Courthouse of Tehran (), also known as the Palace of Justice, is a historical courthouse in

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

, Iran. The building was designed by Czech architect in the Neoclassical style to house 1,200 employees, serving as the

Ministry of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

, the law court, and the criminal and civil courts. Architecturally, the most important features of the building are the entrance hall, the main court hall, the offices and side rooms for the court, and the dining area and kitchen. Skoda began construction on the Palace of Justice between 1938 and 1946. Ing Arch Suva, a Czech architect who studied at the University of Architecture and Civil Engineering in Prague before being employed by "Société Iranienne Skoda", elaborated the sketch for the front face of the building in "European monumental conception". It was necessary that the architecture had a sense of permanence and a contemporaneous character in an Iranian style, which is intelligible to Iranian people but freed from excessive archaism. The designs for skirting parts had been elaborated by lead architect Suva and was entrusted to architect Tiyvoran. Architects Kopp and Jan Gabriel worked on the lining and embossing parts. Stone-dressing works and other craft-works, which were done by many Iranian workers, were managed by Czech experts and engineers. During 1940 Suva was ordered to return to

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

, which was already occupied by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

. He refused and was employed in the constructional department of the

Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...

. Jan Gabriel, who worked out different architectural details on the front facade, the entrance door, and the ceiling

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and ...

in the interiors, previously worked on the Shah Opera, and afterwards on the Shah Spa in Balborsán. Construction on the building was suspended during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

during the reign of Reza Shah Pahlavi. Today, the

Supreme Court of Iran The Supreme Court of Iran () is the highest juridical authority in Iran, established to supervise the correct implementation of laws by courts of justice and consisting of the most prominent judges of the country. The head of the judiciary assig ...

is based in this building. On 18 January 2025, the building was the location of the assassination of Ali Razini and Mohammad Moghiseh, two senior

Sharia Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on Islamic holy books, scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran, Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' ...

judges, by a gunman who killed himself after trying to flee the scene. Another judge and a bodyguard also were injured in the attack.

Gallery

File:Justice Statue Iran.jpg,

Justice In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Inst ...

bas relief author by Stanislav Suva; Sculptor Lajoš Biró File:Anoushiravan.jpg, Statue of Anushirawan the Just by Qolam Reza Rahimzade Arzhang File:Ministerstv spravedlnosti 1.jpg, View from the side File:Ministerstvo spravedlnosti 2.jpg, View of the front part

References

{{Iran-struct-stub Buildings and structures in Tehran Courthouses