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In 2002, Leipzig once again 

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becomes home to one of Germany’s supreme courts, 

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as the Federal Administrative Court moves in.

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The Federal Administrative Court 

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– in the building of the former Imperial Court of Justice

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When the German Empire was founded in 1871,

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the imperial justice laws established 

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a supreme court for civil and criminal law. 

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After a prolonged debate, 

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the Reichstag and the Council of 

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the federal states decided in 1877 

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to locate the Supreme Court 

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– the Imperial Court of Justice – in Leipzig. 

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The young architects Ludwig Hoffmann and Peter Dybwad 

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won a competition with their proposal. 

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The building of the Imperial Court of Justice was finished in 1895 

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after seven years of construction and inaugurated by Emperor William II. 

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The building symbolises the role and importance of the judiciary 

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as the “third power” within the state. 

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It had equal status ranking 

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with the legislature’s Reichstag building in Berlin, 

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which was built at the same time. 

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From the sculpture of Truth 

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and the ceiling relief with the judicial virtues in the cupola hall 

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and the sculptures of the main stairway 

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to the door relief in the courtrooms 

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– judicial symbolism is everywhere. 

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Alongside the offices, library and the courtrooms, 

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the building’s south wing housed the living quarters of the Court’s president. 

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For his representative tasks, he used a ceremonial hall,

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which still exists today. 

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The Imperial Court of Justice ruled on many civil cases. 

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Especially the interpretation of the German Civil Code of 1900

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was part of its tasks. 

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Famous criminal court cases stirred the public.

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The most famous one was the trial of the Reichstag fire in 1933. 

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It ended with a death sentence for the Dutchman van der Lubbe 

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and the acquittal of four other defendants, 

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among them the Bulgarian communist Georgi Dimitroff.

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The verdict against van der Lubbe was later reversed by the German parliament

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alongside other illegitimate Nazi judgments. 

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The end of the Second World War 

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also marked the end of the Imperial Court of Justice. 

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The Court’s building – heavily damaged by war – 

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was only partially repaired in the following years.

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During the period of the German Democratic Republic, 

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it served as Dimitroff museum, 

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Museum of Fine Arts, 

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DEFA film studio, 

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and provided room for multiple public authorities. 

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After German reunification, 

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the independent Federalism commission of the Federation and the federal states 

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recommended moving the Federal Administrative Court from Berlin to Saxony. 

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This made it possible 

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for the former building of the Imperial Court of Justice in Leipzig 

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to become the seat of one of Germany’s federal supreme courts. 

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The building had to be comprehensively refurbished and restored.

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An additional floor was generated to gain more space. 

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The carefully restored historical building 

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is now once again a place of the administration of justice.

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In this present day, the Palace of Justice, built in the 19th century, 

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fulfils all requirements of a modern court. 

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It houses the German supreme court for administrative matters 

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– the Federal Administrative Court.