The Palace of Justice of Brussels or Law Courts of Brussels is a courthouse in Brussels, Belgium. It is the country's most important court building, seat of the judicial arrondissement of Brussels, as well as of several courts and tribunals, including the Court of Cassation (Belgian supreme court), the Court of Assizes (highest criminal court), the Court of Appeal of Brussels (appellate court), the Tribunal of First Instance of Brussels (general jurisdiction), and the Bar Association of Brussels.
Designed by the architect Joseph Poelaert, in an eclectic style of Greco-Roman inspiration, to replace an older courthouse, the current building was erected between 1866 and 1883. With a ground surface of , the edifice is reputed to be the largest constructed in the 19th century and remains one of the largest of its kind. The total cost of the construction, land, and furnishings approximated 50 million Belgian francs. The building suffered heavy damage during World War II, when the cupola was destroyed and later rebuilt higher than the original. The structure has been under renovation since 1984 and scaffolding from that era still hangs on the building, though it is set to come down by 2035.
The Palace of Justice is located on the Place Poelaert/Poelaertplein in the Marolles/Marollen district (southern part of Brussels' city centre). The square is also connected to the lower town by the Poelaert Elevators.
History
First courthouse (1818–1892)
The current Palace of Justice is located on the Galgenberg hill (; "Gallows Mount"), between Brussels' upper and lower town, where in the Middle Ages convicted criminals were hanged, hence its name. A first courthouse had been erected, at a different location, in the Sablon/Zavel district, on the / (today's /), between the / (today's /) and the (now-disappeared) /.
Built between 1818 and 1823 by the French architect on the site of a former Jesuit church, this first neoclassical structure had quickly deteriorated, and the question of building a new and larger courthouse arose as early as 1837. The condition was that the building could accommodate all civil and military jurisdictions under one roof. The choice of location, however, gave rise to heated controversies. It was indeed initially planned to rebuild it in the same place, but this project, the cost of which was estimated at 3 million Belgian francs, quickly aborted. The idea of building it in the newly developed Leopold Quarter in the eastern part of town was no more successful. In 1846–47, another reconstruction project was also buried.
Inception of the project (1858–1866) In 1858, the then-Minister of Justice, Victor Tesch, suggested for the first time the gardens of the House of Merode, where the extension of the / would be constructed. The governor of the Province of Brabant suggested that it would be possible at the same time to link the new Louise/Louiza district to the city centre. Following a proposal from the advisor to the Court of Appeal, , aiming at installing the building perpendicular to the Rue de la Régence rather than to the right of this extension, a study was entrusted to the Chief Engineer Groetaers. In his report, Groetaers recommended to erect a building of , with a fronting facing a 100 m square. Disagreements having arisen between Groetaers and the city's mayor, the latter called for a competition for the building's design.
On 27 March 1860, an international architectural competition, endowed with three prizes, was therefore organised by royal decree. After several failed proposals, Tesch appointed the city's municipal architect, Joseph Poelaert, to draw plans of the building in 1861. The architect already enjoyed an excellent reputation, having to his credit a series of very prestigious projects in the capital, such as the commemorative Congress Column (1850), the Church of St. Catherine (1854) and the restoration of the Royal Theatre of La Monnaie (1855).
In April 1862, Poelaert submitted a preliminary draft, which was approved by Tesch. It was then in Paris, far from the pressures and influences of Brussels, that Poelaert withdrew to put the final touches to his plans. There, he gathered a team of designers including and Édouard Corroyer. Given the prominent place that the Palace of Justice was called upon to occupy in the urban landscape, Poelaert opted for an eclectic style of Greco-Roman inspiration. Although he was inspired by classicism, he created a totally personal and original work.
Construction (1866–1883)
The first stone was laid on 31 October 1866. At Poelaert's request, the management of the works was entrusted to the engineer , Inspector General of the Ministry of Public Works and President of the Royal Commission of Monuments between 1865 and 1897. After Poelaert's death on 3 November 1879, the construction was taken over by the architect Joseph Joachim Benoît. The building was inaugurated on 15 October 1883 by King Leopold II in the presence of his wife Queen Marie-Henriette, his daughter Princess Clémentine, and members of the Belgian royal family. As for the old courthouse, it was demolished in 1892 to make way for the /, which leads into the Place de la Justice.
For the Palace of Justice's construction, a section of the Marolles/Marollen neighbourhood was demolished, while most of the garden belonging to the House of Merode was also expropriated. The 75 landlords belonging to the nobility and the high bourgeoisie, many of whom lived in their homes, received large indemnities, while the other more modest inhabitants, about a hundred, were also forced to move by the Belgian government, though they were compensated with houses in the Tillens-Roosendael garden city () in the Quartier du Chat in the Uccle municipality.
