On paper, the future Lille courthouse and its 25,000 m2 look great. Bright, modern, the building, which should see the light of day in 2025 on the edge of La Madeleine, looks good. A real sham for the magistrates and lawyers of Lille united to denounce the future equipment, the cost of which is estimated at 100 million euros. After 50 years spent in the palace of Vieux-Lille which no longer complies with safety standards, the Lille justice system will have to reluctantly move to an undersized building.
“Even before the first stone is laid, it is already too small,” said magistrate Audrey Bailleul, Lille representative of the Union of Magistrates (USM). Same story on the side of Me Marie-Christine Dutat. “We are in a courthouse which is already undersized. In 1970, in the current courthouse, there were 200 lawyers in 395 m2. In the future palace, we will have 110 m2 for 1,400 lawyers. There is still a small problem ”, ironically the president of the order of lawyers of the bar of Lille.
Physical separation imposed between litigants and magistrates
In addition to the lack of space, are also deplored the establishment of shared offices, the reduction of courtrooms or the feeling of wanting to “officialise” the judiciary. But the main grievance against the future palace is the physical separation imposed between litigants and magistrates.
“This basic principle guided all the work of the architects. Litigants and magistrates must above all not cross paths. Meetings can only take place in a public courtroom which must be reserved. This is not in line with our functions where trust and dialogue must be established” deplores Audrey Bailleul.
“There will no longer be the possibility for the litigant or the lawyer to go and speak directly to a magistrate when there is a difficulty in a case. We keep the litigant away from the magistrate”, also regrets Me Dutat.
The feeling of not being heard for five years
Grievances that are not new. Because the construction of a new courthouse does not just fall from the sky. The project, led by the ministry via the public agency for justice real estate (APIJ), has been in the works and has been debated since 2017. But despite their protests and petitions, magistrates and lawyers feel that they are not have been heard by their supervisory ministry.
“There has been no desire for dialogue from the start. We are facing a wall. We are very upset, especially since we were told that this palace would be the model for all the courthouses that will be built in the future, ”says the USM representative.
Raise the palace to save space?
However, there is no question of giving up. If the works are supposed to start in May for delivery in mid-2025, magistrates and lawyers hope to be able to further develop the architectural project to save space by building several floors.
“We asked to raise the palace, which is possible at the level of the local urban plan. Today, there is a building permit decree that has been filed and work that will soon begin. But either we build a courthouse that is already unsuitable, or we wait a bit, we file an amending building permit to take into account all the arguments of lawyers, magistrates and clerks. It may delay the project by 6 months or a year, but it will allow us to have a truly functional courthouse that will last at least 50 years,” hopes Me Dutat.
To be heard and change the situation, magistrates and lawyers, who have launched a petition on social networks, are counting on the support of elected officials. Because “in the current state of things, none of us plans to work in good conditions in this palace. It’s not profitable for anyone,” concludes Audrey Bailleul.