of law before courts and tribunals should be recognised as a specific merit, distinct from that of other legal profiles. The goal: for professionals with an accredited track record to compete on equal terms for the positions reserved for jurists from outside the judicial career.

The institution considers this call a decisive step towards an effective presence of the legal profession in the Supreme Court, historically limited, and towards a more plural composition of the high court.

The Sala Primera, destination of the position

The position belongs to the Sala Primera, the Civil Chamber, which hears cassation appeals in civil matters: contracts, property, civil liability, family law in its patrimonial aspects and corporate law, among others. Hence the rules preferably ask for experience in civil law, the ground where much of corporate and litigation practice accumulates its briefs and case law. For a civil-law partner or a commercial litigator with more than fifteen years of practice, this is the chamber where their track record weighs most.

Why it matters for a lawyer's career

The jurists' track is the route by which a lawyer can reach the judiciary without sitting the career judiciary exams: it reserves part of the positions in the higher courts and the Supreme Court for jurists of recognised prestige. The fact that the rules value professional practice with objective criteria - and not only academic credentials - changes the map for law firm partners and long-practising lawyers considering the leap to the judicial function late in their careers.

This is one of the career and transition lines we follow in our Legal jobs section, alongside the daily selection of verified offers and market guides like What a lawyer earns in Spain. For those who prefer the examination route, we also cover the historic expansion of judge and prosecutor positions approved this week in 700 new judge and prosecutor positions for 2027.

Next steps

The call is published in the BOE of 7 October 2026. Interested candidates should review the full rules and the selection calendar on the CGPJ's electronic headquarters. As in every process of this level, the application window is short and merits must be documented, so it is worth preparing the application as early as possible.