Judicial Building

25°02′16.8″N 121°30′43.0″E

Judicial Building
司法大廈 Sīfǎ Dàxià (Mandarin) Su-hoat Tāi-hā (Taiwanese) Sṳ̂-fap thai-ha (Hakka)
Former names	High Court of the Government-General of Taiwan (臺灣總督府高等法院)
General information
Location	Zhongzheng, Taipei, Taiwan
Groundbreaking	1929
Completed	1934
Height
Architectural	Transition
Technical details
Floor count	4
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Kaoru Ide
Main contractor	Katsura Shokai Corporation, Ikedagumi Corporation
National monument of Taiwan
Type	Government Office
Designated	30 July 1998

The Judicial Building (Chinese: 司法大廈; pinyin: Sīfǎ Dàxià; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Su-hoat Tāi-hā) is a governmental building in Zhongzheng District, Taipei, Taiwan. It houses several judicial agencies of Taiwan, including

• Judicial Yuan — the judiciary and constitutional court of the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan),
• Taiwan High Court,
• Taiwan High Prosecutors Office, and
• Disciplinary Sanction Court.

History

Originally constructed as the High Court of the Government-General of Taiwan (臺灣總督府高等法院, Taiwan Sōtokufu Kōtō Hōin), it was a major governmental building of the Japanese era. It was the highest-level judicial institution of its day, though still subordinate to the Governor-General of Taiwan's office. It held authority over the district courts and prosecutor's offices of Taipei and Taichung. Construction began on the building in 1929 and was completed in 1934.^[1]

Architecture

The building was designed by the Japanese architect Ide Kaoru, whose other well-known works include the Executive Yuan building and Zhongshan Hall in Taipei.^[2] Originally it had three floors, with one more added later. The building is laid out in the Chinese character for "sun" (日)· Designed along minimalist lines in an eclectic style, the building features two skylights for ventilation and ambient lights, as well as arched doors and windows.^[1]

Its light green exterior wall tiles served to enhance air defence. One of its unusual features is the roof of the central tower. Octagonal with a prominent rim and a rippled surface, it is helmet-shaped in a manner reminiscent of the bell-and drum tower of Lungshan Temple of Manka, Wanhua District. This incorporation of local Taiwanese architectural forms was an element of the Imperial Crown Style, reflecting the Japanese imperialist government's ideology of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere through a fusion of local design features.^[1]

References

1. "Architectural Features". Judicial Yuan. November 2019. Retrieved 2021-12-03.
2. "Design and Construction – Executive Yuan History Exhibit". Executive Yuan. Archived from the original on 2017-04-03. Retrieved 2017-07-14.

External links

• Judicial Building at the Bureau of Cultural Heritage website (in Chinese)