Thomas More Building

Thomas More (1478-1535) was a lawyer, professor of law, and later a judge, before embarking on a distinguished political career in England under the reign of Henry VIII. This led him to the highest office in the kingdom, that of Lord Chancellor. Disapproving of the sovereign's desire to obtain an annulment of his marriage and the resulting schism with Rome, Sir Thomas More never renounced his beliefs and was eventually convicted of treason and beheaded. A close friend of Erasmus, he is remembered as a philosopher and political essayist, although he was also a historian, translator and poet. The author of a prolific body of work, a scholar and a philanthropist, he denounced tyranny and injustice towards the most disadvantaged and his views were fully in line with the renewal that characterised Renaissance humanism, of which he was one of the most illustrious representatives.

The Court of Justice of the European Union thus honours the memory of a great European humanist, paying tribute to the integrity and strength of his convictions against any infringement of freedoms.

The Thomas More building, the second extension of the Palais, was inaugurated in 1993. It is arranged around four patios and located at the western end of the Erasmus building, with which it shares architectural elements. The façade of the foyer is designed as a vast, horizontal glazed curve, linking the Erasmus and Themis buildings. The building is made of steel and concrete, and has a modular framework. The building’s façades are made of granite and glazed aluminium.

Today, this building is home to the Judges and the Registry of the General Court. It also comprises two courtrooms, the Blue Courtroom and the Green Courtroom, together with a conference room.