ECJ gets face-lift to deal with EU expansion

An expansion of the European Court of Justice buildings in Luxembourg City is to take place, enabling the EU’s top judicial authority to cope with the additional workload created by May’s expansion of the EU.

The accession of 10 eastern and southern European countries will require increased office space for these new member countries and their staff, plus greater courtroom capacity to deal with a growing number of cases.

The project will cost €343m (£236.5m), financed by the European Investment Bank and Luxembourg’s Banque et Caisse d’Epargne de l’Etat.

Under a plan by French architect Dominique Perrault, the main court headquarters will be refitted and encircled by a ring-shaped building accommodating judges and advocates general. Two adjacent 100 metre-high towers will be built for translation departments. The work should be finished by 2007.