Just 19 months after Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis together with the Minister of Justice Georgios Floridis, laid the cornerstone for the new courthouse in Piraeus.
In fact, most of the courthouse complex is not only ready today, but the grand opening will take place within the next month.
Shortly before the completion of the final work on the section of the courthouse that will house the Criminal and Civil Courts of Piraeus, the Athens and Macedonian News Agencies were given a tour of the premises by Mr. Floridis and the Secretary General of the Ministry of Justice, Pelopos Laskos.
Also present were the president of the Piraeus Bar Association, Ilias Klappas, the Chief Judge of the Piraeus Court of Appeals, Febronia Tserkezoglou, and the President of the three-member Administrative Council of the Piraeus Court of First Instance, Georgios Xynopoulos.
The new Piraeus Courthouse is the first LEED Gold-certified green public building in Greece; construction began in December 2024.
The courthouse is located in the Agios Dionysios neighborhood, on Haidariou, Fokionos, and Papastratou Streets, and is situated in the immediate vicinity of the country’s largest port and one of Attica’s most important transportation hubs.
The Piraeus Metro station is approximately 400 meters away and also serves as the terminus of the suburban railway. There are also bus routes within a distance of 100 to 400 meters, as well as a tram line that terminates very close to Poseidonos Coast. The wide range of transportation options ensures easy access to the courthouse for judicial officials, lawyers, court employees, and citizens.
The total area of the courthouse is 12,350 square meters and the total built-up area is 37,350 square meters, of which 440 square meters correspond to the historic building that previously stood on the site, which is being restored and repurposed.
The complex consists of four buildings. Of these, three will be delivered this coming July, while the fourth building, according to Dimand’s schedule, is slated for March 2027.
The first three buildings consist of two new, modern structures with 5 and 3 stories, respectively, while the fourth building has a total of 6 stories.
As for the listed building, it has been renovated without any changes, additions, or alterations to its form or character and will be used as a law office. It should be noted that the listed monument, together with the existing wall, serves as a landmark and a timeless example of industrial architecture.
Furthermore, the new courthouse has a total of 39 courtrooms, one of which measures 330 square meters, a second one 370 square meters (each with a total capacity of approximately 290 people) and a 300-square-meter multipurpose hall. It also has 24 judges’ conference rooms, 8 witness waiting areas, judges’ offices, prosecutors’ offices, meeting rooms for judges and defendants (a total of 319 offices), 2 libraries, transfer areas, a computer room, archive rooms, auxiliary storage areas, two cafeterias, restrooms, etc., and special provisions have been made for accessibility for people with disabilities on every floor and in every section of the building.
In addition, it features 303 parking spaces (garage) both underground and above ground, and there are 6 designated parking spaces for transport vehicles, which will be served by a separate entrance and exit, thus ensuring the safe handling of transfers; there are also designated holding areas.
The complex will be surrounded by extensive green spaces and a plaza open to the public. The project is being implemented with support from the Recovery and Resilience Facility – Greece 2.0, with funding from the European Union – NextGenerationEU.
The design of the entire project incorporates modern principles of bioclimatic architecture, energy efficiency, and responsible management of natural resources, with the aim of creating a judicial complex that meets the demands of the modern era.
Photovoltaic systems have been installed on the roofs of the buildings to generate energy from renewable sources, while extensive landscaping with Mediterranean plant species will also be carried out.
The buildings will operate with energy consumption at least 20% lower than the thresholds set for the development of net-zero energy buildings, in accordance with national and European legislation. This translates into a significant reduction in operating costs and a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions.
In remarks to the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA-MPA), Justice Minister George Floridis stated that: “About a year and a half ago, the Prime Minister and I visited this site where the new Piraeus courthouse was to be built; excavation work had just begun.
A year and a half later, we stand before this impressive result: a building that now covers approximately 30,000 square meters and will house all of its judicial bodies.
I believe that in a few months, the judges serving in Piraeus, the lawyers in Piraeus, the court staff, and the citizens of Piraeus will be able to operate in a space that I would not hesitate to describe as perhaps the best in Europe—but in any case, one of the best in Europe.
I believe this project was well deserved by Piraeus and its history; it is well deserved by the justice system and its mission; and by all those involved—that is, judges, lawyers, court officials, and, of course, the citizens who will come here to address their legal matters. I am impressed by how quickly this result was achieved.”