Poelaert himself resided in the Marolles, only a few hundred metres from the building, on the /, in a house adjoining his vast offices and workshops and communicating with them. It is thus unlikely he saw himself as ruining the neighbourhood. Nonetheless, many angry citizens personally blamed Poelaert for the forced relocations, and the expression schieven architect (meaning "shameful architect") became one of the most serious insults in the dialect of the Marolles. Although the construction took place during the reign of Leopold II, the king showed little interest in the building, and it is not considered part of his extensive architectural programme in Brussels nor his legacy as the "Builder-King".
Damage and renovation (1945–present)
On the eve of the liberation of Brussels at the end of the Second World War, the retreating German forces started a fire in the Palace of Justice in an attempt to destroy it and the legal records it contained. As a result, the cupola collapsed and part of the building was severely damaged. Two months later, the explosion of a V-1 rocket in the Rue des Minimes caused further damage. In 1947, the restoration work was entrusted to the architect-engineer and palace's custodian . By 1948, most of the building had been repaired, and the cupola rebuilt higher than the original, whose somewhat flat shape had previously been criticised.
Renovations to the building have been in progress since 1984. These renovations have focused on repairing and strengthening the roof structure and walls, as well as adding a new layer to the gilded cupola. In 2002–03, the roof was replaced and the structure repaired and reinforced. On 1 September 2003, the protective foil was removed from the dome, making it once again an eye-catcher on the Brussels skyline. Progress has been slow, however, and in 2013, it was reported that the decade-old scaffolding was so rusted and unsafe that it was in need of renovation itself.
Since the end of the 20th century, many jurisdictions have vacated the Palace of Justice on the grounds that it no longer meets the criteria required for the exercise of justice, particularly in terms of the necessary workspace. The government of the Brussels-Capital Region issued two designation orders, on 3 May 2001 and on 28 February 2008, "Because of its historical, artistic and technical interest". In 2008, a proposal was made for the building to be recognised as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. In 2016, the World Monuments Fund placed the courthouse on its list of endangered monuments. Following the collapse of part of the ceiling in 2018, Jean de Codt, the first president of the Court of Cassation and the country's highest magistrate, publicly demanded additional financial resources to ensure the building's sustainability and the safety of its occupants.
Although several plans have followed to address the dilapidated state of the rooms and security issues, the work is expected to continue for many more years, leaving the building's future uncertain. In 2022, further renovation plans were announced, with completion expected for "2024 or 2025". In November 2024, the federal government announced that the first scaffolding would be removed by the end of the year, with the rest to be dismantled by 2030. This deadline was later pushed back to 2035.
Description
Dimensions and cost The Palace of Justice was the largest building in the world at the time of its construction, and remains one of the largest courthouses today. The edifice measures , and covers a total built ground surface of , bigger than St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. The dome weighs . The building contains eight courtyards with a surface of , 27 large court rooms, as well as 245 smaller court rooms and other rooms. Situated on a hill with a steep incline, there is a level difference of between the upper and lower town, resulting in multiple entrances to the building at different levels. Moreover, the impressive main hall or salle des pas perdus () is around including the first-floor gallery: long and wide. A compass rose with sixteen rays marks the centre of the room.
Many questions remain about this project, which saw its budget exceed 50 million Belgian francs (equivalent to an entire year of public works in the country at the time) for an initial estimate of barely 4 million. The excessiveness of the site, and the freedom given to the architect to override almost all the initially imposed rules, remain a great mystery.
Architecture and symbolism Monumental and austere in its architecture, the Palace of Justice was intended as a symbolic expression of judicial power. The building is undoubtedly eclectic, Greco-Roman inspired with borrowings from Assyro-Babylonian and Egyptian architecture. It departs from classical norms through the layering of forms and volumes, as well as the interplay between interior and exterior spaces. It is also partially supported by an internal steel structure, a technical innovation at the time.
The main entrance on the Place Poelaert/Poelaertplein is accessed through a monumental peristyle. At the foot of two grand staircases stand larger-than-life statues of the Greek orator Demosthenes and lawgiver Lycurgus by the sculptor , as well as figures of the Roman jurists Cicero and Ulpian by Antoine-Félix Bouré. The central portico, high, is surmounted by a helmeted bust of Themis, the ancient Greek Titaness and personification of divine law and order, by . The bronze doors were designed by the architect and crafted in 1896 by ; the originals were destroyed during the First World War and replaced by replicas in 1932. There is also a bust of Poelaert (1887) by .
Usage