Palace of Justice of Colombia

Throughout the history of Colombia there have been three buildings that have served as headquarters for the Palace of Justice. The first was a neoclassical building designed by the architect Pablo de la Cruz, located on 11th street with 6th race and operated since the 1920s. The building was destroyed by a fire during the riots of April 9, 1948 known as the Bogotazo after the assassination of Jorge Eliécer Gaitán.[1]

The building that replaced this one was designed by the architect Roberto Londoño in the 1960s, of modernist tendency with neoclassical elements. It was located in Bolívar Square and was destroyed on November 6, 1985 as a result of the capture by the M-19 guerrillas and the army's return.

After the destruction of the Palace, the surviving magistrates, headed by Fernando Uribe Restrepo, dispatched in uncomfortable facilities of the Banco de la República, then in the Bank of the Republic building (7th street with 27th street in Bogotá) and then in a north of the capital until the majestic new building was inaugurated, located in the same place as the one destroyed in 1985. The building houses the Supreme Court of Justice, the Constitutional Court, the State Council and the Supreme Judicial Council since 2004.

At the entrance is the phrase of General Francisco de Paula Santander: Colombianos las armas os han dado la independencia, las leyes os darán la libertad (Colombians, guns have given you independence, laws will give you freedom).