Audiencia Nacional

Audiencia Nacional
Audiencia Nacional building in Madrid
Established	4 January 1977
Country	Spain
Location	Madrid
President
Currently	Ricardo Bodas (Acting)
Since	2014

The Audiencia Nacional (English: National Court) is a special and exceptional high court in Spain. It has jurisdiction over all of the Spanish territory, as well as over international crimes which come under the competence of Spanish courts. The Audiencia Nacional was created in 1977 at the same time as the Public Order Tribunal (Tribunal de Orden Público), a Francoist institution, ceased to exist. Despite what many people think, the two work differently, and both the Spanish Constitutional Court and the European Commission of Human Rights have observed this tribunal to be legal. Its seat is in the city of Madrid.

In most cases, the rulings and decisions of these different divisions of the Audiencia Nacional can be appealed before the Supreme Court of Spain.

The Audiencia is composed of its President, the Presidents of the Chambers, and the magistrates that the law specifies for each one of its courts and divisions.

The Audiencia includes the following chambers: