Justice Palace front scaffolding to be removed next summer

The scaffolding surrounding the front facade of the Palais du Justice will be removed next summer, federal minister for building management Vanessa Matz (Les Engagés) has announced.

But while the scaffolding on the front will disappear in summer 2026, the date for a completely scaffolding-free building has been pushed back from 2030 to 2035.

Extensive restoration works on the Place Poelaert side of the building started in 2023 and included cleaning the stones and decorative elements, dismantling damaged stones and refurbishing the joinery.

Over the past few months, the scaffolding on the right-hand side of the facade, facing the Marolles, has also gradually been removed, Bruzz reports.

“It’s not only a restoration project, but also an investment for citizens and in the rule of law,” Matz said of the initiative.

Justice minister Annelies Verlinden (CD&V) called the summer deadline for the facade “a promising step forward.”

“This restoration project, however challenging, will lead us to a fully restored monument that is ready for many generations to come, and for a modern, accessible and future-oriented justice system,” Verlinden said.

Chief architect Isolde Verhulst explained that the works involve complex and challenging interventions.

"We have to break away parts of an existing building without creating an unstable situation," said Verhulst.

"The heaviest block of stone we’re replacing today weighs five tonnes. Just reinforcing the scaffolding to get it up to a height of 40 metres is a logistical and technical feat in itself."

Verhulst noted that finding the right historical building materials and skilled stonemasons is also a challenge.

“Fortunately, with one exception, we were able to source the stones from the quarries where the original stones were extracted,” Verhulst said, noting that these include the Burgundy region of France.

In the next phase of the work, scheduled to take place between the end of 2026 and 2029, the bases of the dome will be tackled.

“We’re partly dependent on the weather for this, as some climate-sensitive work needs to be done,” Verhulst said.

In the last two phases, the facades along the left and rear sides of the Justice Palace will be restored, as well as the inner courtyards and then finally the interior of the courthouse.

Matz said the feasibility study for that project should be completed by the end of 2025. An additional study will also be organised at the end of this year to see whether judicial services currently housed in rented buildings can return to the Justice Palace.

In the meantime, the need for the extensive renovation has been continuously made clear. Last week, the magistrates of the Brussels Court of Appeal spoke of a series of water leaks.

“The Buildings Agency and the justice minitry are taking urgent measures in the meantime to ensure the safety of staff,” Verlinden said, noting that a structural refurbishment will probably have to wait a while longer as it was “a question of resources and technology” and that the situation is complex.

“You can say, for example, that there are so many square metres available for offices, but you also have to take current accessibility standards into account,” Verhulst explained.

“Staff must be able to get to and from the office safely, especially in emergency situations.”

The archives hosted in the building also come with complexities.

“We always have to check that the floors are strong enough to support them,” said Verhulst.

“It's going to be a huge puzzle, perhaps even more so than for the facades. The Justice Palace is still the largest building of its kind in the world.”