Convened by the Governing Council of the Supreme People's Court and legitimized by Law No. 82 of 1997 of the Popular Courts and its Regulations, they take place at the headquarters of all the popular provincial courts of the country and of the Special Municipality of Isla de la Juventud , opposition exercises for candidates for judges, the main route to enter the Cuban Judicial System, which since 2009 has mobilized an important national legal sector. Those interested must formalize their registration, once the call is published in the Official Gazette of the Republic, before the government secretariats of the popular provincial courts.
As of 2015, opposition exercises have been designed in two modalities: one for non-permanent substitute judges (graduates of the country's universities) and another for the rest of the applicants. The former are examined in the framework of the evaluative activities of the Diploma in Administration of Justice and the latter through a written examination that covers the contents of all judicial matters. The conception and implementation of this route of entry to the Judicial System, has allowed the formation of an effective quarry of applicants for the completion of vacant positions.