Court of Final Appeal - Justice on a Timber Raft

Photo: BASIOO OOMW10 H00CA, CC0 (cropped)

A stop on Hong Kong: Star Ferry to the Peak, a free self-guided tour.

The domed granite building on the east side of Statue Square is one of the few colonial-era landmarks left in Central. It was designed by the British architects Aston Webb and Ingress Bell, whose London work includes the Cromwell Road front of the Victoria and Albert Museum, and it opened in 1912 as the Supreme Court.

Look up to the top of the main pediment for a blindfolded figure of Themis, about 2.7 meters tall, holding scales and a sword as a sign of impartial justice. The building has had several lives. During the Japanese occupation it served as headquarters of the Kempeitai, the military police. From 1985 to 2011 it housed the Legislative Council, and since 2015 it has been home to the Court of Final Appeal.

The building stands on reclaimed land, and what holds it up is remarkable: hundreds of Chinese fir trunks driven into the ground beneath it. Today you can admire it from the street; it is a declared monument.

Getting here: The domed granite building is on the east side of Statue Square, a one-minute walk.

Did you know?: Because the building rests on a raft of timber piles, it needs a steady groundwater level, which is kept up by a replenishment system.

Photo op: Stand at the southeast corner of Statue Square and zoom in on the dome and the blindfolded Themis against the glass towers behind.

More on Wikipedia: Court of Final Appeal Building · Aston Webb · Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal · Legislative Council of Hong Kong

Court of Final Appeal - Justice on a Timber Raft

Stops on this tour