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| Palais de Justice | |
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_June_2010.jpg) Palais de Justice; gates of thecour d'honneur | |
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| General information | |
| Location | 1st arrondissement of Paris,France |
ThePalais de Justice (French pronunciation:[palɛd(ə)ʒystis],lit. 'Palace of Justice') is a judicial centre and courthouse inParis, located on theÎle de la Cité. It contains theCourt of Appeal of Paris, the busiest appellate court in France, and France's highest court for ordinary cases, theCourt of Cassation. It formerly housed theTribunal de grande instance de Paris which was relocated in 2018 to a new high-rise building in Paris'sBatignolles neighbourhood.
The Palais de Justice occupies a large part of the medievalPalais de la Cité, the former royal palace of the kings of France, which also includesSainte Chapelle, the royal chapel, and theConciergerie, a notorious former prison, which operated from 1380 to 1914.[1] It is located in close proximity to theTribunal of Commerce, thePrefecture of Police of Paris, and the offices of the Paris Bar Association.
Under KingRobert II of France the Palais de la Cité began to serve as the home of a high court or council for the King. He constructed the Hall of the King, where theCuria Regis, or King's Council met. This was replaced by a much larger hall, the Grand Chamber, underPhilip IV (1268-34). This enormous hall began to be used for theatrical performances, the meetings of theParlement of Paris, a judicial body composed of the high French nobility.[2]
In 1358, a Paris uprising led by the merchantEtienne Marcel caused the future king,Charles V of France, to depart Paris for safer quarters farther from the center of Paris; first at theHôtel Saint-Pol, then near theBastille, then theLouvre Castle. The judicial function, however, remained at the old palace. The Parlement of Paris, meeting in the Grand Chamber, was an appeals court for royal tribunals and the court of first instance in cases involving the nobility. Furthermore, its approval was required for royal ordinances. This gave it growing power in the feuds between the monarchy and the nobility.Louis XV attended his first court session there in 1715 at age five. The other judicial offices that remained were theChambre des comptes and the Chancellery.[3]
The very decorative gilded wrought iron grillwork and gateway were put in place in 1776. The façade and principal entrance of the palace, facing the Court of May, was entirely rebuilt between 1783 and 1786 with a neo-classical colonnade.[citation needed]
During theFrench Revolution, the Grand Chamber, where the Parlement of Paris had met, became the courtroom of theRevolutionary Tribunal, which rapidly tried and sentenced those accused of opposing the Revolution. Those convicted were usually taken to the guillotine the same day. In 718 days, up until 31 May 1795, the Tribunal sent 2,780 persons to the guillotine. Among the last to be executed was the Chief Prosecutor,Antoine Quentin Fouquier-Tinville, bringing theReign of Terror to a close.[4]
In the first half of the 19th century, the palace became entirely devoted to the justice system. Under the reign ofNapoleon Bonaparte, theRestoration and theJuly Monarchy, various projects were put forward for a new and larger structure. Between 1820 and 1828, the architect Antoine-Marie Peyre built a new façade between tower of the Horloge and the Tower of Bombec, and the access to theConciergerie was moved to the Quai de Bombec.[citation needed]
Between 1837 and 1840, a new project for the building was developed by the architectJean-Nicolas Huyot. Unlike most of the proposed structures, which were in the neo-classical style, with columns and pediments, Huyot's plan was neo-Renaissance. Unfortunately, on August 3, 1840, after all the final approvals had been received, Huyot died. Two weeks later the architectsJoseph-Louis Duc and Etienne-Theodore Dommey were selected to build the structure. Construction took place between 1847 and 1871. The project included a new façade on the Boulevard de Paris, the restoration of the other buildings within the old palace, and a new building for the Cour de Cassation.[citation needed]
In March 1871, as the building was nearing completion, theParis Commune seized power in the city. Work was abruptly halted. Then, in May, 1871, as the French army moved to take back the city from the Communards in what became known as theSemaine Sanglante ("Bloody Week”), arsonists from the Commune, rapidly losing ground to theFrench Army, set fire to the interior of the new building, almost entirely destroying it.[5]
Shortly after 1871, the reconstruction resumed, under Duc andHonoré Daumet, and continued for more than twenty years. Duc completed the façade of Harlay, while Daumet rebuilt theCour of Appeals. The work was finished by Albert Tournaire with the completion of theTribunal correctionnel at the southeast corner, on the quai des Orfevres. The Conciergerie, beneath the palace, was opened to the public in 1914, and all prison functions in the building stopped in 1934.[5]
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In October 1945, after the end of World War II, the Palais of Justice courtrooms were used to try the highest French officials who had collaborated with theNazi occupation. Those put on trial included the former prime ministerPierre Laval and MarshalPhilippe Pétain. Laval was found guilty and was executed in October 1945 by a firing squad.[6] Petain was also found guilty and sentenced to death, but due to his age and past service his sentence was reduced to imprisonment and then transfer to a hospital. He died at the age of 95 on July 23, 1951.[7]
By the 21st century, the Palace of Justice had become too small for some of its functions. In 2018, the Tribunal judiciaire de Paris, the court formerly known as theTribunal de grande instance de Paris, was moved to a modern high-rise tower, the Tribunal de Paris, by architectRenzo Piano atBatignolles, in the 17th arrondissement. TheTribunal d'instance petit (court of first instance) also moved to the new Tribunal de Paris effective January 1, 2020.[citation needed]
Some historic parts of the Palace were opened to the public in 1914, and in 1934 the prison of theConciergerie was definitely closed. The lower portion of the Conciergerie became an historical heritage site, while the upper levels continued to be occupied by judicial offices.
The formal entrance to the Palais de Justice is through the Cour de Mai, or "May Courtyard". The lace-ike gilded iron gateway was part of the 19th century reconstruction. Inside, most of the space is occupied by the courtrooms, legal offices, and support functions, including a large law library. Together these occupy about 4500 square meters of the building. Each day the Palais receives about thirteen thousand persons.
TheCour de Cassation is one of the four courts of last resort in France. It has jurisdiction over all civil and criminal matters triable in the judicial system, and is the supreme court of appeal in these cases. It has jurisdiction to review the law, and to certify questions of law, to determine miscarriages of justice.
Though the old Conciergerie prison was closed, the Palace still has three detention facilities. The "Depot", under the control of theParis Police Prefecture, for those prisoners in "Garde à vue", who most report regularly to the police. About eighty such individuals come to the Depot each day. The second is the "Souricière", a holding area for prisoners before they are taken to a hearing before a judge. This part of the building, under the control of the prison administration, has about seventy-five cells. Finally there is the center for administrative detention, for detaining persons with an irregular legal status.[8]
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48°51′21″N2°20′42″E / 48.855722°N 2.345051°E /48.855722; 2.345051
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