The Harry Gibbs Commonwealth Law Courts Building (often known in Brisbane simply as the Commonwealth Law Courts, although the northern part of the Peter Durack Building in Perth is also called ''Commonwealth Law Courts'') contains the

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

registries of the

High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is the apex court of the Australian legal system. It exercises original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified in the Constitution of Australia and supplementary legislation. The High Court was establi ...

and the

Federal Court of Australia The Federal Court of Australia is an Australian superior court 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 indictable (mo ...

; and the

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

registries of the

Family Court of Australia The Family Court of Australia was a superior Australian federal court of record which deals with family law matters, such as divorce applications, parenting disputes, and the division of property when a couple separate. Together with the Fed ...

Federal Circuit Court of Australia The Federal Circuit Court of Australia, formerly known as the Federal Magistrates Court of Australia or the Federal Magistrates Service, was an Australian court hierarchy, Australian court with jurisdiction over matters broadly relating to fami ...

and the

Administrative Appeals Tribunal The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) was an Australian tribunal that conducted independent merits review of administrative decisions made under Commonwealth laws of the Australian Government. The AAT reviewed decisions made by Australian G ...

. It is located at 119 North Quay in the

Brisbane CBD Brisbane City is the central Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb and central business district of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia. It is also colloquially referred to as the "Brisbane CBD", "the city", or simply "to ...

. The 13-storey building, designed by John Grealy with the Australian Construction Services in association with Peddle Thorp Architects, contains 33

courtroom A courtroom is the enclosed space in which courts of law are held in front of a judge. A number of courtrooms, which may also be known as "courts", may be housed in a courthouse. In recent years, courtrooms have been equipped with audiovisual ...

s and 29

judge's chambers A judge's chambers is the office of a judge, where the judge may hear certain types of cases, instead of in open court. Description A judge's chambers is the office of a judge, where certain types of matters can be heard "in chambers", also ...

, as well as administration and prisoner holding facilities. The Commonwealth Law Courts' formal entrance is on North Quay, with a wide stairway leading from the street to an eight–storey atrium. The working entrance is located on Tank Street. The building is named after former

Chief Justice of Australia The chief justice of Australia is the presiding justice of the High Court of Australia and the highest-ranking judicial officer in the Commonwealth of Australia. The incumbent is Stephen Gageler, since 6 November 2023. Constitutional basis Th ...

, Sir Harry Gibbs. In 1993 the project was awarded the FDG Stanley Award for Public Architecture. In 2022 the building was awarded the Robin Gibson Award for Enduring Architecture by the Queensland Chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects.

References

{{coord, 27, 28, 08.53, S, 153, 01, 11.20, E, display=title, region:AU_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki Buildings and structures in Brisbane Brisbane central business district Courthouses in Queensland