The Law Courts Building is a building on Queen's Square in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It is the seat of the

Supreme Court of New South Wales The Supreme Court of New South Wales is the highest state court of the Australian State of New South Wales. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in civil matters, and hears the most serious criminal matters. Whilst the Supreme Court i ...

, as well as parts of the

Federal Court of Australia The Federal Court of Australia is an Australian superior court of record which has jurisdiction to deal with most civil disputes governed by federal law (with the exception of family law matters), along with some summary (less serious) and indic ...

and the

High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is Australia's apex court. It exercises Original jurisdiction, original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified within Constitution of Australia, Australia's Constitution. The High Court was established fol ...

Building

The building is 114 metres tall, with 30 floors to house 34 state and 27 federal courtrooms, and was built in 1976, with the NSW Government and Commonwealth Government sharing the costs of construction. It was designed by Peter Johnson of the prominent architectural firm, McConnell Smith & Johnson, with an emphasis on making courts more 'humane' and accessible in their design.

History

The first proposal for a Law Courts Building in Sydney was made in 1938, with a building planned that was to be long, wide, and with three towers, the tallest being . This would have involved demolishing the Parliament House, the

Sydney Hospital Sydney Hospital is a major hospital in Australia, located on Macquarie Street in the Sydney central business district. It is the oldest hospital in Australia, dating back to 1788, and has been at its current location since 1811. It first rece ...

, as well as the

Sydney Mint The Sydney Mint in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, is the oldest surviving public building in the Sydney central business district. Built between 1811 and 1816 as the southern wing of the Sydney Hospital, it was then known as the ''Rum H ...

. The courts commenced operation from 17 January 1977 and the Law Courts Building was officially opened by the

Premier of New South Wales The premier of New South Wales is the head of government in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Government of New South Wales follows the Westminster Parliamentary System, with a Parliament of New South Wales acting as the legislature. ...

Neville Wran Neville Kenneth Wran, (11 October 1926 – 20 April 2014) was an Australian politician who was the Premier of New South Wales from 1976 to 1986. He was the national president of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1980 to 1986 and chairman of ...

, on 1 February 1977.

References

{{coord, -33.8690, 151.2115, type:landmark_region:AU-NSW, display=title Government buildings completed in 1977 1977 establishments in Australia Buildings and structures in Sydney Brutalist architecture in Australia Courthouses in Sydney Supreme Court of New South Wales High Court of Australia Federal Court of Australia Government buildings in Sydney